Best of South films 2021 on OTT

 

2021 saw the domination of South Indian films on OTT platforms.  The list of films on OTT selected here will show that majority of them are from Kerala film industry- cannot help it. That’s the reality. Content and treatment took these language films to other regions and earned them a good name and respect for the respective film industry.

  For Malayalam cinema, 2021 opened up the OTT window in a big way with The Great Indian Kitchen released on January 15^th. Initially on a local OTT Neestream, it got on Amazon Prime to create a  craze for films from Kerala and soon streaming giants were lapping up films in that language to satisfy the new found love for Malayalam films among their subscribers. Suraj Venjaramoodu- Nimisha in the lead and Joe Baby as director, the film was not only a critics delight but also  viewers. IMDb rating was 8.3/ 10.

 

Jai Bhim ( Tamil); IMDb Rating: 9.4

Director: T.J. Gnanavel

Actors: Suriya, Liji Mol Jose, Manikandan

Platform: Amazon Prime Video

A real life story that captured the viewer’s imagination. Suriya who played the lawyer on a mission to trace out a `missing’ hubby based on a wife’s complaint was superb and won him all round admiration from movie buffs across India.

Drishyam 2 ( Malayalam)

IMDb Rating: 8.6

Director: Jeethu Joseph

Actors: Mohanlal, Meena, Murali Gopy

Platform: Amazon Prime Video

A sequel that outdid the first part.. The reopening of the case that was closed and cops this time nearing the real killer and accomplices keeps you on tenterhooks. Mohanlal as the simpleton small town guy just lives the role.

 

Cinema Bandi ( Telugu)

MDb Rating: 8.1

Director: Praveen Kandregula

Actors: Vikas Vasistha, Sandeep Varanasi, Rag Mayur

Platform: Netflix

A novel story of a movie camera that falls in the hands of a few villagers and how it changes their life. The proceedings make it a must watch.

 

Yuvarathna ( Kannada)

IMDb Rating: 6.7

Director: Santhosh Ananddram

Actors: Puneeth Rajkumar, Sayyesha Saigal

Platform: Amazon Prime Video 

 

 The film’s story line is not novel but the screenplay was interesting. A college Principal who battles the political system as the Government policy  favours private education is going to close down his college ,is the plot. The film was a blockbuster and film released on April 3021 was a big hit on OTT after October 2021, when movie buffs of other languages   pulled out this movie to see Puneeth Rajkumar who died at a young age of 45 due to heart attack. This is the last film of Puneeth.

 

Aarkariyam ( Malayalam)

IMDb Rating: 6.9

Director: Sanu John Varughese

Actors: Biju Menon, Parvati, Sharafudeen

Platform: Amazon Prime Video

 The plot is a bit quirky and mainly watchable as Biju Menon plays an old man to perfection, A  son in law and his wife who comes to visit the father in law and find that his wife has a past that even she does not known. The film keeps you guessing on whether the father in law’s story is right.

 

Karnan (Tamil)

IMDb Rating: 8.2

Director: Mari Selvaraj

Actors: Dhanush, Lal, Rijisha Vijayan

Platform: Amazon Prime Video

 Loosely based on the Dharmapuri bus burning that turned fatal, film brings out the caste system and the oppression by upper castes and police on an entire village since it dares to stand up for a youth who speaks for them. One of Dhanush’s career best.

 

PukkuSatte Lifu ( Kannada)

IMDb Rating: 9.1

Director: Aravind Kuplikar

Actors: Sanchari Vijay, Achyut Kumar, Matangi Prasanna

Platform: Zee5

 

The film was not promoted big. A simpleton key maker living in one Bangalore’s by lanes meets with a group of cops who are crooked and this changes his simple life.  The screenplay is riveting,

 

 Nayattu ( Malayalam)

IMDb Rating: 8.1

Director: Martin Prakkat

Actors: Kunchako Boban, Joju George, Nimisha Sajayan

Platform: Netflix

 A look at the way Kerala Police system functions through the eyes of their own people in uniform is brought out vividly. A Head constable and two junior cops on the run for an accidental death of a man brings out the casteist outllook of politicians and how senior police officers dance to their tune.

 

Mandela (Ttamil)

IMDb Rating: 8.5

Director: Madonne Ashwin

Actors: Yogi Babu, Sheela Rajkumar, Sangili Murugan

Platform: Netflix

 A village barber who was treated as an animal begins to get royal service as he managed to get a voter ID . His casting vote will decide on who should be a village head. A satirical look at the present system of buying votes with cash.

 

·         Sarpatta Parambarai (Tamil) - Amazon Prime Video

A well written fleshed out characters, good performances by not only the main lead but also the small time actors, a novel story set in the 70’s when boxing clubs in North Madras flourished. Actor Arya’s career best performances. Director Pa Ranjith’s finest works.

 

Operation Java : Malayalam ( Zee 5)

In theatres it did  an impressive business but got its due when released on OTT. The working of a cyber crime cell and how two jobless youths become part of it to crack a inter State crime racket is realistic told.

 

 Joji ( Malaylam) Amazon Prime Video

A hit on OTT as many were just aazed at the acting of Faahad Faasil in the family drama set in Central Kerala’s Christian planters region.

 

 Kala ( Malayalam) Amazon Prime Video

A film set in the plantation area where a servant and a master get into a ego battle that takes a turn to physical violence and of a hunter and the hunted. Tovino Thomas whose OTT release Minnal Murali is garnering praise had tasted his first acclaim on OTT platform through Kala.

 

 Jathi Ratnalu ( Telugu) Amazon Prime Video

A box office hit with no big star cast and just on strength of the content and actors performances.

Directed by	Anudeep KV
Written by	Anudeep KV
Produced by	Nag Ashwin
Starring	·         Naveen Polishetty ·         Priyadarshi ·         Rahul Ramakrishna ·         Faria Abdullah

 A big hit on OTT too as the subject was universal and comedy enjoyable.

 

Kaanekkaane (SonyLIV) ; ( Malayalam)  A revenge drama that kkeps you spell bound and does not have all bad guys and good guys but humans with emotions. Suraj Venjramoodu through his gaze alone conveyed al that was to be said.

 

ACT 1978 ( Kannada) Amazon Prime Video

The Karnataka Civil Services Act of 1978 protects government officials from dismissal. This law is misused by many, and results in injustice to common people all the time. The movie holds a mirror to the system. The movie released in first lot after lifting of Covid restrictions. On OTT it was a big hit.

 

 Some films like Nizhal- Home- Cold Case-Malik-  Kuruthi in Malayalam has won lot of appreciation from OTT viewers but short listing 2021 list, I feel they are just passable.
We have not gone into the December OTT releases as we have reviewed some and and a few pending. With movie halls opening, My time is divided between Theatre and OTT.

 

 

Regional content would be OTT driver shows Ormax Media survey

Regional OTT players or regional content would be the driving force for OTT in India. Analyzing the The Ormax OTT Audience Report 2021. conducted from May- July 2021 based on a survey across urban and rural regions, the report points out that only 11% of the total OTT subscribers in India are from metros. Bengaluru- Delhi and Mumbai are the top 3 metros that has highest OTT subscribers. Also 35% of the paid subscriptions are from these areas.

The survey shows that  currently 96 Million active paid OTT subscriptions in India, across 40.7 Million paying (SVOD) audiences, i.e., an average of 2.4 subscriptions per paying audience member. 66% of these paid subscriptions are with the male audience. Indian OTT audience universe is currently at 353.2 Million (or 35.32 Crore) people. This translated into a penetration of 25.3%, which means that one in four Indians watched online videos at least once in the last month. Top 3 metros have 8 million subscribers each.

This means that close to 90 % of the OTT subscribers are in non metros and rural - Tier 2 cities.  This kind of changes  the perception that OTT content has to be more urban based . If regional subscribers outnumber the urban metros, the Stars and content too should be more driven towards them. In this place, regional OTT platforms which know the pulse of the audience can do better than the national players. A case in point being Hoichoi , Bengali OTT that is the favourite of Bengali movie lovers. The men behind the OTT were said to be having  hands on experience as they were involved in the business side of Bengali movie industry.

There is talks that Gemini Labs which is now defunct and acting as a financial regulator for Qube in Chennai is likely to enter the OTT space. Aha in Tollywood has not been able to make a mark. In Kerala, Saina - First Show, Neestream and one recently launched by producer Badusha are operating.

It also a signal for national players to look for more regional content to keep their subscriber base from being eaten up by regional players. Amazon Prime has created a base among regional movie watchers in the South . 

The full report is available by subscription for streaming platforms, production companies, media agencies, and other companies associated with the OTT category in India peaking about the need for the report, Shailesh Kapoor, Founder & CEO – Ormax Media, said: “India’s OTT audience universe is rapidly growing, and an accurate estimation of market size is a crucial strategic component in a growing category. While streaming companies have data on usage and subscription of their own platforms, there is no industry-level audience research available to size and profile the Indian OTT market at large. This research, which will be conducted in the same period every year, aims to plug this significant data gap in the streaming industry in India”.