By Joginder Tuteja
There was a flurry of releases on the OTT medium in the week gone by, what with Chakravyuh, The Married Woman, Qubool Hai 2.0 and Bombay Begums arriving almost together. In fact there was one more web series that was slated to release in the week gone by, Kamathipura, but it has been pushed further due to protests and the final date is now awaited.
Chakravyuh, as was expected from the promo, has turned out to be a 'masala' affair with a cop [Prateik Babbar] hot on the trail of a cyber crime expert. In fact it comes close on the heels of Hello Mini 2, which again had arrived on MX Player and was an Applause Entertainment offering. That web series too was about the crime that took place against women on the dark web and Chakravyuh now takes it to the next level with crypto-currency coming on the fore as well and the central protagonist being a cop instead of a victim.
The Married Woman turned out to be even better than expected as the web series about two women finding solace in each other has been presented with sensitivity by Ekta Kapoor for the OTT platforms ALT Balaji and ZEE5. With a classy feel to it, the 10 episode series has both Monica Dogra as well as Ridhi Dogra deliver good performances, as they play two contrasting characters who first explore a common love [Imaad Shah] and then end up finding love in each other. For the adults hunting for some content-based drama, this one does fit in the bill.
Qubool Hai 2.0 takes forward the entertainment for the households looking for a digital take on the TV serial by the same name that had aired on the satellite medium almost a decade back. Of course, the production has gone up on the OTT medium and with Karan Singh Grover reprising the character that he had played in Qubool Hai back in time, it is also nostalgic for his loyal fan-base. With the first season now being out, one can well expect ZEE5 to announce the next season as well.
As for Bombay Begums, this one is a classy affair currently playing on Netflix. Surprisingly, there wasn't much noise made around the web series en route release despite Pooja Bhatt leading from the front. However, it is not in news for the wrong reasons due to protests being called for it to go off air. Though that hasn't happened as yet, one wonders whether just like Tandav on Amazon Prime, even this one would find itself in the eye of the storm in days to come.
Coming soon
It is going to be relatively quieter week for the OTT channels, though a couple of web series would still be airing in days to come. These are Bekaaboo 2 and The Wife.
Bekaaboo 2 picks up from where it left in the first season and sees Taher Shabbir and Priya Banerjee. An erotic drama which is made for the adult audiences, this one also carries the thrills and the chills, and would be catering to a particular segment. Though there hasn't been much noise made around the web series yet, one can expect that the loyal audiences of this genre should give it a dekko once it arrives on ALT Balaji.
For those hunting for horror-drama, there is The Wife which is arriving straight on the OTT medium, what with ZEE5 set to stream it. Though made for theatrical release, the film is opting for a digital arrival and one waits to catch the action as it unfolds. Incidentally, the film was announced exactly a year back on 13th March 2020 and is now seeing a release on 19th March. Starring Gurmeet Choudhary in the lead along with debutante Sayani Datta, The Wife is about a couple entering an apartment and the paranormal activities that take place around them.
Release dates
Bekaaboo 2 - ALT Balaji - 15th March
The Wife - ZEE5 - 19th March
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(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)