The Royals (Netflix)
The makers of Four More Shots Please! aka Pritish Nandy Communications are behind this "royalty rom-com series" that features Bhumi Pednekar and Ishaan Khatter in lead roles. Given how little romance features in the OTT space, the show's promise of genre tropes like 'Prince Charming', opposites attract and a combo of 'sparks and insults' could work in its favour. Did we say that it's also got Zeenat Aman! Directed by Priyanka Ghose and Nupur Asthana, the cast includes Sakshi Tanwar, Nora Fatehi, Dino Morea, Milind Soman, Chunky Panday, Sumukhi Suresh, Lisa Mishra and Luke Kenny.
The Waking of a Nation (SonyLIV)
Ram Madhvani moves on from Aarya to revisit a significant albeit lesser-known chapter of pre-Independence Indian history in his next series. This one's about the Hunter Commission, which took charge of the legal investigation into the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in which British military officer Reginald Edward Harry Dyer had ordered the shooting that would lead to the deaths of hundreds of peaceful protesters and subsequently fire up India's freedom fighters. History told through the cinematic and hard-hitting lens of the Neerja filmmaker is always welcomed.
Matka King (Amazon Prime)
Nagraj Manjule, the acclaimed filmmaker of Fandry and Sairat, directs Vijay Varma in this 1960s' Bombay-set tale of a cotton trader who, in his quest for 'legitimacy and respect', starts a new gambling game dubbed 'Matka'. Produced by Roy Kapur Films, it features Kritika Kamra, Sai Tamhankar and Gulshan Grover.
Bada Naam Karenge (SonyLIV)
Palash Vaswani, who has directed Seasons 2 and 3 of the beloved Gullak, teams up with Rajshri Films for a charming romantic drama. Set in a small town in Madhya Pradesh, it features what are familiar elements of the Barjatya templateâlove, tradition and enduring family ties. Ritik Ghanshani, Saadhika Syal, Ayesha Kaduskar and Kanwaljit Singh star in this OTT long format debut of the famous banner.
Kohrra Season 2 (Netflix)
The first one was one of the best series on Indian OTT, with a commanding performance by Suvinder Vicky. Expectations will be sky-high for Season 2 of this Punjab-set drama, which sees the return of TV-turned-OTT heartthrob Barun Sobti with OTT's bona fide star Mona Singh a new addition. This time around, Sudip Sharma, the show's co-creator and show-runner, takes on additional duties of director.
Paatal Lok Season 2 (Amazon Prime)
Another Sudip Sharma creation and yet another show whose first season is seen by many as one of the finest crime dramas. The setting shifts from New Delhi to Kalimpong. Returning to the director's chair is Avinash Arun Dhaware. The key cast members: Jaideep Ahlawat as inspector Hathi Ram Chaudhary, Gul Panag and Ishwak Singh.
Untitled Aryan Khan show (Netflix)
It's not every day that a project gets identified by the name of a first-time filmmaker. But when that person happens to be the eldest child of a certain superstar by the name of Shah Rukh Khan and also one who went through a legal ordeal in which he was finally acquitted, then you are all eyes and ears open. For his directing debut, Aryan is said to be looking at the glamorous and messy world of show business albeit through the eyes of 'an ambitious outsider'.
The Great Indian Code (Amazon Prime)
Before The Viral Fever and Deepak Kumar Mishra give us another season of Panchayat, there's this story about the origins of the IT industry. And it's got all of TVF staples: middle-class, humble heroes, engineers, aspiration for a better India, good old messaging and some nostalgia tripping. The show looks at India's journey from 'technological backwardness' to 'software revolution'.
Dabba Cartel (Netflix)
Shabana Azmi, Jyotika, Sai Tamhankar, Nimisha Sajayan, Anjali Anand, Gajraj Raoâthat's the talented bunch likely to create fireworks on screen. Produced by Excel Entertainment, it follows five ordinary women who begin distributing drugs through a 'dabba' delivery business.
Pritam Pedro (Disney+ Hotstar)
Vikrant Massey and Arshad Warsi feature in what's Rajkumar Hirani's foray into the OTT world albeit as a show-runner and producer. Billed as a cyber-crime thriller, it centres on two officers who have different ways of solving crimes. The older one's traditional, the younger more technology reliant. Given this has Hirani's name attached to it, there will be laughs.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Gandhi
Shooting has wrapped up for director Hansal Mehta's passion project, which has his Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story star Pratik Gandhi get into the shoes of the iconic titular character. While there's no clarity which platform the show will appear on, needless to say, producers Applause Entertainment will want to make a big splash with one of their biggest and most ambitious outings.
The Secret of the Shiledars (Disney+ Hotstar)
Zombivli and Munjya filmmaker Aditya Sarpotdar helms what is being billed as the 'the first-of-its-kind treasure hunt-based series'. On first look, it's got history, adventure, treasure, caves, scrolls, magical artefacts and more, which already make the show stand out in a landscape otherwise inundated with crime dramas. Starring Rajeev Khandelwal, Sai Tamhankar, Gaurav Amlani and Ashish Vidyarthi amongst others.
Scam 2010: The Subrata Roy Saga
Hansal Mehta returns to the popular franchise. Given the fireworks he created with the Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, his take on the rise and fall of the Sahara Group founder should make for a thrilling watch.
Comments