The Social Dilemma is now streaming on Netflix. (Photo: Netflix)The weekend is here and it’s time to catch up on all the new web series and movies which were released during the week.
This week, ZEE5 released two movies, Pradeep Sarkar directorial Arranged Marriage and Priyadarshan’s Anamika. Arranged Marriage features actors Ali Fazal, Patralekhaa, and Omkar Kapoor in the lead roles. It explores the relationship between families involved in a marriage. Anamika follows the story of a woman who finds love outside her marriage. It stars Aditya Seal, Pooja Kumar, and Harsh Chhaya.
Also, Vikrant Massey and Shweta Tripathi Sharma starrer Cargo started streaming on Netflix. Disney Plus Hotstar presented the second season of its hit web series Hostages. Amazon Prime Video released its original web series titled Wakaalat From Home. It features Sumeet Vyas, Nidhi Singh, Kubbra Sait and Gopal Datt in the lead roles.
In her review of Hostages season two, The Indian Express’ Ektaa Malik wrote, “Predictable to the T, season 2 is at least eight episodes too long. The suffering lasts for full 12 episodes with a runtime of 40-minutes each. Made with the idea of being a slow burn, the show gives one a headache instead, which by the tenth episode morphed into a full-blown migraine.”
She added, “Hostages has a cast encompassing good actors from almost three decades — right from Kanwaljit Singh, Shweta Prasad Basu, Ronit Bose Roy, Dino Morea, Shibani Dandekar, Amit Sial, Dalip Tahil and Divya Dutta. But getting the right people is only half the work done, the actors need something to work with. The script and the writing lets them all down.”
So, if you don’t know what to watch today, we are here with some binge-watch recommendations that will surely keep you hooked. Scroll through this blog and find out what you can watch on ZEE5, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, SonyLIV, Voot Select, Disney Plus Hotstar, MX Player and other OTT platforms.
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.
A prequel of the classic Alfred Hitchcock film, Bates Motel tells the story of Normal Bates from when he was a kid. The acting is superb, both by Freddie Highmore as Norman Bates and Vera Farmiga as his mother Norma Bates. There is uneasy, almost incestuous tension between the duo and that is the biggest strength of this show. Sometimes scary and sometimes creepy, Bates Motel is a worthy prequel.
Few places in the world are as enigmatic and mysterious. While archaeologists and historians have theories, nobody knows for certain the story behind these prehistoric standing stones that make a rough circle.
The Social Dilemma is a Netflix Original documentary that delves deep into the detrimental side of popular social media sites. With the advent and subsequent adoption of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by a majority of internet users around the world, we have realised that while sharing and interacting with friends, family and even total strangers can be fun and fulfilling, it does not come without its cost.
Mrs. America is a Hulu miniseries created by Desperate Housewives and Mad Men alum Dahvi Waller. Starring Cate Blanchett in the lead, the series is set in the 1970s 'United States and is about the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment or ERA by second-wave feminists.
Starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis, the Showtime series Billions is about love, politics, power and money.
1922 is a decent watch for horror fans. The themes of the film – guilt and ‘every murderer gets his comeuppance’ (epitomised by a character in the line “In the end, we all get caught”) – are as old as time. It unsettles more than it scares and seeks to be a slow-burner.
A science fiction drama TV anthology series, Tales from the Loop is a gripping, superbly shot and well-written piece of entertainment that will delight everyone, but specifically those who liked HBO's Westworld and FX's recent series Devs.
A sitcom about a bunch of police officers in a New York precinct, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is continuously funny. The performances are great, and the uniquely written characters never let you get bored.
This documentary film chronicles Chinese city Wuhan’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in its initial days. For those who do not know, Wuhan is now considered to be the place from where the novel coronavirus originated.
Comicstaan Semma Comedy Pa is the Tamil adaptation of Amazon Prime Video's reality series Comicstaan. Stand-up comedian Karthik Kumar, who is a judge on the show, said, “Very few people know that stand up comedy is one of the most traditional and oldest forms of comedy. If you check, Chakyar Koothu is still widely practiced and enjoyed. It is a traditional art form and its modern equivalent is stand-up comedy. And, not everyone knows that! We comedians feel extremely proud to practice this form of entertainment in today’s times! I believe our show will further help people who love comedy to learn more about the genre and appreciate the talent.”
Apart from Karthik, Praveen Kumar and Rajmohan Arumugam will mentor selected contestants who will compete to become the king or queen of comedy.
This Amazon Prime Video series starring Jaideep Ahlawat in the lead role was quick to impress the audience with its engaging storyline and stellar casting. The story of Paatal Lok revolves around a cop who has to swim against all odds to get to the bottom of a murder attempt.
A critical appreciation of food, a social commentary, a travel documentary – Netflix’s Ugly Delicious is all these things rolled into one visual treat. Featuring the renowned chef David Chang, the series consists of two seasons. The first season had eight episodes and the second one, which premiered in March this year, has only four.
Adapted from Jawaharlal Nehru’s The Discovery of India, this Shyam Benegal show delves deep into India’s rich and disturbing past. It features a variety of actors, including the likes of Om Puri, Pallavi Joshi, Piyush Mishra among others, playing historical characters. You can stream the series on YouTube.
Panchayat is an eight part-series set in the village of Phulera, Uttar Pradesh. Abhishek Tripathi (Jitendra Kumar) who is fresh out of college has somehow landed himself a government job, as Panchayat sachiv, which pays him Rs 20,000 a month. He goes straight from hanging out with his friends at the mall, talking about CTCs and Instagramming to the dusty village of Phulera with daily power cuts and where he has to bathe in the open at the hand pump outside the panchayat office.
At its core, Kingdom is a tale of the struggle for the throne, but the said struggle gets hampered by dead people getting resurrected because of a mysterious plant which also turns them into witless cannibals.
The eight-episode web series revolves around the manhunt for a fictitious mastermind responsible for carrying out multiple terror attacks, from the one on Parliament in 2001 to 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The web series was an instant hit among the audience. If you like edge-of-the-seat thrillers, this one should not be missed.
The sports drama narrates the story of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, from his days of being a railway ticket checker to becoming one of the country’s best cricketers. Sushant Singh Rajput gave a career-defining performance as Dhoni. Disha Patani plays Dhoni’s love interest in the film, and Kiara Advani plays the role of his wife Sakshi. If you are a fan of Dhoni and Sushant, stream M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story on Hotstar.
Directed by Patrick Hughes, this movie features Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L Jackson, Gary Oldman and Salma Hayek. What happens when one man is called upon to save his mortal enemy? Mayhem and hilarity ensues.
A Ryan Murphy creation, American Horror Story is incredibly scary, but the more interesting thing is every season of the show tells a new story. So if you don't like a particular season (unlikely), you can skip it and jump to the next season without losing any backstory.