New OTT releases this week: Laapataa Ladies, Ranneeti: Balakot & Beyond, Chacha Vidhayak Hain Humare Season 3 and more

With most of the big titles lined up for release next week, this has a relatively lighter slate. Among the top Indian originals this week are Prime Video’s teen drama Dil Dosti Dilemma, Amazon miniTV’s hilarious Chacha Vidhayak Hain Humare Season 3 and JioCinema’s political thriller Ranneeti: Balakot & Beyond, based on the Balakot airstrike.

Among the major post-theatrical releases is Laapataa Ladies, about two young village brides who get lost on a train. We also have Crakk: Jeetega… Toh Jiyegaa, which is a story about men fighting for survival, not just victory.

This week is also rich in documentaries. Nature lovers can watch tiger or Tigers on the rise on Hotstar. True crime lovers could watch the Chilean series The Doomsday Cult of Antares de la Luz or the Spanish series The Assunta case.

For those with a musical ear we recommend Thank you Good Night: The Bon Jovi Storywhich chronicles the four decades of the iconic rock band.

Those looking for an adrenaline rush can look to Netflix City hunterwhere a “sweeper” tracks down attackers and solves cases in the shadows of Shinjuku, Tokyo or K-drama Goodbye Earthwhere only 200 days remain until an asteroid collides with Earth.

Top OTT releases this week

With that, here are this week’s top OTT releases worth binge-watching:

Laapataa Ladies

When: Now streaming

Where: Netflix

Laapata Ladies is a heartwarming film by Kiran Rao set in the rural areas of a fictional village where two newlyweds in matching dresses and endless ‘ghoonghats’ (veils) get lost from the same train – Phool Kumari (Nitanshi Goel) gets lost at the railway station and can’t remember the name of her husband’s village and Jaya (Pratibha Ranta) lands in the wrong ‘sasural’ (swat).

As Kumari desperately tries to get back to her in-laws, Jaya does everything in her power to keep this casual exchange a secret.

Laapataa Ladies beautifully portrays the position of women in society through a satirical prism and offers some good dialogues, hearty doses of laughter and an emotional roller coaster ride – all in a simplistic manner. It also brought Rao back from her long film hiatus, last directing Dhobi Ghat (2010).

Dil Dosti Dilemma

When: Now streaming

Where: Prime Video

Asmara (Anushka Sen) is a full-fledged, spoiled brat from a rich family whose life revolves around fashion, parties, shopping, social media and the validation of two of her best friends (Revathy Pillai, Elisha Major) – who are equally spoiled and they would judge anyone who wasn’t cool by their standard. In a few days she is leaving for Canada. However, all her dreams come crashing down when her mother (Shruti Seth) decides to cancel her trip and instead send Asmara to her grandmother’s (Tanvi Azmi) house in Tibri after realizing that Asmara has lost respect for her culture, roots and even elders.

Even though Asmara is in a small town, every morning she prepares a backdrop of Canadian skyscrapers to video call her best friends, who think she’s on vacation abroad—and their lives go awry in their own way.

The series is a typical teenage drama with a predictable plot. It’s a light watch that touches on topics covered many times before. You can easily turn off your brain while streaming this.

Crakk: Jeetega… Toh Jiyegaa

When: Now streaming

Where: Hotstar

Vidyut Jammwal starrer Crakk.. Jeetega To Jeeyega will take you into the dangerous world of extreme sports where winning is the only way to survive. Here, Jamwal essays the role of a common man from the slums of Mumbai who rises from a life of anonymity to become a big name in these sports where one has to stake one’s life with every breath. Jamwal, who has undergone proper training in Kalaripayattu, the equivalent of Indian martial arts, performs some jaw-dropping stunts in the film. Nora Fatehi has also done some action scenes. The film was widely promoted as India’s first film based on the dark world of extreme sports.

Chacha Vidhayak Hain Humare Season 3

When: Now streaming

Where: Amazon miniTV

Zakir Khan’s drama series, in which the comedian plays Ronny Bhaiya, a man who lies that his uncle is an MLA and aspires to become one someday, is back with the third installment. This season Ronnie Bhaiya is threatened by politician Ashwini Pathak (Abhimanyu Singh) to stay away from politics or else his relatives will have to pay the price for his actions. While Zakir’s character succumbs to the gang leader’s demands, he finds it challenging to refrain from helping others. It goes without saying that this hangs over him now that his lifelong plan to become an MLA is no longer an option. Following the tone of the previous two seasons, a series of hilariously unexpected events unfolds.

Ranneeti: Balakot and beyond

When: Now streaming

Where: JioCinema

Adding to the already long list of Indian shows and movies based on the Indian Air Force’s Balakot bombing of an alleged terror group training camp in Pakistan is Jiocinema’s latest original series, Ranneeti: Balakot & Beyond.

It recounts the incident with an intelligence officer (Jimmy Shergill) in the limelight, now suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) after a mission gone horribly wrong. What sets the show apart from others on the same topic is its look at the crucial importance of social media in determining the fate of a nation and Pakistan’s clever portrayal of the incident in the global media.

Ashutosh Rana plays an important terrorist figure in this nine-part series. The launch of the show also coincides with Jiocinema’s announcement of pocket-friendly subscription plans starting at Rs. 29 per month. The show is also available for streaming in Bengali, Kannada and Marathi.

The Big Door Prize Season 2

When: Now streaming

Where: Apple TV+

The Big Door Prize is about a small town whose fate is changed forever when a mysterious machine begins to reveal the “true potentials” of the residents, pushing them to listen to their inner calling. Now that the machine has become a central object in rewriting the destinies of so many people, its announcement of the “next stage” should usher in anticipation and curiosity.

The second season picks up after their revelation and offers a perfect blend of comedy, drama, emotional nuances and the complexity of human nature. The show comes from the creators of the popular Canadian sitcom Schitt’s Creek and features a core cast of Chris O’Dowd, Dennis, Mackie, Gupton, Segarra, Fox, Fulas and Amara. New and returning guest stars include Justin Lupe, Aaron Roman Weiner, Mary Holland, Patrick Kerr, Cocoa Brown, Carrie Barrett, Elizabeth Hunter, Jim Meskimen, Matt Delapina and Melissa Ponzio.

(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published by a syndicated channel.)