OTT Round Up - Dhamaka, Your Honour 2, Matsya Kaand Bring On Drama And Thrills, Chhorii (Horror), Hiccups And Hookups (Saucy) And Illegal 2 (Drama) Bring On Variety Next Week
While Dhamaka was the big OTT original to release, Your Honour 2 and Matsya Kaand are major web series to have arrived while bringing on drama and thrills.
By Joginder Tuteja
This is turning out to be an extended bonanza for the big screen as well as the small screen for audiences this festive season. If Sooryavanshi is also doing superhit business at the box office and Bunty aur Babli 2 has released in theatres as well, there is a lot happening in the digital medium as well. While Dhamaka was the big OTT original to release, Your Honour 2 and Matsya Kaand are major web series to have arrived while bringing on drama and thrills.
Dhamaka is the only original Indian film to have been made in the last couple of years with a major star. Kartik Aaryan green-lighted it last year itself, and shot it for director Ram Madhvani during the pandemic. What's really surprising is to see high production values of this Netflix outing which boasts of international class. In fact this is also a wonderful entry for the talented star actor in the international arena as in one fine stroke, he has managed to reach out to a much wider audience which is not just restricted to Indians or Indian Diaspora. A very good film.
As for Your Honour 2, it has emerged as a worthy follow-up to the first season which was ably put together by director E. Niwas. Jimmy Sheirgill in the role of a senior judge has done quite well all over again in this revenge drama which has seen a worthy inclusion of Gulshan Grover and Mahie Gill in the narrative. Set in Punjab with characters from UP/Bihar inclusion as well, Your Honour adds on the variety that Applause Entertainment is continuing to bring on for viewers in quick succession. Just a few days back they brought Call My Agent and now it's this.
On the other hand those who like their drama to be on the lines of pulp fiction that aims for the gentry, there is Matsya Kaand. At the helm of affairs is Ajay Bhuyan who has been on the scene for around a decade and has made quite a few web series and films across different languages. This time he picks on the North Indian milieu and along with Ravii Dubey and Ravi Kishan spins a narrative that moves at a fast pace. Released on MX Player, Matsya Kaand is a long drawn web series which has multiple characters bringing on their motives and intentions.
Coming soon
Coming week is set to be quite exciting as there is a lot of variety in store. There is one movie and a couple of web series coming up, and all of these belong to different genre. While Chhorii is a horror drama, Hiccups And Hookups is a saucy-n-naughty show. However, before the two of these arrives Illegal 2 which is an intense legal drama in the offering.
Let's talk about Chhorii first. This is fourth female centric production in a row from producer Vikram Malhotra of Abunandtia Entertainment. If last year he brought in Shakuntala Devi and Durgavati, this year he has already released Sherni and now it's time for Chhorii. After Vidya Balan and Bhumi Pednekar he has brought in Nushrat Bharucha and rest assured, the actress would be seen in an altogether new avtar when compared to the romcom parts that she has played in her last few hits.
Hiccups And Hookups is special for Lara Dutta since this is her third OTT outing. Last year she spearheaded Hundred, a comedy where she played a cop and this year she had a part to play in one of the core episodes of Call My Agent where she played herself. In Hiccups And Hookups, she plays the mother of a teenage girl who earns dating tips from her and Prateik Babbar, and in the process goes through quite some 'hiccups and hookups'. Directed by Kunal Kohli, this bold comedy is also special since it marks the entry of Lionsgate Play in Indian OTT arena.
Meanwhile, season two of legal drama Illegal is coming up too. Season one had made an impression when released on Voot and buoyed by its success, season two was pronto commissioned. This time around Neha Sharma is returning as 'the mad lawyer' and is fighting it out in the arena yet again with Piyush Mishra. There are recurring characters in the form of Akshay Oberoi and Satyajit Mishra, with Tanuj Virwani stepping in who has already been seen in four web series this year. Director Ashwini Chaudhary makes his debut in the OTT arena.
Release dates
Illegal 2 - 25th November - Voot
Chhorii - 26th November - Amazon Prime
Hiccups And Hookups - 26th November - Lionsgate Play
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