These OTT releases deserve theatres

The coronavirus pandemic has deleterious effects on humans, but the media giants have cash in on the circumstances and brought unlimited entertainment to our homes. Movies got shrunk into mobile phones, television screens and home projection systems and the digital boom led to the mushrooming and flourishing of numerous Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms. OTT versus cinema halls is still a heated debate and the popularity of OTT platforms has compelled the world to believe that OTT platforms are the future. But some movies from South India which were released in OTT platforms deserve theatres. The release in OTT platform has reduced the scale of the film. Though, the film will get released in many countries on a single day, some people from local states are missing the film. Here are some of the films which missed theatres but they deserve it.

Aakasam Nee Haddu raa

"Aakasam Nee Haddu raa" is a film which casts Suriya in lead role, directed by Sudha Kongara and produced by Suriya and Guneet Monga. The story was conceptualised and written by Kongara. Paresh Rawal, Aparna Balamurali, Urvashi, Mohan Babu are amongst others in supporting roles. The film was partly inspired by events from the life of Simplifly Deccan founder G. R. Gopinath. The film features music composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar

The theatrical release of the film suffered due to post-production delays and the Covid-19 pandemic. The film released digitally through Amazon Prime Video on 12 November 2020, coinciding with the eve of Diwali festival. "Aakasam Nee Haddu raa" received positive reviews from critics, who praised the major technical aspects of the film, while also appreciating Suriya's performance and Sudha's direction. The film would have been one of the best hit in Suriya's career if it has a theatre release.

Colour Photo

"Colour Photo" is a period romantic drama film directed by debutante Sandeep Raj. The film was produced by Amrutha Productions and Loukya Entertainment, the film stars Suhas in his first lead role, along with Chandini Chowdary, Sunil, and Harsha Chemudu among others. Kaala Bhairava composed music of the film, marking his second film as composer after "Mathu Vadalara". The film is set in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh in the late-1990s and is says the story of a below-average guy. The film premiered on aha on 23 October 2020. The film stars many debutants who previously worked in few short films including the director of the film Sandeep Raj. The film was shot completely in Machilipatnam, Vijayawada and the surrounding areas of Andhra Pradesh.

Sarpatta Parampara

"Sarpatta Parampara" period sports action film directed by Pa Ranjith, who also co-produced the film under his banner Neelam Productions, along with Shanmugam Dhakshanaraj of K9 Studios. The film stars Arya, Dushara Vijayan, Pasupathy, Anupama Kumar and Sanchana Natarajan. Set during the 1970s, the film revolves around a clash between two clans namely Idiyappa Parampara and Sarpatta Parampara in North Chennai, which also showcases the boxing culture in the locality and also the politics being involved in it.

The film was originally scheduled for theatrical release and was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which as a result, the makers opted for a direct-to-digital release, and the streaming rights were acquired by Amazon Prime Video. The film released through the streaming service on 22 July 2021, coinciding the Prime Day celebrations and received positive reviews praising the characterisation and performances of the lead cast members, direction, story, screenplay, music, cinematography and other major technical aspects of the film. Critics further praised Ranjith for the setting and realistic portrayal of North Madras and the 1970's boxing culture.

Narappa

Narappa is a period action drama film, directed by Srikanth Addala which stars Venkatesh and Priyamani in the lead roles. It is remake of the Tamil film "Asuran" which is based on the novel "Vekkai" by Poomani. The film is produced by D. Suresh Babu and Kalaipuli S. Thanu. Ammu Abhirami, Nassar, Rao Ramesh, Rajeev Kanakala, Brahmaji and Karthik Rathnam played supporting roles. Mani Sharma composed the film's music while cinematography and editing are performed by Shyam K. Naidu and Marthand K. Venkatesh respectively. The film was premiered on 20th July 2021 on Amazon Prime Video. Venkatesh's performance received positive response from the audience and critics.

Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya

"Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya" is a comedy-drama film directed by Venkatesh Maha, and produced by Shobu Yarlagadda, Prasad Devineni and Vijaya Praveena Paruchari. The film stars Satya Dev as Uma Maheswara Rao, alongside Naresh, Suhas, Raghavan, Hari Chandana and Roopa Koduvayur. The film is a remake of the Malayalam film "Maheshinte Prathikaaram" which itself based on a true incident in the life of Thampan Purushan from Thuravoor, Cherthala. The film was shot at Araku Valley. The film marks as Telugu debut for music director Bijibal. The film was initially scheduled for a theatrical release on 17 April 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic. It was later premiered through the streaming platform Netflix on 30 July 2020. The film received positive reviews from critics, praising the performance of Satyadev, and the direction, screenplay and the adaptation.

Malik

"Malik" is a Malayalam political thriller directed, written and edited by Mahesh Narayanan. The film was bankrolled by Anto Joseph. The film stars Fahadh Faasil, Vinay Forrt, Nimisha Sajayan, Joju George, Dileesh Pothan, and Indrans. The music was composed by Sushin Shyam. The film's theatrical release was postponed multiple times due to Covid-19 pandemic, and was later opted for an OTT release through Prime Video on 15 July 2021. The plot of the film is slightly based on the 2009 Beemapally police shooting.

Jagame Thandhiram

"Jagame Thandhiram" is an action film written and directed by Karthik Subbaraj and produced by S Sashikanth and Chakravarthy Ramachandra. The film stars Dhanush, James Cosmo, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Joju George and Kalaiyarasan. It marks the Indian film debut of Cosmo and the Tamil debut of George. It follows Suruli, a carefree gangster in Madurai, who is recruited to help an overseas crime lord take down a rival, but later caught off guard by the moral dilemmas that follow. The songs and background score was composed by Santhosh Narayanan. Jagame Thandhiram was scheduled for a theatrical release on 1 May 2020, but was delayed indefinitely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While the makers initially planned on releasing the film only in theatres, this decision was dropped in February 2021 in favour of a worldwide digital release through Netflix on 18 June 2021. Though, the film received mixed reviews from critics, who criticised, screenplay, narration and editing, whilst praising the performances of Dhanush, Cosmo and George, the story, the characterisations, soundtrack and the social message about illegal Immigrants.