This is one of the blockbuster weekends for Indian OTT platforms. Last week we had Toofaan and Malik, among others. This week we already saw the streaming of the Tamil movie Sarpatta Parambarai and Kannada movie Ikkat.
And this week it is going to be no less spectacular. We have a sequel to the popular comedy fare Hungama. Then there is the six-story anthology Feels Like Ishq. We also have a sequel, as it were, to the popular web series Hostel Daze. The web series Chutzpah and the Hindi movie 14 Phere will round up our weekly recommendation list.
Seven absolutely fresh and direct-on-OTT releases in a matter of 3 days are something not experienced in India before.
14 Phere
Quick Details
Director: Devanshu Kumar
Cast: Vikrant Massey, Kirti Kharbanda, Gauhar Khan
Language: Hindi
Platform: Zee5
Release date: July 23, 2021.
Synopsis: This is Vikrant Massey’s season. Or so it seems. We saw him in the recently release Haseen Dilruba. This no-fussy actor will be seen in this comedy drama that is about two weddings — hence the title 14 Phere.
The story is about a couple who go through two weddings, one with each of their respective families, by hiring a fake family for the other one. As you can see, there will be plenty of humour and amusement around relationship gaffes. The twist the fake mother in both situations is played by the same person. So there is much hilarity.
This is a straight-to-OTT film.
Feels Like Ishq
Quick Details
Directors: Anand Tiwari, Ruchir Arun, Tahira Kashyap, Sachin Kundalkar, Jaydeep Sarkar, Danish Aslam
Cast: Radhika Madan, Amol Parashar, Kajol Chug, Mihir Ahuja, Simran Jehani, Rohit Saraf, Saba Azad, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, Zayn Khan, Neeraj Madhav, Tanya Maniktala
Language: Hindi
Platform: Netflix India
Release date: July 23, 2021.
Synopsis: Anthologies are getting popular on OTT platforms. And Feels Like Ishq is one more addition to the growing list. This one is an anthology of six stories, and as can be gauged from its title, it is about the various aspects of love and its attendant heartaches.
There is love, grief, loss, and laughter, as the characters begin to understand what exactly love is to them. The film has an ensemble cast and brims with youthful vigour. The six stories highlight the various textures of love. Netflix, which recently had Ray anthology, hopes to strike a similar success with Feels Like Ishq.
The anthology has a fresh set of cast that is vivacious.
Hostel Daze Season 2
Quick Details
Director: Amir Musanna and Sangram Naiksatam
Cast: Adarsh Gourav, Ahsaas Channa, Ayushi Gupta, Luv Vispute
Language: Hindi
Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Release date: July 23, 2021.
Taking the narrative of four naïve and vulnerable wing-mates forward in the second season, this series is all about their adventures inside an engineering hostel in India. Relatable and funny, the second season is peppered with absurdities, clashes, and debacles inherent to hostel life.
While the first season revolved around four hostel friends in the first year of their college, in the Season 2 they are now back as seniors. Now that they’ve levelled up, you can expect some hostel drama around ragging and fights between them to win over a girl.
The trope is familiar. But the fun-filled treatment and fresh-faced college youngsters exude are what make such series work.
Chutzpah
Quick Details
Director: Simarpreet Singh
Cast: Varun Sharma, Manjot Singh, Elnaaz Norouzi, Tanya Maniktala, Gautam Mehra, Kshitij Chauhan, Diksha Singh, Varun Tewari
Language: Hindi
Platform: SonyLIV
Release date: July 23, 2021.
Synopsis: It can be one of the most interesting stories of the season. For, it is about five tales that is about the social media life and internet culture. Nothing more topical and compelling can be there. The series unravels the grey side of the digital generation in a quirky style. It’s a story around five individuals connected by one story through the medium of Internet.
Actor Varun Sharma makes his debut in a web series. And he was quoted as saying, “the world of internet and social media has become an integral part of life, to the extent that people even switch personalities to seek validation. I am excited to make my OTT debut with a fantastic entertainer like Chutzpah.”
Much of the gang was seen the commercial hit film Fukrey. So stay tuned for some whacky humour.
Hungama 2
Quick Details
Director: Priyadarshan
Cast: Meezaan Jafri, Pranitha Subhash, Paresh Rawal, Shilpa Shetty
Language: Hindi
Platform: Disney+ Hotstar
Release date: July 23, 2021.
Synopsis: It is a Priyadarshan directorial. Do we say anything more. The man has had a career remaking old Malayalam hits in Hindi in a slapstick and over the top comedic style. There are critics for this approach. But the fact is these films have had mainstream success.
And so we have a sequel to the 2003 film Hungama, which was a remake of the 80s Malayalam flick Poochakkoru Mookkuthi. The cast for the sequel is though is vastly different. But the sequel features Shilpa Shetty, who is returning to the big screen after a long time.
As it happened, Shilpa Shetty, who is returning to screen after 14 years, had the misfortune of seeing her husband Raj Kundra being arrested earlier this week. The producer has said that the controversy surrounding Raj’s arrest would not hamper the movie.
As ever for a film of this type, the story is immaterial. A caboodle of characters and a lot of mistaken identity, comedic errors and glamour are the major ingredients of this entertainer.
As you can see, quite evidently the releases are big-ticket ones. Along with these films and web series, there is also cricket and Olympics on the digital platforms. So must be hectic week of sports and entertainment.
