Dora and the Lost City of Gold is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. (Photo: Paramount Pictures)
The number of coronavirus cases is on a constant rise in India. People have been advised to go out with caution but many are still preferring to stay locked in their houses. In such a scenario, it becomes necessary to keep oneself entertained to avoid stress and anxiety. This is when the streaming platforms step in. Be it Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus Hotstar, Voot Select, AltBalaji or SonyLIV, all are providing a variety of interesting web series and movies to keep you occupied.
Not just the adults, these OTT platforms even have a content library dedicated to kids who are unable to step out to play. So, families can sit back and spend time with each other while watching some of their favourite content online.
Also, since filmmakers have taken the digital route to tell stories, there is no dearth of fresh content as well. Amitabh Bachchan-Ayushmann Khurrana’s Gulabo Sitabo, Keerthy Suresh’s Penguin, Manoj Bajpayee starrer Bhonsle, Ranvir Shorey’s Kadakh, Rahul Bose’s Bulbbul are the new additions to the content library of the streaming platforms.
This week’s big OTT releases are Swara Bhasker starrer Rasbhari, Anushka Sharma’s production Bulbbul, and the third season of Netflix series Dark.
So, you need not get bored sitting at home as you can enjoy movies and shows while keeping yourself safe from coronavirus. And, if you are confused about what to watch, we are here to help.
In this blog, we suggest movies, web series, TV shows and documentaries you can watch on several OTT platforms.
Two hopeless tech geeks and one clueless dame together try to make through the hurdles of the job. Sometimes they fail, sometimes they succeed. And what do we get? Laughter in dozens.
Rajinikanth plays a loyal servant, who can fly his horse-powered chariot between mountains, deliver an impromptu performance on stage and do a lot more. Not enough? There is also the father (Rajinikanth, again), the gold-hearted millionaire, who becomes a sage after being betrayed by his relative.
This surprisingly sweet film boasts of everything that makes a road trip movie great. Despite using the same old tropes (different personalities travelling together reluctantly), the cast (Paul Rudd — ’nuff said) does a great job of making a strong script and clever dialogues come alive.
Rocky and Mayur’s adventures entertained us quite a lot, and now, we can catch those old TV episodes on Amazon Prime Video. The two foodies travel to different parts of India as they taste and critique the best food that India has to offer.
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology web television based on the original 1959 television series created by Rod Serling. Comedian-turned-filmmaker Jordan Peele serves as the narrator. Read more here.
Based on an intriguing what-if premise, The Man in the High Castle is an alternate reality show. In this world, the Axis powers won and the United States was carved up between Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany. Common Americans live under two foreign, oppressive regimes and they are resigned to their fate... until the people come across another reality -- our reality -- according to which things could be better.
The animated series follows a mad but brilliant scientist Rick Sanchez and his naive, impressionable grandson Morty Smith's adventures across faraway galaxies, planets, parallel worlds, different realities and so on. Rick and Morty boasts some of the most intelligent writing in the medium currently, with jokes that are easy to miss if the attention wavers even a little. And before you have managed to wrap your head around it, the show has already moved ahead.
This Starz series tells us that love-stories do not simply just exist, they are often improbable. The central love-story in this show is between a 20th-century Englishwoman and an 18th-century Scottish man. Claire is transported back in time and meets a Scottish young man she falls in love with. She does have a husband in her time and she is faithful, but there is no way to get to him. Outlander streams on Netflix.
This one is among the weirder and eccentric shows. Frodo of Lord of the Rings movies, Elijah Wood, plays an everyman whose life is turned into a veritable whirlwind a flamboyantly British "holistic" detective; holistic because he believes everything in the universe to be interconnected. And indeed, he has a seemingly preternatural ability. The feel of the show is like from one of the more strange comic-books from the 80s came to life. The story is loosely based on the writings of the great Douglas Adams.
There are few good shows on pirates, and Black Sails sits pretty on the top. Although the first season was marred by more talking than action, Black Sails picks up from second, gets better in third, and goes out with a bang with its fourth and final season. The story is the prequel of Treasure Island, classic adventure book by Robert Louis Stevenson.
The third film in the Jumanji franchise, Jumanji: The Next Level, is now available on Amazon Prime Video. The franchise is based on a sort of game (a board game in the original and a video-game in the followup) that has real-world consequences or it houses withing itself an alternate reality where the players do not play as their in-game characters, but become them. The Jake Kasdan directorial had Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser'Darius Blain, and Madison Iseman returning from the previous film. Awkwafina, Danny Glover and Danny DeVito joinined the franchise.
A DC TV show that embraced the crazy after tip-toeing around it for a couple of seasons. And it is live-action. There is few things off-limits or too insane for this show. It may not have Batman (Bruce Wayne is a young boy in the show) but it has every single member of Batman's rogues gallery, and this was just as good.
Disney+’s adaptation of Eoin Colfer’s first two fantasy adventure books, Artemis Fowl is about a 12-year-old criminal mastermind from Ireland who wishes to save his father abducted by a gang of fairies, who want a specific item back that Fowl had stolen.
Steven Spielberg's adaptation of HG Wells' novel of the same name, War of the Worlds sees an invasion by the Martians. Tom Cruise stars as a longshoreman who witnesses the invasion directly. Scores of people are disintegrated by the Martian war machines called Tripods that emerge from beneath the earth. War of the Worlds is a non-stop thriller that never lets up.
While the sunny Los Angeles is not as compelling a setting for horror as the dank streets of Victorian London, The City of Angels, Showtime horror series Penny Dreadful's spinoff, is surprisingly good, with a nice amalgam of contemporary social issues and the supernatural.
James Bobin directorial Dora and the Lost City of Gold was a live action adaptation of Nickelodeon's television series Dora the Explorer. It starred Isabela Moner in the lead role as the titular explorer. The film was acclaimed by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film scored 84 per cent. The critical consensus read, "Led by a winning performance from Isabela Moner, Dora and the Lost City of Gold is a family-friendly adventure that retains its source material's youthful spirit."
Directed by Mysskin, the film has no heroine and no songs. It is a neo-noir thriller filled to the brim with dark humour and raw emotions. OA, which stars Mysskin himself and Sri of Vazhakku Enn 18/9 fame in the lead roles, is the tale of a man trying to redeem himself in society. The movie brilliantly shows society in its cruel, unforgiving form. And the suspense element holds up right until the end of the film.
Soodhu Kavvum is an important movie in Vijay Sethupathi’s career. This is the one that told us that Sethupathi is here to stay and he’s not just a two-film wonder. The comedy of errors involving a group of amateur kidnappers will leave you in splits.
Watch this South Korean crime-drama for its performances and gripping narrative. The makers have announced that the show will be returning for a second season some time this year, so make sure you don’t miss it.
This Parvathy and Dulquer Salmaan starrer film is unique in its treatment of subject, cinematography and performances. Everything stands apart and how! Part road trip, part love affair; Charlie brings out the best in its actors
Set after the events of Return of the Jedi, this space western follows a bounty hunter, played by Pedro Pascal. This is the first series of the Star Wars universe on Disney’s web platform. The series has been renewed for a second season.
Netflix’s documentary The Great Hack talks about the breach of online privacy and how a corporation like Cambridge Analytica used the data that was provided to them by Facebook. This documentary is ideal for people who still believe that the stories that they see on their devices are the truth. The truth is much more than that. You are just seeing what corporations want you to see.
The movie is a pacy thriller which stars the likes of Chadwick Boseman, Teresa Palmer, Alfred Molina among others. It released in 2017 and was directed by Fabrice Du Welz.
The 2004 action thriller, starring Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Uday Chopra, was a blockbuster. Many called it the Indian version of Hollywood’s Fast & Furious series with the fast cars replaced by stylish bikes. Bachchan played a tough and witty cop Jai, and Chopra was his goofy sidekick Ali. Abraham won hearts with his suave turn as a villain and, not to forget, his Suzuki Hayabusa.
This Merritt Wever and Domhnall Gleeson show is produced by HBO and created by the Fleabag and Killing Eve fame Vicky Jones. Phoebe Waller-Bridge also stars in a pivotal role in the first season. Enough reason to watch the show we think!
Fantasy dramas when translated well, truly cast a magical spell on its viewers. Fortunately, we have a sizable chunk of these stories in Hollywood. And to that prestigious group belongs the Matthew Vaughn 2007 directorial Stardust. Based on the book penned by award-winning writer Neil Gaiman, Stardust pays a wonderful homage to its source material.
Kabir Khan’s show is based on former Indian leader Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army. What led to its creation and how did they face defeat are some of the issues touched upon by the filmmaker in the show. It features Sunny Kaushal and Sharvari in the lead. The Forgotten Army is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Though a children’s film, Makdee entertained not only kids but adults as well. Vishal Bhardwaj treated the kids in his story as real characters and not a device to introduce cute moments. Shabana Azmi aced her role of a witch and Shweta Basu Prasad was brilliant as a pair of twin sisters – the cute one with a lisp, Munni, and the hell-raising bully, Chunni. She grabbed the National Award for Best Child Artist for the film. One of the characters was called Mughal-E-Azam and by the end, the film commented on the widespread superstition and blind faith in witchcraft in Indian villages. After watching Makdee, you might find yourself randomly singing, “O papad waale, panga na le”.
Starring the talented duo of Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer, Warm Bodies is in parts cheesy, hilarious and sentimental.
Read more: Hollywood Rewind | Warm Bodies: A zombie comedy with heart
Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar starrer Saand Ki Aankh offers an insight into the life of elderly sharpshooters Chandro and Prakashi Tomar.
Based on the bestselling novel by Wally Lamb, written and directed by Derek Cianfrance, and starring Mark Ruffalo, this limited series follows the story of Dominick Birdsey as he struggles to care for his twin brother, Thomas while discovering the truth about his own family history. Read more
BoJack Horseman ended its long run in 2020, and for BoJack fans, this was just the perfect goodbye. The Netflix animated series starring Will Arnett, Aaron Paul among others was a dark story of a Hollywood has-been who is struggling with existentialism. Read more
The best thing about Mani Ratnam’s 2004 critically acclaimed film Yuva is Abhishek Bachchan. The actor plays a goon, Lallan Singh. He is abusive, greedy and petty, but despite his flaws, he is still somehow likeable. He wants to make a name for himself in the world and is ready to go to any extent for that. Apart from Bachchan, the crime drama is a delight for every Mani Ratnam fan.
While Dark’s final season does not deliver on every single thread, it does provide an overall great culmination to the story. The concluding season is so big and different and new that it is hard to talk about its plot without spoiling something. Indian Express' Kshitij Rawat highly recommends going into the season without watching any promos or trailers. Right from the first episode, it builds upon the concept of parallel worlds that the penultimate season introduced and further fleshes out the world as threads. Read more
Aarya tells the story of a woman whose husband is involved in the narcotics trade and is one day shot dead by his competitors. From here on, she takes charge of the family business and makes sure she protects her three children from the enemies.
Also read | Aarya review: The Sushmita Sen-starrer is taut and enjoyable
The Netflix original film from India--Bulbbul stars Tripti Dimri, Avinash Tiwary and Rahul Bose. The supernatural thriller is produced by Anushka Sharma under her production house, Clean Slate Films. The official description of the film reads, "A story set in the late 19th Century Bengal, Bulbbul traverses the journey of a young girl from innocence to strength, as the legend of a chudail casts a looming shadow over her world." Read more
In her review of Bhonsle, Shubhra Gupta wrote, "The insider-outsider conflict in what used to be Bombay and is now Mumbai is a familiar one. Makhija’s choice of palette makes it seriously dark: overflowing drains, grungy toilets, slushy roads with sinister vans, and the powerful preying upon the meek. Verbal skirmishes and physical punch-ups in the chawl run through the film, with Vilas waiting for a nod from the local leader to feel validated, and Rajendra trying to keep up a blustery front, as they spar over who has more right on Ganpati Bappa, the benevolent god who belongs to everyone." Read more
Written by Shantanu Shrivastava and directed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt, Rasbhari is a story set in the small town of Meerut. It tells the story of a young boy Nand (Ayushmaan Saxena) who falls in love with his English teacher, played by Swara Bhasker. The teenager soon discovers that his teacher has an alter-ego named Rasbhari who is a seductress. Also featuring Rashmi Agdekar, Pradyuman Singh, Neelu Kohli and Chitranjan Tripathi, the web series touches upon the issues of patriarchy and suppression of female sexuality.