Manisha Koirala in Heeramandi, one of the very best web series of this year. Photo: Trailer Video Grab
In web series in Hindi, it is a given that the action / thriller genre works the best. And 2024’s first half was no different.
In the non-action genre, there were principally two comedy “players”—the third season of Panchayat and the fourth season of Gullak. Both these respectively rural and small-town (if we take Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh as one!) dramas aimed at slice-of-life humor differently: Panchayat chose to continue the story and add dirty politics to it in the shape of a nasty politician, while the latter series, as always, concentrated on a nuclear family and its trials, celebrations and tribulations.
Gullak 4 was another high. Photo: Trailer Video Grab
The fun is that both came from the same production company, TVF or The Viral Fever, which has also done many short series. The writing in Gullak was far better, while many things in Panchayat 3 seemed forced, fake or false. Admittedly, Panchayat 3 was not as bad as Panchayat 2 was, but it was not a patch on Season 1, which was an unalloyed delight. But Gullak 4 was a fitting culmination (as gathered from its last shot), though I hope for more seasons even if the original gullak (piggybank) is now broken.
One of the best in this six month phase was Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s web debut, Heeramandi. Made and designed with sheer passion and meticulousness and marked by some melodious music, the show justified its lavish presentation and ensemble cast. It also had excellent performances and storytelling besides the brilliance and sheen of the scale.
Love Storiyan, which featured some unusual real-life love stories, was another welcome brief series, while Sunflower 2 was as mediocre as it prequel and we do not know what gave the filmmakers the will and means to make this mediocre mélange of murder and mirth.
Another clichéd to the extreme saga was Rohit Shetty’s Indian Police Force, which was advertised, big-time, both as Sidharth Malhotra’s entry into web series (ditto the director’s) and also his addition to Rohit Shetty’s Cop Universe. But it was another acute disappointment for me after his cinematic misadventure, Cirkus, in terms of quality. The makers claimed that the oh-so-routine show worked, but I believe that it was hype.
Other web dramas that did not go beyond below-par treatment of promising subjects included Karmma Calling. Inspector Rishi, Poacher (with a huge hype, pre- and post-release, due to its internationally well-known director-writer, Richie Mehta, co-producers and its worthy cause), Adrishyam—The Invisible Heroes and Buried Truth.
Reprehensible Trend
A very retrograde trend for OTT came from Disney+Hotstar, treating series like TV serials and releasing them in installments! I wonder how they could tolerate (in turn, like us exasperated viewers!) judgments in reviews just based on a few episodes.
One of the worst, Raisinghani Vs. Raisinghani, which I gave up after 8 episodes, went past at least the 26th mark, I am told. Lootere, a promising drama, also had to be abandoned that way, as also Bad Cop and Showtime. In fact, whenever this platform announces a new show, I get the jitters, because they began this reprehensible game last year! And so I hope their September show to come, Special Ops, now a cult classic franchise, also does not go that way. This is what the platform had done last year with Friday Film Works’ other release, The Freelancer as well!
Harsh Chhaya as Papaji, seen here with Dibyendu Bhattacharya, was stupendous in Undekhi 3. Photo: Trailer Video Grab
The crème-de-la-creme
Killer Soup, a dark double-role drama, Undekhi 3, the highly-anticipated and fabulous third season and the media-based The Broken News 2 joined Heeramandi for the top ratings. So did the latest season of Maharani.
Aarya 3, the culmination of the Sushmita Sen saga, and Ranneeti—Balakot & Beyond were the other highs. Not to forget the earlier-mentioned Gullak 4.
Obviously, these shows thus topped in the writing departments and direction too. And if I had to choose the performances, I would place (in no particular order) Sushmita Sen (Aarya 3), Shriya Pilgaonkar (The Broken News), Manisha Koirala and Sonakshi Sinha (Heeramandi), Harsh Chhaya (Undekhi), Amit Sial and Huma Qureshi (Maharani 3), and Anula Navlekar and Kani Kusruti in Killer Soup as top of the heap, along with Jameel Khan and Geetanjali Kulkarni in Gullak 4. Yes, 2024’s first half was, decidedly, a female-driven show. And three of the best names are top-rung film stars of their respective times.Web Series 2024: The Best, Worst, Good, Bad, and In-Between!
