Dhamaka Unlimited…Monsoon Feature Film Fest On OTT

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).