OTT platforms have upped their game to reach out to the masses like never before and made sure the latter has an exhaustive bunch of entertaining drama series to choose from- promising a shot of adrenaline, suspense, pacy action, passionate affairs and scorching drama. Move over telly soaps, OTTs are brushing nothing under the carpet unlike their more staid and conservative counterpart. So everything from pulsating cat and mouse chase sequences, gory murder and mayhem to raunchy bedroom scenes is out there for visual consumption- no holds barred. After all, the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have the moolah and the mettle to get you enthralled. Moreover, in post-Covid times, with the vacuum that the absence of high-octane theatrical movies on the big screen has created, the audience is hard-pressed to fill those dreary work-from-home, stay-at-home, lockdown hours with some heavy duty distraction.
Enter Indian production houses that are leaving no stone unturned in dishing our a rich fare of tear-jerking, rib-tickling, horror-striking and hard-hitting OTT series, customised and delivered for viewers right inside your living rooms. From Excel Entertainment, we have had ‘Made in Heaven’ (2019); which has been both critically acclaimed and eagerly lapped up by urban audiences seeking a slice of Delhi glitz and glamour. The city plays backdrop to the numerous weddings in the making of an assorted mix of couples, a feat it accomplishes quite comfortably going by the number of weddings it plays host to every year. I remember getting married in November in Delhi and there were at least 21 weddings taking place simultaneously in my vicinity! Delhi takes weddings very seriously no matter what class you belong to and for the first time, I appreciated the way the series brought out the invisible border that divides Delhi in to the haves and the have-nots. So you either know English or don’t, you either stay in Lutyens Delhi or don’t, you either know couture or you don’t, you either shop in Khan Market or Sarojini Nagar, you live in a palatial mansion overlooking lush green courtyards or share a seedy gully with your next-door neighbour, whose balcony you could touch if you stretch your arm. Yes, there is a class act in Mumbai as well, the other metropolitan city people like to compare the capital with, but not one that is so stark, fertile for ridicule and over-the-top. And because it is Zoya Akhtar’s handiwork, the production value and star cast are bang on- with the scripting and narration just adding to the joy of watching something fresh and fragile, it’s a challenge that the actors and directors match up to, to bring out the edgy nuances and tearing seams in Delhi’s social fabric.
Add to the girth of such online dramas are a powerful star cast made up of mainstream actors like Saif Ali Khan, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Kumud Mishra and Dimple Kapadia and you have the audience hooked. After the success of Sacred Games (2018), Saif sinks his teeth in to the role of a plotting political scion who will stop at nothing to attain power and hang on to it. Although Tandav (2021) went through its share of controversies and potshots, I think it managed to create an impact with the way it strung the ups and downs of a power struggle together. The closed-door schemings, devious planning and understated performances by Anup Soni, Sandhya Mridul, Sunil Grover and Kritika Kamra help raise the sobriety of the show, which would otherwise look too raw and chipped in its delivery. So if you like your political tamasha dressed in Karan Johar branded designer brands and suave styling, this is your cuppa.
Speaking of big star power, I was really not impressed with White Tiger (2021) though. Even with the likes of Rajkumar Rao with the worst America-returned accent onscreen and Priyanka Chopra’s ‘I-am-a-legit NRI now’ chutzpah, this adaptation did not do for me what Arvind Adiga’s novel achieved with its black and white pages. Even the climax which I don’t wish to spoil for those who haven’t read the book or watched the film yet, lacked the poignancy it deserved. The moral dilemma of the underdog remained driven by a need to keep things rolling, primarily in order to force a super-ambitious and half-baked resolution down our throats. Either way, this tiger needed sharper claws to dig in to our psyches.
Away from the devious ways of men, was Panchayat (2020), which should probably classify as an ode to the good old Doordarshan days of family fare like Hum Log and Basera. Sweet and innocent, at the same time, the story does not pretend to be anything more than what it is- a simple tale of how an engineer-turned-panchayat secretary gets stuck in the cow-dung streaked rural hinterland. The straight-faced Jitendra Kumar still manages to be endearing with his vulnerable attempts at bringing about change, his struggling ambition and scathing indifference at the way villagers operate. He brings his urban outlook to the job, not entirely sure he is cut out for the role and yet, persists because well, there is little choice for a middle-class man who wishes to make it big in the job-starved market that glares at the Indian youth today.
Climbing the social barriers of class and caste has been a recurring theme in films and OTT series time and again, almost like a bestseller for most filmmakers. However, with Sir (2018), Rohena Gera directly takes you in to the emotional journey that could play out between a well-heeled bachelor living the typical humdrum corporate life and his domestic servant who is the face of every woman, washing our dirty laundry, cooking our daily meals and scrubbing the countless utensils in the kitchen in our homes. Can a romantic liaison between such completely contrasting characters lead to a happy culmination of hearts and minds? This is not your average love story and definitely not one that many of us could comfortably even come to terms with. Tillotama Shome manages to add so much dignity and grace to her role that you are with her, rooting for her, feeling for her and finally embracing her destiny as she grapples with her love for a man she can never really match up to. Vivek Gomber as the master of the house she keeps spotlessly clean, is subtle, letting her take centerstage even as he tries to work a miracle and build a bridge that leads to a permanent place in her heart. The story is ultimately not just about what your heart desires when it comes to love or vocation but how far you are willing to go to break the stereotypes to fulfil those desires.
Apparently, people can go a tad too far to break stereotypes and fulfil their desires and ambitions. Ask Nawazuddin Siddiqui who just gets in to the skin of another poor man’s story, in Serious Men (2020) albeit this time he shares focus with his onscreen son- thrust in to being extraordinary by a father who will not stop at any turn in order to prove him a prodigy. It is close to home for many of us Indians who like to live their dreams and aspirations through their children. How it may affect the child and what it will finally achieve, may not be in our control but try to excel we must. The pursuit for excellence supersedes everything else- happiness, authenticity, grim reality and hope.
Much as we question the father’s goals, we are bound to relate to his need to match up to the potential to grab fast money and fame. It is the pipe dream he must hang on to if he wishes to stand tall amidst a life full of mediocrity.
Fast money is what Saiyami Kher is after in Choked (2020), coming from Anurag Kashyap’s production house. She is pretty much the life force that runs her house and her husband played by the very earthy Roshan Mathew is just a character in the background who must bow down to her determination at getting rich overnight. Saiyami captures the mundane and sordid drudgery of her life with amazing dexterity, even getting the Maharastrian body language and lingo right when she needs to. She is a boring banker who must do the cleaning up and cooking after coming back from work with a bag of vegetables from the market. She must contend with her husband’s inaction on the professional front and the lack of financial support he offers, at the same time coming to grips with her failure to snatch her 15 seconds of fame as a singing reality star. Her salvation from a lifetime of struggle comes out of her choked kitchen drainpipe, at a point when her attempts at living a comfortable life are choked, as are her aspirations.The illegal cash that literally flows in to her house is her way of grabbing at that dream of achieving instant gratification, but is it enough to sustain the leaks and cracks of her middle class aspirations? Is money the door finally to eternal happiness?
Bringing four shades of ordinary lives is Ludo (2020), an eccentric offering from maverick director Anurag Basu who’s last films Barfi and Jagga Jasoos showed us how unconventional he can be in terms of his cinematic liberties. Here, we have a crazy gangster, confused nurse, listless young man, loyal but jilted lover, helpless wife, a casually promiscuous couple and a ex-criminal lout out to criss-cross paths and destinies to get to an equally incredible end. The premise is regular India, with some fateful encounters and a zeal to get to the finish line with that perfect hustle, only to realise life doesn’t always give us lemon juice just because we have lemons. Wondering what I am getting at, watch Ludo. It is more befuddling a hustle and yet may leave you with a zesty aftertaste.
For me, Sacred Games started a cult following of those people who are now accustomed to powerful mafia, scandal, domestic strife, gore, sexually provocative scenes and illicit relationships that go sour. In Mirzapur (2018) and Paatal Lok (2020), acts of violence are highlighted with a camera close-up so you can smell the blood, feel the cut of flesh with the knife and sense a quiver in your heart, as if you are part of the violence being meted out itself. What redeems Mirzapur for me is again the acting of the stars who are not really your big league actors. Divyenndu Mishra, Pankaj Tripathi, Rasika Duggal, Shweta Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Vijay Varma, Rajesh Tailang, Sheeba Chadda and the ever dependable Vikrant Massey who is getting better with every performance simply raise the bar in this Godfather-like family feud, power tussle and vengeance saga. Corruption in politicians, our judicial and legal system, police force, religious factions, media networks and relationships is all laid bare for an Indian audience which never tires of the intricate gameplay between good vs evil. Little reason why Jaideep Ahlawat’s good cop act in Paatal Lok has you rooting for him even when he stumbles, falls and seems closer to death’s door than solving the case of a high-profile journalist’s attempted assassination by a hired motley team of four criminal suspects. Again, the dichotomy between the two Indias is palpable- one that sees the country through the privileged, wine-glass clinking English-speaking media and one that is flailing in the country's underbelly, of abandoned children abused and suffering, of caste-led atrocities, of the teeming aspirations of a woman entering politics, of hinterland warlords who are deified to influence decisions of the powers-that-be. As long as we are getting a bang for our buck (literally, right? The violence in these OTT dramas is quite loud) we are savouring every drop of entertainment shoved our way. It’s all scorching, riveting, impactful, nicely packaged and home-delivered at your fingertips, whenever and wherever you wish to watch it. So go on, get the tub of popcorn and press play as Indian home entertainment is finally coming of age.
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