YEAR BOOK 2023: A look at some of the series that stood out in the web space
Sheetal
Going by the number of releases in 2023, Indian OTT industry seems to have become as big as Bollywood! From thrillers, period dramas, survival stories, India’s first cli-fi series to shows based on true incidents, OTT platforms offered a sea of entertainment options. We take a look at the best among the lot.
Ace up the sleeve
Trust Zoya Akhtar to bring her best even if she made a late entry into the digital domain. The creator duo, Reema Kagti and Zoya, brought Dahaad, which fetched not only views but appreciation from critics. Inspired from the real-life criminal, Mohan Kumar, also known as Cyanide Mohan, it is the first ever Indian web series to premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. Dahaad also stars Vijay Varma, Gulshan Devaiah, Sonakshi Sinha and Sohum Shah in pivotal roles.
Kagti-Zoya again tasted success with the second season of Made In Heaven. It also propagated LGBTQIA+ representation as one of the transgender woman’s role was played by a trans-woman, Trinetra Haldar, herself.
Fans of directors Raj & DK didn’t miss much, even though their claim to fame web series The Family Man’s upcoming season gave 2023 a miss! It’s because the creators were busy working on two other web series, Netflix’s Farzi and Prime Video’s Guns & Gulaabs, which showcased the story of two completely different worlds. Shahid Kapoor made his digital debut with Farzi, whereas Guns & Gulaabs stars Rajkummar Rao, Gulshan Devaiah and Adarsh Gourav. In March, Farzi made headlines for becoming the most-watched Indian web series of all time! Guns & Gulaabs was also one of the last works of late actor Satish Kaushik.
Rewind and replay
The series Trial By Fire, based on the tragic fire incident in Uphaar cinema, Delhi, impressed the audiencetoo. It was adapted from the book Trial by Fire: The Tragic Tale of the Uphaar Fire Tragedy, authored by Neelam Krishnamoorthy and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy, the grieving parents who lost their two children in the incident. Actors Rajshri Deshpande and Abhay Deol played their roles, respectively.
Soon after, Hansal Mehta’s series Scoop catapulated actress Karsihma Tanna to limelight, as she played the formal journalist, Jigna Vora, on screen. Adapted from her biographical memoir, Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison, the series gives a visual memory to her unfortunate story. Vora was accused of the murder of mid-day reporter Jyotirmoy Dey in June 2011, but acquitted later.
Netflix and Yash Raj Films collaborated successfully for the series The Railway Men, based around the 1984 Bhopal Gas Leak. Starring Kay Kay Menon as station master Iftekaar Siddiqui, it has a talented star cast, including R Madhavan, Babil Khan, Divyenndu, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Juhi Chawla and others.
Rocket Boys Season 2, released in March, remained true to history, as Jim Sarbh and Ishwak Singh breathed life into the characters of late Indian scientists Homi J. Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai, respectively. Sarbh even earned an Emmy nomination for Best Actor.
Vikramaditya Motwane brought back the golden era of Bollywood in the fictionalised tale, Jubilee, starring Wamiqa Gabbi and Aparashakti Khurana.
On the grey side
The surprise packages of the year were web series Kohrra and Kaala Paani. If Kohrra, directed by Randeep Jha, shifted the focus to Punjab, its murky police procedurals and deadly winter, Sameer Saxena and Amit Golani’ Kaala Paani transported one to the unexplored jungles of Andaman & Nicobar. A survival drama, it revealed the true nature of humans in the face of adversity.
The season two of Asur, titled Asur: Welcome to Your Dark Side, also impressed, while The Jengaburu Curse, India’s first series on climate change, also known as climate-fiction (cli-fi), also registered its presence. Directed by Nila Madhab Panda, it uncovered the dark international conspiracy endangering many lives.
Streaming debuts
Shahid Kapoor stole the limelight in the list of OTT debut of 2023 with two projects, web series Farzi and an OTT film Bloody Daddy. Actor Vijay Sethupathi also made his OTT debut with much-loved series Farzi. Talking of actresses, Sonakshi Sinha’s cop avatar in Dahaad and Dimple Kapadia as the drug lord in Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo impressed.
The Night Manager was lauded for the deadly chemistry of Aditya Roy Kapoor and Sobhita Dhulipala, and Anil Kapoor’s stint as a villain. Successful web series, Rana Naidu and Taaza Khabar, also added two more names, Rana Daggubati and Bhuvan Bam, into the OTT space.
