Top OTT releases this week: Ae Watan Mere Watan, Lootere, Fighter and more

This week we have a hot buffet of new digital releases in a variety of genres. We have two Indian originals, post-theatrical releases, a big-budget sci-fi saga and Marvel Studio’s hit series returning.

One of the major releases of the week is Sara Ali Khan’s Ae Watan Mere Watan, which takes you to pre-independence Bombay. Khan is seen in the role of famous freedom fighter Usha Mehta. Although the gallant leader dedicated her entire life to India, this Amazon Original takes you to the Quit India movement as college-going Usha starts an illegal radio station to broadcast messages from prominent leaders from various secret locations.

Next up is Hansal Mehta’s Lootere, which will revolve around a cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates in Africa. The show gives a refreshing break from the repetitive storylines in crime thrillers and will keep you guessing as to what comes next.

Netflix’s 3 Body Trouble is another big-budget release of the week. It offers an impressive cocktail of cultural, social and scientific conundrums.

Marvel Studios also has a big release in the form of X-Men’ 97, a revival of sorts for the long-running hit show, X-Men: The Animated Series. However, it is yet to be confirmed if the show is ushering in other live-action adaptations. Another big Marvel release slated for release this year is Wolverine & Deadpool.

In addition to those listed below, the Netflix biopic Shirley is also a good weekend viewing option that brings from the pages of American history the fascinating story of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to the United States Congress.

Fans of true crime documentaries can watch Murder: New York on Netflix, in which investigators, police and detectives discuss some of the most famous murder cases.

With that, here are the best OTT releases of the week that we recommend.

Ae Watan Mere Watan

When: Now streaming

Where: Prime Video

During the Quit India Movement of 1942, a young student in Bombay recognized the power of radio and set up an illegal clandestine radio station to broadcast messages from Mahatma Gandhi and other prominent leaders throughout India with the help of a few amateur radio operators.

Although this venture lasted only three months, it played an important role in India’s struggle for independence.

In this biopic, Sara Ali Khan plays the student Usha Mehta, who later emerges as an important figure in Indian history. The film will tell you in detail how the rebel freedom fighter started and continued to run this station from various undisclosed locations and the various challenges she faced.

The fact that she was a Gandhian and her father, a judge under the British Raj, opposed her actions is also depicted.

Fighter

When: Now streaming

Where: Netflix

Fighter is a visually striking patriotic drama about a couple of Indian Air Force fighter pilots who have sworn to protect their nation against all threats and dangers. These valiant officers include Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Karan Singh Grover and Manushi Chhillar, led by Squadron Leader Anil Kapoor. Hrithik’s character is a rebel who doesn’t shy away from breaking the rules when it comes to justice, an attitude that doesn’t go down well with Anil Kapoor’s squadron commander, causing the two to fight each other in almost every scene.

If you find yourself amazed by the mannerisms of some characters who seem too professional, it’s because these are real-life Indian Air Force cadets bringing some of their daily lives to the movie screen. You will also find many references to the 2019 Pulwama attack, the 2019 Balakot airstrike and the 2019 India-Pakistan border skirmishes.

Because Fighter used the same cinematic techniques as Dune and other James Bond films, it offers plenty of jaw-dropping aerial action sequences, some of which will probably remind you of Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick.

Lootere

When: Now streaming

Where: Hotstar

Hansal Mehta’s (Scam 1992) takes you to Somali waters where a cargo ship with an Asian crew is hijacked by Somali pirates. The ship is owned by Vikrant, a nicotine-addicted businessman of Indian origin who has much more at stake than meets the eye and is desperate to be retrieved. Rajat Kapoor plays the captain of the ship and gives a great performance.

The eight-episode show will give you an insight into the crime, corruption and dark secrets lurking in African waters, with a special focus on Indian businessmen who have been established there for decades. Get ready for thrills, twists and turns, a taste of the dark murky of the criminal world.

The first two episodes have been released and the remaining eight will be released weekly. Filmed in Hindi, Lootere can also be streamed in Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam and Kannada.

3 Body problem

When: Now streaming

Where: Netflix

3 Body Problem is a science fiction drama adapted from the novel of the same name by Chinese engineer and author Liu Cixin, which serves as the first in the Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy.

The show opens with an astrophysicist witnessing the public execution of his father during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Interrupted in the future, she is taken to a secret radar base by the military. Meanwhile, in the present, many strange unexplained phenomena occur – many physicists commit suicide, prominent research is found to be wrong, and all the stars blink and go out!

Overall, the show offers plenty of complex scientific problems, cultural challenges, alien dangers, and plenty of suspense. The show was adapted for television by Game of Thrones creators David Benioff, DB Weiss and Alexander Wu.

X-MEN ’97

When: Now streaming

Where: Hotstar

X-Men ’97 is a spin-off of X-Men: The Animated Series that ran from 1992-1995. The show picks up right after the events of the original series and introduces viewers to a world where the leader of the X-Men, Professor X, is no longer in charge – leaving his protégés, Cyclops and Jean Grey, in charge.

The world still somewhat dislikes the mutant X-Men, who are hell-bent on saving the world from all dangers anyway, regardless of the bigotry they face on a daily basis.

Many actors from the original series lent their voices, including Cal Dodd, Lenore Zahn, George Buzza, Catherine Disher, Chris Potter, Alison Seeley-Smith, Adrian Hough, Christopher Britton, Alison Court, Lawrence Bane and Ron Rubin. The first two episodes are already out, while the rest will be released every Wednesday at 12:30 PM IST.