Together, they can!

Mona

The world of OTT saw its favourites of 2023 recently, and Indian series Farzi took the second spot at the Global Top Rated Series of 2023 by IMDb. The reigning favourite The Last of Us undoubtedly took to the top spot, while Jury Duty, Beef and Cunk on Earth were placed in the third, fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Silo, Daisy Jones & the Six, Shrinking, The Diplomat and Poker Face made it to the top 10 of 2023 list so far.

Farzi is the only Indian and Hindi web series on the list. “Worldwide number 2. Ab toh second season banana hi padega…,” shared an ecstatic Shahid Kapoor, who debuted on OTT with this web series. The series also marked National award-winning Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi’s Hindi OTT debut.

Raj & DK directed Farzi, the eight-episode series dropped on February 10, 2023, on Amazon Prime Video. Receiving favourable reviews, it became one of the most-watched Indian series.

Looks like Raj & DK Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D. K. the two Andhra Pradesh engineers, who gave up their careers as software engineers in America to pursue their passion of filmmaking, have hit upon the formula to win the audience. Not just their films Go Goa Gone and Stree got acceptance despite being different from the usual Bollywood fare, but they made waves in the OTT world with the show The Family Man, and Farzi.

Here is quick look at their OTT world:

The Family Man

This espionage thriller, created and written by Raj & DK made Srikant Tiwari, brilliantly played by Manoj Bajpayee, a household name. An Amazon series that has seen two successful seasons in 2019 and 2021, starred Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi, Neeraj Madhav, Pawan Chopra and Samantha Ruth Prabhu. It made to the most viewed web series on Amazon Prime Video soon after release. Enjoying a robust rating of 8.7 on IMDb, the fans are eagerly awaiting its third outing that reportedly has Covid pandemic as its backdrop.

Farzi

Standing tall in the 2023 top favourite list so far, Farzi enjoys an 8.4 rating at IMDb. This black comedy crime thriller, created, written and directed by Raj & DK, follows a disillusioned artiste, Sunny, who, frustrated with unequal income in the country, gets into counterfeit currency. Gripping, thrilling, a story with superb execution made Raj & DK repeat their OTT success. Its season two is reportedly around the corner

Up next

Guns & Gulaabs

Raj & DK again turn creators, writers and directors for another crime thriller Guns & Gulaabs. Unlike their previous two, the platform for this Rajkummar Rao, Dulquer Salmaan, Adarsh Gourav, Gulshan Devaiah and Pooja Gor-starrer is Netflix. The makers call it ‘deliciously wicked tale of crime, love and innocence that blends romance of the 90s with a fast-paced crime thriller’.

Citadel: INDIA

This duo gets more ambitious as it joins Amazon’s global spy franchise led by Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden. Citadel’s Indian spin off, Citadel: India, stars Varun Dhawan, marking his OTT debut, and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who is collaborating with the directors second time around after The Family Man. The shoot for the series has almost been completed and it’s due for a release towards the end of 2023.

Gulkanda Tales

Touted as their first comedy series, for Gulkanda Tales Raj & DK roped in Pankaj Tripathi, Kunal Kemmu and Abhishek Bannerjee in the lead roles. Shot in the scenic Leh and Ladakh, this show too is expected towards the end of the 2023. As we look forward to more, the director duo remain humble and grounded. “Each new series is a new test,” they echo.