Screen Time: Show time 2022: Crime dramas, sequels, Madhuri Dixit!
December 2021 ended with a bang! Bollywood heavyweights Raveena Tandon, Sushmita Sen, Richa Chaddha, Abhishek Bachchan, Rajkumar Rao, Sara Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar and Dhanush among others made their presence felt with works that spanned genres and brought forth evocative stories and performances. This year promises to be equally exciting, with a slew of shows lined up on various platforms. Here’s a handy guide.
Above: A still from Aranyak.
Year-end Favorites
It seemed like shows and films and stars were jostling for space in November and December last year. Kartik Aryan made his OTT debut in style as journalist Arjun Pathak in Ram Madhvani’s Dhamaka, a Netflix thriller. A remake of The Terror Live, a Korean film from 2013, it takes on the world of television journalism, the obsession with ratings and how it upends the lives of the people running it as well as the audience. Engaging in parts, the film is an opportunity for Aryan to display his acting chops, which he does with stellar support from the always reliable Amruta Subhash who plays his boss.
If you loved Madhvani’s Neerja, you might like this a little less, thanks to some choppy dialogues. Aryan’s frequent co-star, Nushrratt Bharucha, stars in Chhorii, an original Amazon Prime horror film with a social message. A remake of the Marathi-language film Lapachhapi, the film has some creepy jump scares and a solid performance from Mita Vashishth. The premise is interesting: a young couple are on the run from goons and take shelter in a house in the middle of thick, ominous sugarcane fields. The wife, heavily pregnant, soon learns that the house they are living in holds horrific secrets. While the story keeps the viewer hooked for the most part, the ending is a bit tame. Watch it if you absolutely need to watch every scary flick that comes out.
[Right] A still from Aarya. 
Two Bollywood divas battled for attention—one tracking down a “leopard-man” in the eerie jungles of Himachal and the other turning into a vengeful tigress to protect her kids from the bad guys. Raveena Tandon makes an impressive debut on OTT in Aranyak as Kasturi Dogra, a station officer of a fictional town called Sironah, where a serial killer is running amok. She shares screen space with the enigmatic Parambrata Chatterjee (of Kahani, Pari and Bulbbul fame) who plays the incoming station officer, Angad Mallik. Together they must uncover the identity of a mythical leopard-man, solve a murder, crack a decade-old kidnapping case, bust a drug cartel and expose the local politician involved in it. Seems excessive, but the chemistry between the two lead characters keeps you hooked. Watch it while you nurse a warm drink.
If you are done with the slap-happy Dogra, there’s the gun-toting Aarya Sareen to look forward to. Played with aplomb by Sushmita Sen in Ram Madhvani’s Aarya (Season 2 on Hotstar/Hulu), Sareen returns to India to give testimony against her husband’s killers (we are hoping you’ve caught the first season) and is fighting to save her family, once again! The actress is sensational as usual, snarling at her enemies while sporting a cigar and a gulal-streaked face. The supporting cast is shrill and the pace can be tedious in places, much like the first season, but Sen manages to shake things up with her villainous turn. Switching gears, if you are a die-hard cricket fan, the third season of Inside Edge (Amazon Prime) will enthrall. This season digs further into the back stories of Zarina Malik (Richa Chaddha), a fading actress and owner of a cricket team; Vikrant Dhawan (Vivek Oberoi), owner of a sports management company; and Yashvardhan Patil (Amir Bashir), the cricket board president. Lots of sleaze, action, drama and obviously cricket make for a compelling viewing experience.
Aanand L. Rai’s Atrangi Re! on Hotstar has already created a lot of buzz because of its star cast. Sara Ali Khan will be seen romancing Dhanush and Akshay Kumar. Look out for a review of this hatke relationship drama in a forthcoming issue!
Highlights of 2022
Netflix:
Mai: After making an impression on both critics and audiences with Pataal Lok, Anushka Sharma’s production company, Clean Slate Films, is gearing up to impress again. This time with Mai, which “follows timid Sheel into an entanglement with crime and politics that will forever change her and the world she inhabits.” Sakshi Tanwar (Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki) plays the titular role of a middle-aged wife and mother, Sheel, and is supported by an exciting star cast that includes Seema Pahwa, Vivek Mushran and Wamiqa Gabbi among others.
[Bottom] A still from Finding Anamika.
Finding Anamika: Who’s the global celebrity that disappears, setting off an intense search? Madhuri Dixit, of course! The iconic actress stars in this series directed by Bejoy Nambiar and Karishma Kohli. Dixit reunites with former co-star Sanjay Kapoor. Seems entertaining.
Rana Naidu: Venkatesh Daggubati and his nephew, actor Rana Daggubati, team up for this interesting adaptation of the popular American TV series Ray Donovan, which followed the story of a man who’s a professional fixer—someone who takes care of his clients by any means necessary. Liev Schreiber played Ray while the legendary Jon Voight played his father. We are waiting to see if the Daggubatis can match those memorable performances.
Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen: How about obsessive lovers willing to go to any lengths to acquire their object of affection? Get ready for this one! The series, starring Shweta Tripathi (Mirzapur) and Tahir Raj Bhasin (Mardaani), is about a politician’s daughter who will do anything to get the man she wants. Man in question must take drastic steps to save his life and his sanity!
Besides these new titles, get the popcorn ready for the following sequels scheduled to hit Netflix this year. Mismatched: A coming-of-age romantic drama based on Sandhya Menon’s 2017 novel When Dimple Met Rishi. Masaba Masaba: Comic shenanigans of fashion designer, Masaba Gupta, and her mother (real and reel life), Neena Gupta. Delhi Crime: The first season of this crime drama was based on the 2012 Delhi gangrape case. In season 2, Shefali Shah reprises her role as DCP Vartika Chaturvedi. Rasika Duggal and Rajesh Tailang are expected to reprise their roles as well.
Amazon Prime Video:
Made in Heaven (Season 2): When Made in Heaven, the romantic web drama about the lives of two wedding planners in Delhi, was released in 2019, it created an impression like never before. The first season featured Arjun Mathur, Sobhita Dhulipala, Jim Sarbh, Shashank Arora, Kalki Koechlin and Shivani Raghuvanshi. The Covid-19 pandemic delayed the shoot of the second season, but word is that the series is ready for release in 2022.
[Right] A still from Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein.
Hush Hush: New series alert! Tanuja Chandra (Qarib Single) is teaming up with writer Juhi Chaturvedi (Piku and Gulabo Sitabo) to bring this thriller to Prime. Reportedly, a gaggle of stars including Juhi Chawla, Kritika Kamra, Soha Ali Khan, Ayesha Jhulka, Karishma Tanna and Shahana Goswami will be part of the ensemble cast.
Citadel: Priyanka Chopra has just wrapped up her schedule for this Russo brothers’ show, described by Amazon as an “action-packed spy series with a compelling emotional center.” The show also has Scottish star Richard Madden (Game of Thrones), and Varun Dhawan is rumored to be part of the Indian spin off.
New series, new platform?
The Railwaymen: Indian production house Yash Raj Films (YRF) is launching a streaming content production business, YRF Entertainment, which has picked The Railway Men, about the 1984 Bhopal industrial disaster, as its first project. Directed by newcomer Shiv Rawail, the project is described as “a tribute to the railway workers at Bhopal station who are the unsung heroes of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy. Thousands of people died and more than 500,000 were exposed to toxic gas following the leak at the Union Carbide India pesticide plant in Bhopal. The Railway Men will star R. Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon, Divyenndu Sharma and actor Irrfan Khan’s son, Babil Khan. YRF’s releases scheduled for OTT include Bunty Aur Babli 2, Prithviraj (Akshay Kumar), Jayeshbhai Jordaar (Ranveer Singh) and Shamshera (Ranbir Kapoor).
Baisakhi Roy is a culture writer and journalist based in Ontario, Canada. Her work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, Huffington Post Canada, Chatelaine, Broadview and CBC. Formerly a reporter with The Indian Express in India, Roy is an avid Bollywood fan and co-hosts the Hindi language podcast KhabardaarPodcast.com. Email: baisakhi.roy@gmail.com
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