PremiumBest of 2023 - From Sirf Ek Banda Kaafi Hai to Chhatriwali, Duranga S2 and Aam Aadmi Family, here are 10 series and films to watch on ZEE5
Best of 2023: From Chhatriwali to Sirf Ek Banda Kaafi Hai and Duranga S2- Aam Aadmi Family, here are 10 series and films to watch on ZEE5
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Last Updated: 05.25 PM, Dec 12, 2023
The pandemic that struck the world a couple of years ago was one of the worst things to have happened to everyone. It was around this time that the concept of OTT anchored itself as one of the strongest and, by now, irreplaceable forms of entertainment. The advent of OTT platforms has given a rebirth of sorts to not just many filmmakers but artists as well. Within a short time, we have seen many OTT platforms establish terra firma on the soil of entertainment. The entertainment major Zee’s homegrown ZEE5 is one such OTT platform that has streamed many hit shows and films. With the year 2023 almost coming to an end, let's have a look at the different shows and films that ZEE5 has streamed for its viewers.
Film name:Kadak Singh
Release date: 8th December
Director: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhary
Starcast: Pankaj Tripathi, Sanjana Sanghi, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Jaya Ahsan
Film’s plot:
While the film ‘Kadak Singh’ has been directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhary, it has been produced by Kadak Singh, produced by Wiz Films, HT Content Studio, and KVN and co-produced by Shyam Sunder and Indrani Mukherjee. The film revolves around the life and life story of AK Shrivastav aka Kadak Singh, a Joint Director at the Department of Financial Crimes, who is presently battling acute Retrograde Amnesia. While he is admitted to a hospital for his treatment, the film starts oscillating between his past and present.
Amidst his professional turmoil, he also experiences personal turmoil, which needs to be addressed. In between everything, he also has yet another mission on his agenda: to find out exactly how he landed up in the hospital! Kudos to Pankaj Tripathi, who can be easily termed the extremely superlative find of Bollywood. His performance in the film is nothing but a masterclass of what fine acting is all about.
Film: Chhatriwali
Release date: 20th January 2023
Director: Tejas Vijay Deoskar
Starcast: Rakul Preet Singh, Sumeet Vyas, (late) Satish Kaushik
Film plot:
After having started off her innings in entertainment with southern and Bollywood films like Gilli, Venkatadri Express, Yaariyan, De De Pyaar De, Rakul Preet Singh dropped a bombshell of sorts (read ‘shocked’ everyone) when she have her nod to the film Chhatriwali, that had its protagonist play the role of a someone to emphasise the importance of using condoms (read ‘sex education’).
Did she manage to surprise everyone? Well, you have to see the film to believe the conviction with which she played the role of a female unemployed chemistry genius named Sanya Dhingra. Even though the response to the film was not as one would have expected, the film did show Rakul’s versatility as a performer.
Film:Sirf Ek Banda Kaafi Hai
Release date: 13th May 2023
Director: Apoorv Singh Karki
Starcast: Manoj Bajpayee, Adrija Sinha, Surya Mohan Kulshrestha, Nikhil Pandey, Priyanka Setia, Jaihind Kumar
Film plot:
With this film, Manoj Bajpayee gave the entertainment arena yet another reason and testimony to why is he Mr. Dependable of Bollywood. Right from the first frame to the last one, it was Manoj’s show all the way. The conviction with which he portrayed the role of Adv. P. C. Solanki is something that deserved him a plethora of awards and accolades! Ironically it may sound, when one says that, when it comes to Manoj Bajpayee in the film… sirf ek banda kaafi hai!
As for the film’s plot, the story revolves around and evolves from a hard and compelling courtroom drama that has been inspired by true events, with Manoj Bajpayee's character, Adv. PC Solanki, playing the central role. The film, which dealt with the real-life struggle of a lawyer who had been fighting for justice against a powerful godman, hard-pressed the significance of seeking justice for the weak while standing up against influential people who do not think before committing a crime.
Film: Tarla
Release Date: July 7, 2023
Director: Piyush Gupta
Starcast: Huma Qureshi, Sharib Hashmi, Bharati Achrekar, Amarjeet Singh
Film’s plot:
As the name ‘Tarla’ suggests, it was an ode of sorts to the late Tarla Dalal, who was popularly known as the ‘Kitchen Queen of India’. Hats off to Huma Qureshi and Sharib Hashmi for breathing life into their respective characters of the late Tarla Dalal and her husband Nalin Dalal. Here, one also needs to applaud the film’s director Piyush Gupta for having the faith in Huma Qureshi and Sharib Hashmi that would be able to pull it off.
Huma Qureshi simply excelled in the role of the late Tarla Dalal, although her make-up could have been a little bit more apt to look like the real-life chef. The film ‘Tarla’ mirrors the ambitious journey of Tarla Dalal from being a housewife to always wanting to do something (read ‘achieving’) in her life without knowing what it is. Thereafter, she starts her incredible journey from being a mere housewife who can cook to being a Padma Shri winner for her immense contribution in the field of culinary arts.
Film: Haddi
Release date: 7th September
Director: Akshat Ajay Sharma
Starcast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Anurag Kashyap, Ila Arun, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Saurabh Sachdeva
Film’s plot:
This film was yet another classic testimony to the statement that, ‘Is there anything that Nawazuddin Siddiqui cannot do?’! There have been many films which had transgender as one of its characters. But to have a film in which a transgender playing the main role required the leading man of that caliber! And who better than Nawazuddin Siddiqui to rise to any occasion when it comes to challenging roles.
The film ‘Haddi’, which is a hardcore vengeance drama, revolved around its central character, Haddi (played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui). The film ‘kick-starts’ from the time Haddi comes to Delhi from Allahabad. It is here, in Delhi, that he joins the transgender community. Eventually, it gets revealed that the reason why Haddi joins the transgenders’ community is to avenge the deaths of his family, who were wronged because of Pramod Ahlawat (Anurag Kashyap), a gangster turned politician.
Web series: Duranga S2
Release date: 24th October
Director: Rohan Sippy
Starcast: Amit Sadh, Drashti Dhami, Gulshan Devaiah, Barkha Bisht Sengupta, Abhijeet Khandekar
Plot of the series:
If the first season of Duranga excited you, then its second season will blow your mind. Without giving any spoilers (saving for those who are yet to watch this masterpiece), one needs to applaud the terrific performance of Amit Sadh in the entire series. Even if a person misses a single episode, he/ she may not get the head and tail of the next one. In other words, the entire series needs to be seen scene by scene in order to understand the complexity that the film’s lead character undergoes and is ‘made to undergo’.
While Amit Sadh shined in the entire series, one cannot take away the fact that Gulshan Devaiah and Barkha Bisht Sengupta offered extremely able support (in addition to Rohan Sippy’s unmistakable direction) to the series, making it one of the most watched ones this year. Duranga, which happens to be the official Hindi adaptation of popular Korean drama 'Flower of Evil', was definitely one of the reasons for the audience to be glued to the OTT platform ZEE5.
Web series: Yeh Shaadi Nahi Ho Sakti
Release date: September 1, 2023
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starcast: Prajakta Koli, Shikha Talsania, Chaitnya Sharma, Adhaar Khurana
Plot of the series:
For all those who love and breathe Shakespearean classics, Yeh Shaadi Nahi Ho Sakti is definitely what the literary doctors must have ordered. Based on the Shakespeare's classic comedy, Yeh Shaadi Nahi Ho Sakti becomes yet another itinerary in the bio data of the social media sensation cum actress Prajakta Koli in the role of Priya. This series sees the young lady delivering yet another endearing performance. Offering her apt support is Shikha Talsania who makes you fall in love with her character of Pallavi over and over again. Even though this had a theatrical release, it is currently streaming exclusively on ZEE5.
Web series: Aam Aadmi Family (Season 4)
Release date: 24th November 2023
Director: Apoorv Singh Karki
Starcast: Brijendra Kala, Lubna Salim, Gunjan Malhotra
Plot of the series:
Set in a middle-class family household, Aam Aadmi Family aptly suits the series’ plot. The series revolves around the life and lifestyle of Satendra Sharma (Brijendra Kala), Madhu Sharma (Lubna Salim) and their children. This season sees the passing away of their grandmother, which eventually leads Satendra Sharma to deal with the stress and anxiety of losing a parent.
That’s when Madhu Sharma goes on to take a bold step by re-structuring the priorities of her life by returning to college. What happens to their son and daughter in their respective lives is what forms the basic crux of the series. One of the main points that the series highlights is that of mental health. It drives home the point that one should not and cannot afford to take lightly the mental health issue and also that a person having a mental health issue is not a mad person at all! Kudos to the series’ director, Apoorv Singh Karki for handling this issue in an extremely sensitive manner.