The week gone by
The second season of Bhaukaal and original film 36 Farm House were the two new arrivals on OTT last weekend. Both are quite different from each other. While Bhaukaal 2 is an action drama set in the hinterland of the country and is as massy as it gets, 36 Farm House is a suspense drama that is made for a specific target audience.
Let’s talk about Bhaukaal 2 first. Back in 2020 when Bhaukaal had released, it had turned out to be a surprise success at MX Player. Produced by Applause Entertainment and Baweja Movies, it was about the clash of an upright cop [Mohit Raina] with the two sets of gangs led by Abhimanyu Singh and Siddhanth Kapoor. What caught everyone’s attention was the manner in which Mohit Raina approached his part as he had never been seen in this avtar before. Moreover, it continued in the same vein as the likes of Mirzapur.
Now that the second season has arrived, the story has only continued further. It is an all familiar territory with the honest cop finding himself at the crossroads all over again. Of course, it is primarily for those who have already watched the first season, and hence requires one to catch it first, if not done already. Also, it is primarily a gentry oriented web series, which means that you can’t expect the elite in the cosmopolitan enters to binge on it. However at the mass centers in the interiors, and especially amongst youth, there is a lot in there to grab.
The other release of the week is 36 Farm House, which is a Subhash Ghai production. There were good expectations from it since the showman has given quite a few memorable films in the 70s, 80s and the 90s, and 36 Farmhouse is his first production in 8 years since Kaanchi [2014]. Yes, he was also the producer on Hero [2015] but that was more of an association, since he was the producer and director of the original Hero [1983]. Hence, one looked forward to what he had to offer here, especially since the director [Ram Ramesh Sharma] too was new.
What works in the favor of the film, which is currently streaming on ZEE5, is that it’s just around 100 minute long, which is just the right duration for a suspense drama. However, one would have expected a lot of suspense, drama and thrills in there, when instead there is comedy and romance thrown in as well in the narrative. As long as the film is about a killing that takes place in the farmhouse, and the ‘laash’ that goes missing, there is interest level maintained, courtesy Vijay Raaz and his antics. However, there is forced comedy in there as well with Sanjay Mishra and Ashwini Kalsekar.
Coming soon
The coming week won’t have any new original web series or movie arriving, which is quite surprising since there is Republic Day holiday on Wednesday, 26th January. Ideally, a biggie could well have announced its arrival on this day, and then also encashed on the weekend to follow.
However, Friday would see the digital premiere of Tadap, which was one of the few films in 2021 to have made some kind of numbers at the box office. Marking the debut of Ahan Shetty opposite Tara Sutaria, the film was a good masala entertainer by Milan Luthria with producer Sajid Ndiadwala backing it to the fullest. While the film managed to nett over 25 crores at the box office, it would now be aiming to entice youth and family audiences with its release on Disney+Hotstar. Considering audiences are starved for entertainment, this one should click on OTT.
Release dates
Tadap – Disney+Hotstar – 28th January