Top New OTT Releases This Week: Showtime, Ricky Stanicky, Maharani Season 3, Merry Christmas

Streaming platform releases this week include the biopic based on the life of an Italian adult film actor, dark secrets of the seemingly glamorous film industry, a fantasy adventure where a princess fights a fire-breathing dragon, an R-rated comedy, and a political thriller. The biggest Indian original this week has to be Disney+ Hotstar’s Emraan Hashmi starrer Showtime, where he is seen playing the son of a successful film producer. Another big Indian title to make its digital debut is Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi’s Merry Christmas, a crime thriller that actually begins as a romance. Here you’ll see the two strangers dealing with a dead body on the first night of their meeting.

For those looking for a no-brainer and entertaining light watch, we recommend Zac Efron and John Cena’s Ricky Stanicky, which is bound to make you laugh. Here you’ll meet three childhood friends who invent an imaginary Ricky Stanicky, whom they can use as a handy alibi and put the blame on for all their misconducts. Things take a hilarious turn when they hire a dimwit, washed-up actor to play Ricky when the families grow suspicious of his existence. John Cena has done an impressive job at playing this delusionally confident actor, who takes up this acting job too far.

For those looking for something from the pages of fantasy, Millie Bobby Brown’s Damsel could do it. She plays a dutiful princess whose wedding turns into a nightmare when she learns that she is actually a sacrifice brought in to settle the ancient debts to a fire-breathing dragon.

On the international shore, you could go for the K-drama Queen of Tears which follows a marital couple fighting fading romance in their marriage.

Some other notable OTT releases of the week are Hot Wheels Let’s Race, Full Swing Season 2, The Gentlemen, and The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy Season 2.

Here are our picks for the top OTT releases of the week.

Best OTT Releases This Week

Supersex

When: Now Streaming

Where: Netflix

Supersex is a steamy biography of the popular Italian pornographic actor Rocco Siffredi. It narrates his journey from ordinary days to how he topped the adult film industry worldwide in no time.

The show starts with a sex convention where Rocco is announcing his retirement, making room for the rest of the series to be shown in flashback.

Get ready to explore the fame he experienced, the demons of his past, tumultuous relationships, and other personal anecdotes from his life, in this seven-part series.

The only Indian language in which the show has been dubbed is Hindi. Among the foreign language options are English, Portuguese, Czech, Spanish, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Polish, and Turkish.

Showtime

When: Now Streaming

Where: Disney+ Hotstar

The four-part series will take you to the underbelly of the other glamorous Bollywood film industry. The complex power dynamics, fierce competition, mistrust, and every other dark aspect are covered.

Emran Hashmi plays Raghu Khanna, the son of a successful film producer, whose inheritance comes under threat after his father’s demise. This is Hashmi’s second OTT project after Netflix’s Bard of Blood (2019).

Mouni Roy, Shriya Saran, Naseeruddin Shah, Rajeev Khandelwal, and Mahima Makwana can also be seen in prominent roles.

Merry Christmas

When: Now Streaming

Where: Netflix

On Christmas Eve of the 1980s, a man (Vijay Sethupathi) returns to Bombay from Dubai only to discover that his mother is no more. Drenched in his sorrow, he crosses paths with a gorgeous woman called Maria (Katrina Kaif), who got stood up on a date because she brought her daughter along. Romance sparks off and the two instantly hit it off. Everything was going rosy and the two ended up at her apartment. Soon suspense and crime take over when a dead body is discovered in the apartment. The film was filmed simultaneously in Hindi and Tamil.

Damsel

When: Now Streaming

Where: Netflix

Princess Elodie’s dream fairytale comes to a jerking halt when she realises that her marriage with a charming prince is a sham and that she has been welcomed by the royal family as a sacrifice to repay an ancient debt. Soon she finds herself trapped alone in a cave with a fire-breathing dragon. The rest of the film revolves around the damsel trying to make it out of the cave alive.

Maharani Season 3

When: Now Streaming

Where: SonyLiv

Rani Bharti is still in jail for the false accusation of attempting to murder her husband; not ready to apply for bail. The ambitious housewife-turned-politician decides to fight fairly for justice and strongly believes that the judicial system will prove her innocent. As ugly twists and turns take over, more drama unfurls in this political thriller exploring the dark underbelly of Bihar politics.

Ricky Stanicky

When: Now

Where: Prime Video

Three childhood friends (Zac Efron, Andrew Santino, Jermaine Fowler) decide to blame all their misbehaviours on an imaginary “Ricky Stanicky”. From Halloween pranks to getting out of uncomfortable situations, Ricky Stanicky has been their ultimate saviour and cover-up for almost two decades. However, when their families finally become suspicious of whether such a man exists, the trio decide to hire a washed-up actor called Rod (John Cena), who does poor impersonations of celebrities, makes songs on masturbation, and performs in a shady club. The raging alcoholic flop actor takes this role of a lifetime too seriously and immediately steals the show. Get ready for lots of laughter in this light-hearted comedy by Peter Farrelly.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Poacher, Avatar the Last Bender, Screen Actor Guild Awards and More: New OTT Releases This Week to Binge Watch This Weekend

Although there is just one Indian-original release this week in the form of Alia Bhatt produced Poacher — based on illegal ivory poaching in India — we also have quite a few other big names from across genres. For starters, Netflix will host the Screen Actor Guild Awards live for the first time, touted as a grand experiment for the streaming platform. The awards will start streaming at 5:00 am (IST).

Another high-budget release is Avatar: The Last Airbender, a live-action adaptation of the popular series of the same name on Netflix. However, if you have followed the original series back in the day, chances are high that you might not be as impressed with the adaptation. The series has attracted mixed reviews from critics and ardent fans.

Next, we have the final season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch on Disney+ Hotstar, in which the eponymous Bad Batch’s limits are tested.

On the international shore, there is Through My Window 3: Looking At You, the final chapter of the Spanish romance trilogy. It follows the typical romantic dilemmas and the inability to move on after separation. If you haven’t already binged on the first two parts, you can find them both on Netflix.

If you have an appetite for documentaries, you could go for the new British crime docu-series Can I Tell You A Secret? which gives a bone-chilling insight into a serial cyber stalker who made the life of countless women a living hell. Another choice could be Apple TV’s documentary on football legend Messi, which follows him along the five World Cups.

For comedy fanatics, Netflix dished out another comedy special: Mike Epps’s Ready to Sell Out. Here, the American stand-up comic gets candid about his finances, romantic life, and hilarious street observations.

In case you are wondering about Netflix’s documentary on the Sheena Bora murder case, which was supposed to be released on February 23, its release has been halted after the CBI pleaded to the Bombay High Court. The series is likely to premiere only after it gets a green light following a special screening of the series for the Central Bureau of Investigation (are there many cuts and edits in store?).

Well, that’s all for this week, folks. Happy binge-watching!

Poacher

When: Now Streaming

Where: Prime Video

Poacher is a gripping thriller drama about illegal elephant ivory poaching grappling the green lushes of South India. Here you’ll find a group of Indian Forest Service officers, NGO workers, police constables and Good Samaritans risk their lives for the cause. The series is a fictionalised account of true harrowing incidents. The show comes from Emmy Winning Delhi Crime’s creator Richie Mehta. Alia Bhatt has co- produced.

Avatar The Last Airbender

When: Now Streaming

Where: Netflix

If you remember Nickleodeon’s mega-hit show, you already know what this new release is about. Like the original animated version, the live-action adaptation is based in a world where some people, titled Avatar, have the superpower to manipulate one of the four elements—water, earth, fire or air—through “bending”. Gordon Cormier plays the 12-year-old Aang, a prodigious Airbender who has just discovered that he is the new Avatar, and he must now master all the four elemental powers, to save the world from the Fire Nation’s tyranny. Be prepared for a lot of special effects and impressive moves in this eight-episode-long series.

30th Screen Actor Guild Awards

When: February 24

Where: Netflix

Netflix has long been trying to delve into the live-streaming sector. The platform made its debut in the field with sports events and recently bought rights for the streaming of WWE RAW.

Screen Actor Guild Awards could kick start a new avenue of expansion for the platform. The event will honour the best achievements in film and television performances for the year 2023. While last year the ceremony was broadcast on Netflix’s YouTube channel, it is the first that Netflix will be streaming an event of this kind.

Some of the major films nominated across categories are Barbie, Maestro, Rustin, Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Color Purple and more. Among web series are Succession, The Morning Show, The Last of Us, Barry, and The Bear, among others.

Constellation

When: Now Streaming

Where: Apple TV+

Imagine you are an astronaut returning to the Earth after a major accident in space. But now a lot of pieces of your life are missing. Scary, isn’t it? Noomi Rapace steps into the shoes of this devastated astronaut in Apple TV’s latest psychological drama Constellation. All she has are broken memories and alarming findings to uncover the truth.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3

When: Now Streaming

Where: Disney+ Hotstar

The third season picks up shortly after the end of Season 2, with Omega (Michelle Ang) still under the grasp of the Empire. A lot of cliffhangers of the previous seasons are to be answered in this one.

The two new interesting terms introduced in the series are M-Count (microscopic life forms that reside in all living cells) and Project Necromancer, which revolves around securing Palpatine’s resurrection.

While this might be the final season for Star Wars: The Bad Batch, the first three episodes that the platform dropped today have confirmed multiple connections of the series with other Star Wars movies and shows, including Mandalorian. New episodes will air weekly until the conclusion on May 1, 2024.

Through My Window: Looking at You

When: Now

Where: Netflix

In case, you haven’t seen the first two parts, Through My Window films have a girl named Raquel as their protagonist, who is hopelessly in love with her neighbour Ares, whom she admires from her window. Ares, by the way, is oblivious to her existence, let alone her feelings. Things take an amusing turn when he starts reciprocating, despite his family’s protests.

Raquel and Ares went on their separate ways in part 2, but can’t seem to be able to move on in their lives. In this instalment, the duo is seeing other people, while struggling with the burning memories they share. Like a typical rom-com, when the two again cross paths, emotional turmoil is inevitable. Tune in to find out if they re-unite.

For details of the latest launches and news from Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus, Oppo and other companies at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, visit our MWC 2024 hub.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

From Dunki to Love Storiyaan: Here Are the Top 5 OTT Releases of the Week

The weekend is here and so are our binge-watch recommendations for the top OTT releases of the week. If you were expecting a lot of romance-themed releases for Valentine’s week like us, be prepared to be disappointed. There is only one major Indian original release for the week – Karan Johar’s Love Storiyaan, which is about six unique love stories, where love breaks free from the shackles of societal and cultural norms. Shah Rukh Khan’s box-office hit Dunki made its OTT premiere on Netflix on January 15, without much of a pre-buzz. It’s a heartwarming comedy by Rajkumar Hirani, which revolves around the subject of “donkey” path to entering a country illegally. Since the process is quite prevalent in the Indian state of Punjab, Hirani has rightly centred the film there. The Kerala Story has also finally been released on Zee5 after weeks of speculation. The controversial film chronicles alleged mass religious conversion of Hindu and Christian women in Kerala.

Among other post-theatrical releases are Prabhas starrer action-drama Salaar (Hindi dubbed version) and the Sci-Fi adventure film Dune, which follows a noble family that becomes embroiled in a war for control over the galaxy’s most prized asset. The sequel, Dune Part Two, is slated for release on March 1, by the way.

If you want to give new international releases a try, you could go for Polish comedy Kill Me If You Dare, German heartfelt drama The Heartbreak Agency, Japanese suspense show House of Ninjas, or the second season of the Jordanian teenage drama AlRawabi School for Girls.

For those looking for fresh comic content, Taylor Tomlinson’s third Netflix Special Have It All is now out. Here, Taylor speaks of her life post-breakup and addresses the age-old question: Can you have it all? However, I feel her previous two specials were way more entertaining than this one, which fails to recreate her previous style (or it’s probably because I was fangirling a lot on her prior stand-ups and had way too high expectations from her next endeavours).

For documentary enthusiasts, Netflix’s Einstein and the Bomb should do it. This docu-drama will take you inside the tortured mind of Einstein after he fled Germany. Get ready for a lot of archival footage and tonnes of melodrama.

Well, that’s all folks. Happy binge-watching!

The Kerala Story

Where: Zee5

When: Now Streaming

One of the most controversial releases of 2023, The Kerala Story, is now available to stream on Zeee5. Here, you’ll see Adah Sharma playing a nursing student brainwashed into converting to Islam, along with two of her friends. How she ends up joining the Islamic State, becomes an ISIS terrorist and lands up in an Afghanistan jail makes the crux of the story.

The film initially received a lot of backlash after it claimed that around 32,000 Hindu and Christian girls were involuntarily mass converted to Islam between 2016 and 2018, without solid proof. The promotional material was later taken down when the claims could not be backed by facts. The film stirred a lot of debates in the newsrooms, though.

Dunki

Where: Netflix

When: Now Streaming

Four old Indians in London who are terribly homesick and want to revisit their homeland but aren’t having any luck with the British Embassy. Desperate to get back, they seek help from Hardy Singh (Shah Rukh Khan), an ex-army man who helped them arrive in London in the first place via the illegal “Donkey” route – a phenomenon where people enter a foreign country illegally via multiple stops in other countries.

In Dunki, you’ll find funny scenes of people parroting English speeches to IELTS exam centres, emotional highs, and a sweet yet incomplete love story. Dunki made its Netflix debut on February 15, without much of a pre-buzz. The film marks Rajkumar Hirani’s (3 Idiots, Sanju) first collaboration with Shah Rukh Khan.

Love Storiyaan

Where: Prime Video

When: Now Streaming

Karan Johar’s Love Storiyaan was released on Prime Video on Valentine’s Day. The series brings to the platter six unique love stories, where romance triumphs over all socio-political odds.

Here you’ll meet a trans couple, cross-border lovers, the brimming romance of a Dalit activist and an Adivasi advocate, a love saga from Bangladesh’s Liberation Movement in 1971, two radio jockeys from rival stations falling for each other, and an unlikely couple facing opposition from their daughters.

The anthology series is inspired by stories from the Instagram handle India Love Project, where you’ll find love stories “outside the shackles of faith, caste, ethnicity & gender.”

Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire (Hindi version)

Where: Hotstar

When: Now Streaming

While the Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and English dubbed versions of this Prabhas starrer are already streaming on Netflix, the Hindi dubbed version made its OTT debut on Hotstar just now. In Salaar you’ll see a gang leader vowing to fulfil a dying friend’s wish by battling rival gangs. If you are a fan of South Indian action flicks, Salaar is a good choice to consider for your weekly binge-watch – packed with violence.

This is me… Now: A love story

Where: Prime Video

When: Now Streaming

If you have an appetite for Hollywood gossip, chances are that you are aware of Jennifer Lopez’s controversial love life. The American actress has been married four times. She is currently married to Ben Affleck, whom she remarried in 2022, almost two decades after their breakup.

In this one-of-its-kind documentary, you’ll walk through Lopez’s love life through her eyes. This is Me… Now is releasing alongside her first studio album in a decade, which has been titled the same.



Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Exit mobile version