Get ready for a season of dhamakas on your home screens. OTT promises a movie spree on the digital platform. Beginning with Sherni on 18 June the OTT has a number of made-for-the-OTT products that are sure to attract more than the usual number of eyeballs this monsoon.
1. Sherni: Directed by Amit Masur whose last(and first) film was the overrated Newton, Sherni tells the fitful familiar story of a female bureaucrat , a forest ranger grappling with masculine apathy and cynicism. Vidya Balan gets into her part with the kind of all-knowing self-confidence that she is known for. The male actors Mohit Chaddha(playing her laissez-faire if-it-is-working-why-mend-it husband ), Vijay Raaz(as a local forest academic expert), and Brajendra Kala(as her nepotist boss)play their parts with predictable toxicity. But the real surprise is Sharat Saxena who punches the right holes with his swaggering arrogance.The Madhya Pardesh forests barely come alive, not after we are told that all the animals are computer-generated. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video from June 18.
2. Haseen Dillruba: Another female hero strikes down masculine stereotypes in a film filled with a luscious luridness. Splashy pulpy colours and a heaving lurching drama that encompasses intrigue suspense and an inherent cheesiness, this one will take Taapse Pannu ahead of where she already is(and I don’t mean Russia).Written by Kanika Dhillon who excels in edgy wonky female -hero stories Haseen Dillruba treats the men as secondary playthings .Vinil Matthews who directed Parineeti Chopra in her best performance to date in Haseen Toh Phansee,occupies the captain’s chair.Streaming on Netflix from 2 July.
3. Toofan: Targeted at the large screen, destined for a digital debut, Toofan is Farhan Akhtar’s own Raging Bull. If director Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra and Farhan Akhtar come together for another sports film after Bhaag Milkha Bhaag it has to be special. Get ready for a pugilistic pilgrimage with Farhan in the best shape possible. Streaming from 16 July on Amazon Prime.
4. Dhamaka: Kartik Aaryan plays television journalist Arjun Pathak , star-anchor of the channel Bharosa 24/7 . He must negotiate with a terrorist who threatens to blow up Mumbai. A remake of the Korea hit Terror Live this is Kartik’s first serious role after a string of successful comedies. He is said to have given an award-winning performance that is sure to make a big dhamaka when streamed on Netflix in July-August(date not firmed in).