by Joginder Tuteja
It was an eventful week on OTT platforms as Mimi saw an early release on Netflix and was a great follow-up to Disney+ Hotstar’s hit web series City of Dreams.
Mimi was supposed to come on Friday, but due to piracy, the film’s plans changed. In a way, producer Dinesh Vijan may have got a silver lining in the fact that the film was coming on the digital medium which led to the immediate implementation of the revised plans and released immediately on OTT. Had it not happened and the film had only theatrical plans, one cannot imagine what kind of loss the makers would have suffered.
However, all this is not a thing of the past as the good news is that the Kriti Sanon and Pankaj Tripathi starrer has garnered accolades from all sides. A rare family entertainer (and that too despite the taboo subject of surrogacy), the Laxman Utekar directorial has emerged as a good entertainer for all. The film has garnered good eyes and Kriti Sanon, the lady of the show, has received appreciation from all quarters. This has been a career-defining act by him and that too has been his best performance with a remarkable performance again with Pankaj Tripathi.
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Another big highlight of this week has been the second season of Applause Entertainment’s City of Dreams. The first season that released in 2019 left a ‘Dhamaydaar’ impression. There was a time when the OTT market was still heating up and now that Nagesh Kukunoor has put together a second season, the digital medium is the most ‘in’ thing. In these times, a genuine political drama is welcome and the filmmaker has done well enough to come up with yet another rock solid offering, which is very much on the expected lines.
In a writer-backed part, Priya Bapat is brilliant again and has given a mature performance in the first season as well, in the second she has taken it to the next level. Ejaz Khan is a delight to watch and with City of Dreams he has again left the audience as well as the industry wondering why he is not seen more often. After being in the background for most part of the first season, the second season has a more prominent part of Atul Kulkarni and has brought all his experience into the game. Overall, a great show in every way.
coming soon
2021 is turning out to be Manoj Bajpayee’s shows like Silence… Can You Hear It, The Family Man Season 2 and Re, he is now back with another original film for the OTT medium. A thriller, Dial 100 is coming on ZEE5 and promises to be an intriguing case where, as a cop, he ends up in an impossible situation after a mystery caller. [Neena Gupta] Dials the number 100. The Rensil D’Silva directorial boasts of a decent trailer and one can see that it is a proper feature film which is releasing on OTT now.
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Recently, there has been a flurry of films releasing directly on OTT and while Toofan [spoerts drama]Handjob Hungama 2 [comedy], 14 rounds [romance] and mm [social] All belonging to different genres, a real thriller was waiting to come. This is where the picture of Sony Pictures and Sidharth Malhotra’s production Dial 100 comes into play as one can see it is going to be an interesting affair. Also, with Manoj Bajpayee leading the show, there is a certain class appeal that is expected in this crime thriller with a family angle.
release dates
Dial 100 – ZEE5 – 6 August
(Joginder Tuteja is a trade expert and film critic, and loves to talk and write about anything related to films. Views are personal)
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