Everyone’s life came to a standstill when the COVID-19 pandemic hit India. Since the month of March, we’ve been holed up at home, working from home; waiting for life to get back to normal. The only thing that is keeping us hopeful and satisfied in these times is video calls, home-cooking sessions and new releases on OTT platforms.
Here are some of our recommended films to watch on OTT platforms.
I’m Your Woman | Amazon Prime Video
Premiered at the AFI Fest in October, I’m Your Woman follows a woman who’s on the run after her husband betrays his business partner. With a limited release given on 4 December, the film was released on Amazon Prime Video on 11 December. The film features Rachel Brosnahan, Arinzé Kene, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Bill Heck, Frankie Faison, Marceline Hugot and James McMenamin in the lead roles. Brosnahan was praised for her powerful performance by audience and critics alike. Directed by Julia Hart, the film was produced by some of the leading namely Original Headquarters, Big Indie Pictures and Scrap Paper Pictures.
Putham Pudhu Kaalai | Amazon Prime Video
The Tamil anthology film Putham Pudhu Kaalai is an amalgamation of five small segments films directed by different directors. The small segment films are Ilamai Idho Idho by Sudha Kongara, Avarum Naanum – Avalum Naanum by Gautham Vasudev Menon, Coffee, Anyone? By Suhasini Maniratnam, Reunion by Rajiv Menon and Miracle by Karthik Subbaraj. Shot completely during the pandemic, the film talks about finding a silver lining in these dire times.
Gulabo Sitabo | Amazon Prime Video
Distributed by Amazon Prime Video, Gulabo Sitabo stars Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana in the lead roles and narrates the story of conflict between an old house owner (Mirza) and his tenant (Baankey).The film is directed by the well-known Shoojit Sircar. The marketing team of Gulabo Sitabo leveraged social media immensely to create a pre-release buzz for the film. The Twitter game #HaveliKaChakkar trended at 19th position where the Tweeples were asked to choose sides between Gulabo and Sitabo. An influencer-led campaign #EkPricelessJodi was also started where the participants had to make engaging and humorous videos mentioning ‘Who is the Sitabo to your Gulabo.’ The other challenge that trended on social media was the Tongue Twister Challenge the participants had to repeat a difficult tongue twister 5 times.
A family entertainer, Gulabo Sitabo will leave you in splits.
Ludo | Netflix
The multi-starrer film Ludo, was produced by T-Series, Anurag Basu Productions and Ishana Movies. The dark comedy crime film was released globally on Netflix and narrates four different stories that merge at fate, chance and one eccentric criminal. The film stars Abhishek Bachchan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Rajkummar Rao, Pearle Maaney, Pankaj Tripathi, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Rohit Suresh Saraf, Saurabh Sharma and Inayat Varma in the lead roles and is directed by the famous Anurag Basu. Like always, Pankaj Tripathi managed to wow the audience with his acting and dialogue delivery. Rajkummar Rao’s ‘menu recitation’ dialogue was one the best in the entire film.
An entwined story of unusual characters, Ludo will keep you hooked till the end.
Shakuntala Devi | Amazon Prime Video
This film premiered on Amazon Prime Video and revolves around the life of Shakuntala Devi, the ‘human computer’ and her ups and downs as a career-oriented woman as well as a mother. The film featured Vidya Balan and Sanya Malhotra in the lead roles and Jisshu Sengupta and Amit Sadh in supporting roles. The biographical comedy-drama was directed by Anu Menon. The marketing team of the film used the number game widely on social media to create noise about the release of the film. The trailer was made exclusively available for the participants who solved a mathematical problem before the rest and even the release date was introduced with a mathematical quiz.
If you’re in a mood for a comedy and tear-jerking film, this Shakunta Devi is a must-add in your watchlist.
Raat Akeli Hai | Netflix
The crime drama thriller film, Raat Akeli Hai, is the story of a small-top cop and his investigation into the murder of a family member. The film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte, Shweta Tripathi, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Shivani Raghuvanshi, Nishant Dahiya, Gyanendra Tripathi, Ila Arun, Swanand Kirkire, Nitesh Kumar Tiwari and Aditya Srivastava. Radhika Apte continued her streak of a strong and mysterious female lead. And for a change, Nawazuddin Siddiqui was seen playing a cop.
If you’re a fan of a good suspense film, then Raat Akeli Hai is a must-watch.
Gatham | Amazon Prime Video
Directed by Kiran Kondamadugula, Gatham is a thriller film that follows a couple who are given shelter in a stranger’s house after their car breaks down. The film features Bhargava Poludasu, Rakesh Galebhe and Poojitha Kuraparthi in the lead roles. It was shot at Lake Tahoe and is based on a short film by Kiran Kondamadugula.
A gripping and engaging thriller, this film is a lockdown must-watch.
Ghar Ki Murgi | Sony LIV
Sakshi Tanwar starrer Ghar Ki Murgi and directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, narrates the story of every Indian housewife. It is an eye-opener for every household. The film was produced by the short film production houses Earthsky Pictures and Opticus INC and co-produced by an award winning Chinese director Jia Zhangke. The short film premiered on Sony LIV as a Women’s Day Special release.
The Half Of It | Netflix
The coming-of-age comedy-drama Netflix film, The Half Of It, traces the journey of a shy, introverted teenage girl who writes letters on behalf of a football jock to impress the girl they both have feelings for. Directed by Alice Wu, the film stars Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lemire, and Collin Chou in the lead roles. It has received the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival.
Mookuthi Amman | Disney+ Hostar
Starring Nayanthara and RJ Balaji in the lead roles, Mookuthi Amaan is a fantasy comedy film released on Disney+ Hotstar. RJ Balaji made his directorial debut with this film. It narrates the story of a news anchor and his efforts to expose a ‘guru’ of his fake deeds and wrongdoings.
Lootcase | Disney+ Hotstar
Produced by one of the well-known production houses Fox Star Studios, Lootcase is a comedy-thriller directed by Rajesh Krishnan. The story of the film revolves around a middle-class family man who finds a suitcase and is chased by policemen, a gangster and a politician upon stealing it. The film stars Kunal Khemu and Rasika Dugal as main leads and Vijay Raaz, Ranvir Shorey and Gajraj Rao in supporting roles. Lootcase garnered positive reviews from the audience for its humour and cast performances.
Soorarai Pottru | Amazon Prime Video
The 2020 Tamil film, Soorarai Pottru, premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 12 November. The film is directed by Sudha Kongara and produced under the banner 2D Entertainment and Sikhya Entertainment. Loosely inspired from the life events of Simplifly Deccan founder G. R. Gopinath, the film stars Suriya, Paresh Rawal and Aparna Balamurali in the lead roles and Urvashi, Mohan Babu, and Karunas in supporting roles. The film was praised by the audience as well as the critics for its technical aspects, direction and cast performance. Soorarai Pottru was simultaneously dubbed in Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu. The film was appreciated by several celebrities and became the second most tweeted hashtag in 2020. It also became the first South Indian film to make it to the Google Trends list as the second most searched topic.
I’m Thinking Of Ending Things | Netflix
This American psychological horror film is based on the novel by the same name written by Iain Reid. It stars Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette and David Thewlis in the lead roles and is directed by Charlie Kaufman. The film narrates the story of a woman who with her boyfriend, visits his parents staying on a secluded farm. The critics appraised the film for its cast performances and cinematography. The film won two accolades at the Boston Society of Film Critics Awards under the categories Best Screenplay and Best Editing.
C U Soon | Amazon Prime Video
Completely shot on IPhone, C U Soon is India’s first computer screen film. Directed by Mahesh Narayanan, the film features Fahadh Faasil, Roshan Mathew and Darshana Rajendran in the lead roles with Saiju Kurup, Amalda Liz and Maala Parvathi in supporting roles. The film revolves around a software engineer who is prompted to look for his cousin’s missing girlfriend after discovering her suicide note. The film was well-received and praised by the audience as well as the critics. The first of its kind, C U Soon premiered on Amazon Prime Video in September 2020 and is regarded as one of the must-watch edgy thriller films.
Andhaghaaram | Netflix
Released in November 2020, Andhaghaaram is a supernatural thriller that chronicles the journey of three men unknown and unconnected to each other and their sinister life events. It stars Arjun Das, Vinoth Kishan, and Kumar Natarajan in lead roles and Pooja Ramachandran and Misha Ghoshal in supporting roles. Directed by V. Vignarajan, the film received positive reviews from viewers and critics.
