Poacher OTT release date: When, where to watch Roshan Mathew, Nimisha Sajayan’s series from the makers of Delhi Crime

Two of Malayalam cinema’s best actors – Roshan Mathew and Nimisha Sajayan – have teamed up with Dibyendu Bhattacharya for Delhi Crime maker Richie Mehta’s upcoming web series titled Poacher. The series, which will span eight episodes, is set to drop on Amazon Prime Video.

The team had shot for the series in the past two years, and now it’s all set to release on Amazon Prime Video on February 23, as confirmed by the OTT platform on Tuesday. The makers had already showcased the first three episodes of the series at last year’s Sundance Film Festival.

What makes Poacher a must-watch on OTT?

Like Delhi Crime, Richie has based the web series on true events, with Delhi and the jungles in Kerala being its prime locations. The series also evolves as an investigative procedural, which highlights the role of humans in the animal kingdom. Poacher revolves around how a group of Indian Forest Service officers, NGO personnel, volunteers and cops plunge into danger to track down some of the biggest ivory poachers in India and bring them to justice – while beating corruption and crime.

The makers are also hoping that the series kickstarts conversations that help put an end to such crimes and inspire people to take action against such perpetrators. Its edge-of-the-seat narrative, which is inspired “by extraordinary real-life feats”, would also engage the audience to stream the eight episodes featuring top talent such as Roshan, Nimisha and Dibyendu.

Also read: Poacher announcement - Nimisha Sajayan, Roshan Mathew headline Richie Mehta's gripping tale of justice in Indian wildlife conservation 

Incidentally, this is the second collaboration between the Malayalam actors Roshan and Nimisha, after the 2022 film Oru Thekkan Thallu Case, which is streaming on Netflix. Roshan, who was last seen in Dhoomam and Maharani, was also part of Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage’s Paradise, which won the Kim Jiseok Award.

What is the story of Poacher?

As per the synopsis submitted by the makers at the Sundance Film Festival, the story begins after a man reaches a forest department outpost and confesses to killing elephants. How these kick off a series of events that unravel illegal poaching activities and cover-ups by those entrusted with protecting wildlife, form the plot.

Also read: Exclusive! Roshan Mathew: I enjoy the fact that the nature of survival in the film industry keeps changing 

Get Out and BlacKkKlansman makers back Poacher

The web series also marks the debut web series of Hollywood production company QC Entertainment, which had previously funded Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman. “When Richie pitched us his idea for Poacher we immediately connected with the story, its intentions and the visceral ambition. It’s everything we look for,” said the producers, in a statement from Amazon Prime Video.

Poacher is set to begin streaming on Amazon Prime Video on February 23 with English, Malayalam and Hindi being its main languages.

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