From Madhuri to Raveena to Sanya, Netflix’s new titles present a galaxy of stars

By S Ravi

New Delhi, March 4: The insatiable appetite for films in India, has spurred Netflix to continue to invest in content for its streaming platform here. It announced release of 41 show, films and documentaries this year.

With its 1.3 billion people, India is a vast and valuable market for Netflix, the US streaming service and its rivals Amazon's Prime Video and Walt Disney Co's Disney+ Hotstar. The reach of digital platforms is immense. While Disney Hotstar has over 30 million paying subscribers, Netflix which had five million is growing as it signed a deal with the country's largest telecom operator Jio. YouTube reaches out to more than 400 million users.

The Netflix line-up includes films with top Bollywood actors, stand-up comedy shows and original series, said the company's blog post with most of them being in Hindi. Among those popular directors and actors who will feature in these titles are Madhuri Dixit, Karan Johar, Manoj Bajpayee, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Arjun Rampal, Kartik Aaryan, Sanya Malhotra, Arjun Kapoor, R. Madhavan, Raveena Tandon, Neena Gupta, Dhanush and others.

Karan Johar has announced his five upcoming projects that will be released on the streaming platform while Anushka Sharma's Mai is also a part of the new projects. Mother and daughter, Neena Gupta and Masaba will be back with the second season of Masaba Masaba.

Other titles scheduled for release include Bombay Begums, stories of five women grappling with desire, ethics and personal crises and a comedy penned by Manu Joseph, Decoupled, on India and marriage. Kota Factory earlier shown on YouTube will stream its second season on Netflix and so will the fourth season of Little Things.

Comedy specials will include shows by Sumukhi Suresh, Aakaash Gupta, Rahul Dua and Prashasti Singh.

"We are so excited to share these rich and diverse stories from the best and brightest creators and talent from India to the world," observed Monika Shergill, Vice President, Content at Netflix India.

According to her, "Our upcoming line-up features more variety and diversity than we have seen before. From the biggest films and series, to gripping documentaries and reality, and bold comedy formats. We are taking our next big leap in India to bring you more than 40 powerful and irresistible stories from all corners of the country."

Incidentally, Netflix had committed to spending about $420 million on locally produced Indian content in 2019 and 2020, is spending significantly more this year on India line-up.

Here are some of the titles that will hit Netflix:

'Pagglait'
Written and directed by Umesh Bist, this movie stars Sanya Malhotra and is about a young widow who is unable to shed any tears or feel any amount of sadness for her bereaved partner. With everybody starts commenting on behaviour, Sanya seeks to find out what is 'wrong' with her.

'Aranyak'
A mysterious, intriguing story based in Himachal will mark actress Raveena Tandon's debut on the digital medium. She plays the character of Kasturi, who struggles to balance her professional and personal life.

'Finding Anamika'
This web series is a suspense drama and explores the life of a global superstar, who is a wife and mom and goes missing suddenly. It features Madhuri Dixit Nene, Sanjay Kapoor, Manav Kaul, Lakshvir Saran, Suhasini Muley and Muskkaan Jafari. It is helmed by Karishma Kohli and Bejoy Nambiar,

'Sardar Ka Grandson'
This family entertainment features Arjun Kapoor, Rakul Preet Singh, Neena Gupta and Aditi Rao Hydari, and is directed by Kaashvie Nair and produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar. Kapoor.

'Bombay Begums'
Actor and filmmaker Pooja Bhatt makes a full-fledged comeback with the Netflix female-led show Bombay Begums after a cameo in her father Mahesh Bhatt's film Sadak 2. Directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, it features Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash, Plabita Borthakur and Aadhya Anand in pivotal roles.

'Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein'
A dark comical desi pulp thriller, Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein, is about wealth, power and love. The actors in it Tahir Raj Bhasin, Shweta Tripathi, Anchal Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Surya Sharma, Brijendra Kala, Arunoday Singh and others.

'Meenakshi Sunderashwar'
Directed by Vivek Soni, this film has Sanya Malhotra and Abhimanyu Dassani in the lead roles. It is a romantic comedy presumably involving the concept of a long-distance relationship.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

Source: IANS