Sufiyum Sujatayum is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. (Photo: Amazon Studios)
Streaming business continues to boom as though in rhythm with the rising coronavirus cases. It helps their case that they are releasing fresh content in frequent intervals. This is not forgetting that most of them already have an extensive library with movies, shows and documentaries for all ages, genders, nationalities and preferences.
For Bollywood fans, things are looking really bright as several high profile films are releasing directly on digital platforms since theaters are still closed due to the ongoing pandemic. This includes Akshay Kumar’s Laxmmi Bomb, Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Dutt’s Bhuj The Pride of India, Alia Bhatt’s Sadak 2, Abhishek Bachchan’s The Big Bull, Kunal Kemmu’s Lootcase, and Vidyut Jammwal’s Khuda Haafiz.
Ajay Devgn commented on this new trend recently in a virtual media interaction, “The best thing about the industry and our audience is that they will get a balance, in the sense that they will be able to watch movies from the comfort of their homes as well as enjoy films on the big screen in a theater. Because people can’t go to the theater every day. Even when the pandemic was not there, most people chose to go and watch movies during the weekend and this will continue to happen post pandemic as well. And on the days that our viewers and fans are at home, they can opt for OTT platforms like Disney Plus Hotstar to watch quality content. We can make more films. We can make different kinds of films. We can make good films, which is ultimately a great thing for our film industry.”
Akshay Kumar was more sober and felt sad about the theatrical experience. He said, “While I am excited about the platform and the opportunity that I have got to show my film to my fans, I feel sad about theaters too. After all, movies are theaters’ first birthright. However, in the present scenario it’s not possible for the audience to go to cinema halls. So Disney Plus Hotstar is a great medium to reach out to my fans,” Akshay said.
Here are the movies, web series and TV shows on platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, SonyLIV, ALTBalaji, ZEE5, Voot and others.
The animated series follows a mad but brilliant scientist Rick Sanchez and his naive, impressionable grandson Morty Smith's adventures across faraway galaxies, planets, parallel worlds, different realities and so on. Rick and Morty boasts some of the most intelligent writing in the medium currently, with jokes that are easy to miss if the attention wavers even a little. And before you have managed to wrap your head around it, the show has already moved ahead.
An Amazon Original, Lore is based on a podcast of the same name. Every episode of the show tells the origins of a horror story and although it is more of a documentary than drama, it is a slickly produced show that is engaging enough for a binge. You might want to check out the podcast as well. It is sublime.
In 7500, Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as the co-pilot of a flight that is hijacked by terrorists. Most of the film is just the main character trying to stop terrorists from taking control of the flight, and this means not allowing them to enter the cockpit, whatever the cost.
HBO’s Watchmen series is a sequel of sorts (called a “remix”) to Alan Moore’s graphic novel of the same name. It is created by Damon Lindelof, co-creator of Lost and HBO’s own The Leftovers. Just like how the English author boldly confronted the contemporary social and political issues in the United States in the late 1980s, Lindelof’s Watchmen deals with the present concerns: chiefly white supremacy and racism. And it does it amazingly well.
Guillermo del Toro's Oscar-winning feature The Shape of Water twists the traditional beauty-and-the-beast story and in the process tells a story that is gorgeous both visually and musically.
12 Years a Slave is Steve McQueen’s heart-wrenching adaptation of a memoir of a black slave Solomon Northup. Chiwetel Ejiofor essayed the lead role in the film which also starred Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, and Alfre Woodard. The film was a brutal depiction of slavery and is a hard movie to watch.
Brightburn is a truly terrifying superhero (or supervillain?) horror film. It is an inversion of Superman’s lore. Just like Clarke Kent, Brandon Breyer came from outer space and fell in a Kansas farm. And just like Clarke, he found loving parents. But instead of being a kind, thoughtful individual, he submits before his darker proclivities and goes on a murder spree.
The Kid Who Would Be King is about a school kid who has nothing special about him. His fortunes change, however, when he pulls King Arthur’s famous sword Excalibur from the stone it is buried in. According to the Arthur stories, only the true king can draw the sword and wield it. The film is an enjoyable adventure for kids and adults alike.
Aditi Rao Hydari, Dev Mohan and Jayasurya starrer Sufiyum Sujatayum is an Malayal languange film directed by Naranipuzha Shanavas. The Indian Express film critic gave the the film two stars. She wrote, "There was potential here. In the way the third party to this romance, the Dubai-based Raveendran (Jayasurya) is unwillingly thrust into the mix, and his uneasy relationship with Sujatha. In the way the head of the sufi sect calls out the pig-headedness of the girl’s father, saying ‘religion is a personal thing’ when the former issues a threat. ‘Don’t start a love jihad’, he says."