With varying levels of effectiveness in execution and conception, our storytellers have been able to adapt to the new format of content creation -- Web series -- and it's an exciting time ahead for Indian entertainment.
Arjun Menon looks at 2024's top Web series from South India.
Poacher
Language: Malayalam
Cast: Nimisha Sajayan, Roshan Mathew, Kani Kusruthi, Dibyendu Bhattacharya
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
This multi-lingual series, based on some real-life events, mostly comprising of a Malayali cast led by Nimisha Sajayan, Roshan Mathew and Kani Kusruthi. It is an ecological tale centered around an ivory trafficking racket, a system that was in its heyday in 1990s Kerala.
Poacher, executive produced by Alia Bhatt, is a harrowing look at Operation Shikar, in which 500 kilos of ivory was seized by the state.
Director Richie Mehta is careful to populate his world with the searing commentary on the viciousness with which humans have exploited nature.
Snakes and Ladders
Language: Tamil
Cast: Naveen Chandra, Nandaa, Manoj Bharathiraja
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Karthik Subbaraj put his big screen clout behind a Stranger Things inspired show Snakes and Ladders, about a bunch of children, who get pulled into a deadly game of snakes and ladders with gangsters and the dark underbelly of their small-time town.
The show featuring a bunch of newcomers does not break any new ground in terms of its narrative ambitions or episodic stakes.
There is a looming sense of familiarity and breathlessness in the bizarre problems thrown at the kids.
Seasoned performers like Naveen Chandra, Nandaa and Manoj Bharathiraja add some much-needed grounding to the material.
The children's fiction realm is an untapped part of our content and it's good to see baby steps being taken in that direction, however flawed it ends up being.
1000 Babies
Language: Malayalam
Cast: Rahman, Neena Gupta, Sanju Sivram.
Where to watch: Disney + Hotstar
A reclusive, aging nurse reveals a long-forgotten secret that snowballs into a series of horrifying revelations from a tragic event that took place in the past.
1000 Babies, co-written and directed by Najeem Koya, is a bold new step in shows programmed for mainstream audiences.
The repercussions of a heinous crime is treated with some psychological nuance.
Rahman's off-putting Malayalam dubbing is one of the few distractions in an otherwise engrossing crime drama.
Brinda
Language: Telugu
Cast: Trisha Krishnan, Indrajith Sukumaran, Ravindra Vijay
Where to watch: SonyLIV
Trisha stars in this well-designed, serial killer mystery< in a genre ordinarily reserved for male stars.
A series of mysterious murders without any probable suspects drives an under-appreciated rookie cop into taking up the investigation into her own hands, in a sexist establishment that wants to see her fail.
The Telugu show critiques ideas of religious fundamentalism and the unguided herd culture surrounding superstition and rituals in our country.
Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam
Language: Tamil
Cast: Abhishek Kumar, Chetan, Devadarshini
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
This official remake of the popular TVF mini-series Panchayat is a less imaginative, faithful adaptation of its source material.
The show, adapted by Balakumaran Murugesan and directed by Naga, casts stand-up comedian Abhishek Kumar as the recently graduated city dweller, who is posted as a panchayat secretary in a village near Tirunelveli.
The eight-episode show is faithful to the original text to a fault and you can see them lift character traits and arcs of secondary characters with lackluster efficiency.
But like Panchayat, the Tamil version tackles some weighty issues like caste discrimination, dowry and regressive social norms.
Nagendran's Honeymoons
Language: Malayalam>
Cast: Suraj Venjaramoodu, Kani Kusruthi, Shwetha Menon, Alexander Prasanth
Where to watch: Disney + Hotstar
Nithin Ranji Panicker, known for helming films like Kasaba (2016) and Kaaval (2021), made his foray into streaming with the period comedy Nagendran's Honeymoons.
The show dealt with a village slacker who ends up marrying multiple women all across the state to fund his aspirations to go to Dubai, pinning his hopes on the dowry money.
Suraj Venjaramoodu puts in a brilliant performance as the initially reluctant conman.
The tagline of the show reads, 'One Life Five Wives'. The show has an occasional burst of comedy and interesting half-realised ideas, and may well be worth your time.
Goli Soda Rising
Language: Tamil
Cast: Kishore, Murugesh, Udayaraj, Remya Nambeesan, Abhirami
Where to watch: Disney + Hotstar
Goli Soda Rising is an official spin-off of two feature films, Goli Soda (2014) and Goli Soda 2 (2018).
The 10-episode series, jointly directed by Vijay Milton and Pon Kumaran, is a continuation of the events of the films and follows the three young men from the movies who have moved on to a new life, with new relationships and a new business.
The story gets complicated with the entry of a dreaded gangster, a mysterious ex-convict, a conman and an aspiring police officer.
The prolonged running time has helped Vijay Melton to allow his quirky characters to breathe. It's a fun crime caper about a group of ambitious young men caught in a series of problems in their quest for survival.
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