While speaking at the Indian Pavilion at the ongoing Cannes International Film Festival, Anurag Singh Thakur, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, said, “Over the last few years, the streaming revolution has taken the country by storm, and the popularity of digital and OTT platforms has changed how films are created, distributed, and consumed,” noting the rise of the content era.
It may be noted that though big-budget films like RRR and KGF: Chapter 2 have recorded historic box office numbers, the Ranveer Singh-starrer Jayeshbhai Jordaar had a dull opening day and managed to collect only around Rs 3 crore. On the other hand, Sarkaru Vaari Paata, the Telugu film starring Mahesh Babu, collected Rs 50.10 crore at the box office in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on its opening day.
Meanwhile, other films like Mammootty and Parvathy Thiruvothu-starrer Puzhu and Arun Matheswaran‘s Saani Kaayidham, which were directly released on OTT platforms, have been receiving positive responses.
On that note, Silverscreen India brings to you a list of seven films and series releasing on various OTT platforms this week, that you can watch from the comfort of your homes.
12th MAN (May 20) – Disney+ Hotstar
Directed by Jeethu Joseph and produced by Antony Perambavoor under the banner Aashirvad Cinemas, this Mohanlal-starrer is a mystery film. In an earlier conversation with Silverscreen India, Jeethu said, “It is a story that unfolds in 24 hours and the film has only 14 characters, overall. There will be no song sequences in the film.” 12th MAN is written by KR Krishna Kumar. On choosing to direct Krishna Kumar’s script, Jeethu said he found the “suspense element” in the story, interesting.
RRR (Roudhram Ranam Rudhiram) directed by SS Rajamouli, was released in theatres on March 25. It is a pan-Indian period drama, which narrates a fictional account of freedom fighters Alluri Sitaramaraju and Komaram Bheem, essayed by Ram Charan and Junior NTR, respectively. The film features a star-studded cast drawn from several film industries, including Hindi actors Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn, Irish actor Alison Doody, Shriya Saran, Ray Stevenson, and Olivia Morris, among others. The film has crossed the Rs 1000 crore mark at the global box office.
Shahid Kapoor-starrer Jersey is a remake of the 2019 Telugu sports drama of the same name, which was led by actor Nani. It is helmed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, who also directed the Telugu original. The film co-stars Mrunal Thakur and Pankaj Kapur in pivotal roles. The film was released in theatres on April 23 and collected only around Rs 4 crores on its first day. In Silverscreen India‘s review, noting that the film has an “uneven narrative”, Aswathy Gopalakrishnan wrote, “Jersey, centred on a brooding hero, who takes a slap from his wife, must have been a breath of fresh air in the Telugu cinema of 2019, a space that reeked of testosterone. But Tinnanuri’s decision to make an identical Hindi remake, without polishing the many rough edges backfires in Jersey.”
Toolsidas Junior (May 23) – Netflix
Written and directed by Mridul Mahendra, this Sanjay Dutt-starrer is the last film featuring late actor Rajiv Kapoor. It features Kapoor as Toolsidas, an ace snooker player, who proclaims that “he only plays for his son” and features Varun Buddhadev as ‘Toolsidas Junior’. Dutt plays the role of former snooker champion named Mohammad Salam, who helps Junior in fulfilling his father’s dream, after he loses an important match to his arch-rival. The film is inspired by true events and is set in 1994 Calcutta. It was released in theatres on March 4.
Acharya (May 20) – Amazon Prime Video
Written and directed by filmmaker Koratala Siva, Acharya stars Chiranjeevi and is produced by his home banner Konidela Production Company and Matinee Entertainments. It also stars the actor’s son, Ram Charan, Kajal Aggarwal, and Pooja Hegde. The film was released in theatres on April 29.
Panchayat Season 2 (May 18) – Amazon Prime Video
While the official release date of the series was May 20, it began streaming on May 18. “Panchayat is a comedy-drama, which captures the journey of an engineering graduate Abhishek (Jitendra Kumar), who for lack of a better job option joins as secretary of a panchayat office in a remote village of Uttar Pradesh. Stuck between crazy villagers & a difficult village lifestyle Abhishek starts his job with the sole motivation of getting out of there as soon as possible, for which he even prepares for CAT.” The first season was well received by the audience and had an IMDb rating of 9.1/10 in April 2020.
Then and Now (May 20) – Apple TV +
The series is a multi-layered thriller that explores the differences between youthful aspirations and the reality of adulthood, when the lives of a group of college best friends are forever changed, after a celebratory weekend ends up with one of them dead. Now, 20 years later, the remaining five are reluctantly reunited by a threat that puts their seemingly perfect worlds at risk.
