By Joginder Tuteja
Festive season is on and that also means a plethora of releases on OTT. There is a lot that is playing for the audiences currently, be it multiple films or a major web series. While Hum Do Hamaare Do, Dybbuk and Aafat-e-Ishq were the three new movies that arrived on various OTT platforms, what has also made heads turn is the web series Call My Agent: Bollywood.
Let’s talk about Call My Agent: Bollywood first. As is the case with Applause Entertainment offerings, this too is a classy outing with very good production values. Moreover with Netflix as the platform, one is assured of a quality product. Narrating the inside happenings of Bollywood from the eyes of casting agents, this one is an ensemble affair with a glossy color palette that makes for an eye catchy affair. That’s expected too, courtesy director Shaad Ali at the helm of affairs who is a YRF product.
Remake of a popular French web series, this one has been adapted well for Indian milieu, especially with appearances from Jackie Shroff, Farah Khan, Dia Mirza and more lending it a much wider spectrum. Of course the heart lies with the key protagonists played so effectively by Aahana Kumra, Soni Razdan, Rajat Kapoor and Ayush Mehra. Each one of them is truly in their elements and for the lovers of Bollywood, this one is a must watch.
As for the films that have been released, there is a variety of genres in the offering. Hum Do Hamaare Do in Disney+Hotstar is for the family audiences with producer Dinesh Vijan continuing with the tradition of making something for all segments. With debutant director Abhishek Jain calling the shots, this Rajkummar Rao, Kriti Sanon, Paresh Rawal and Ratna Pathak Shah starrer makes for an easy breezy watch.
Dybbuk is a horror affair on Amazon Prime which surprisingly arrived with almost zero publicity. An Emraan Hashmi starrer deserves a better build up but surprisingly the film had merely 10 days of promotion behind it and that too wasn’t too heavy. Nonetheless, with Nikita Dutta as the leading lady, this one makes for a decent horror watch with some jump scare moments really making an impact while the story managing to create good intrigue and suspense as well.
Meanwhile, Neha Sharma has done well as the central protagonist in Aafat-e-Ishq which has released on ZEE5. The leading lady has been around for over a decade and the good part is that that she still looks stunningly amazing. She has in it to find an even bigger footing for herself in the industry and Aagat-e-Ishq is yet another instance where she demonstrates her hold. The film is a folklore/fantasy affair that has an unconventional and an unusual storyline, something that should work well for audiences who look for something different each time around.
Coming soon
While theatres are set to open all over this weekend with the release of Sooryavanshi, action will continue on the small screen as well. While Karan Johar is bringing an original film Meenakshi Sundareshwar, there is also a web series Akkad Bakkad Rafu Chakkar.
Meenakshi Sundareshwar stars Sanya Malhohtra and Abhimanyu Dasani in the lead roles. Sanya had a busy year in 2020 when she had as many as three OTT releases, Shakuntala Devi, Ludo and Pagglait. On the other hand Abhimanyu would be seen onscreen after a while since the theatrical release of Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota. Karan Johar though has delivered one of the best films of 2021, Shershaah, and now he is stepping into a different territory with Meenakshi Sundareshwar which is a love story about a married couple.
On the other hand Akkad Bakkad Rafu Chakkar could well be Amazon Prime’s answer to Netflix’s Jamtara. That one was about online/call scamming while this one is about a true scam that involved a whole fake bank been built by a bunch of scamsters. Surprisingly, the web series is arriving with zero publicity this week, despite the fact that the premise is exciting. One just hopes that the end product is good so that audiences get to see an entertaining web series this Diwali.
Release dates
Akkad Bakkad Rafu Chakkar - Amazon Prime - 3rd November
Meenakshi Sundareshwar - Netflix - 5th November
(Joginder Tuteja is a trade expert and film critic, and loves to talk and write about anything that is related to films. Views are personal)