From 'Samantar' to 'When the Camellia Blooms': mid-day's top 5 OTT recommendations for you to binge-watch

(L to R) `Samantar`, `Joji`, `Grahan`, `When the Camellia Blooms` stills

The process to find the next best thing on OTT has now become part of my morning ritual. With the remote in hand and endless platforms to surf from, I begin scrolling. Like everyone else, I take a long time to decide what to watch on any given day. While initially, my plan was to keep things light, this time around, whatever I watched kept me at the edge of my seat and my eyes, glued to the screen. With a shift in my mood, my choices were altered too. So, here's a list of OTT recommendations that keep you guessing, leave you bewildered, and wanting for more.

Samantar: MXPlayer

Swwapnil Joshi in 'Samantar'

I was scheduled to interview Swwapnil Joshi for the second instalment of the Marathi series, Samantar. To gather some background on the subject, I downloaded the app, played the first episode, and that was it, I had my first recommendation. Everyone is curious about their future, precisely why so many indulge in tarot reading, palmistry, and numerology. The nine-episode series, inspired by Suhas Shirwalkar's novel, revolves around Kumar Mahajan (Joshi's character) -- an atheist. Exhausted by the rigamarole of life, on the insistence of his close friend, Kumar decides to visit a palmist, known to make accurate predictions. Finding out that his life till this date has been a carbon copy of another - Sudarshan Chakrapani, freaks Kumar out. Desperate to find out how the other's future panned out and then to alter his own life accordingly, Kumar sets out. Samantar keeps you on tenterhooks. It dangles somewhere between a thriller and supernatural genre. Seeing Joshi step out of his comfort zone and showcase that he can do more than romantic comedies has been a revelation.

REASONS TO WATCH: Tight script, Swwapnil Joshi's performance, and if you are curious.

Grahan: Disney+ Hotstar

Anshuman Pushkar and Wamiqa Gabbi in 'Grahan'

At the age of six, I had witnessed the 1992-93 Mumbai riots from the broken window in my room. The scene, for some strange reason, is still crystal clear - of people cleaning their blood-filled swords, the sound of wailing through the night, the loud police sirens, and the angry mob banging on our front door. Hence, I was skeptical about watching Grahan, afraid that it would trigger some memories, although nothing compared to the people who have experienced the horror first-hand. Grahan is a love story with the backdrop of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, that followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi. The series, based on Satya Vyas's novel Chaurasi is a work of fiction looped in with real-life incidents. The eight-episode series narrates both sides of the story - the perpetrator (in this case the mob), and the survivors. Amit Trivedi's music, in sync with every scene, is mesmerising and often helps you soak the episode in. The story did not require stars, instead, it needed actors who could uplift the script, which the makers found in Pawan Malhotra, Zoya Hussain, and Anshuman Pushkar. While it has a few shortcomings, the series is a great watch.

REASONS TO WATCH: Intriguing storyline, great editing, Amit Trivedi's music, and some old-school romance.

Joji: Amazon Prime Video

Fahadh Faasil in 'Joji'

Any project headlined by Fahadh Faasil automatically piques my interest. Unaware, I dived into this Malayalam outing without reading the synopsis, assuming it is another slice-of-life story. The crime-thriller took me by surprise. Inspired by William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Joji is the story of three brothers who live in Kerala with their authoritarian father. Joji, an engineering dropout, who comes across as a meek and voiceless person, changes when he begins plotting a murder. The change in his psyche and the constant escalation of his behaviour stemmed from fear and a surge of power make this one a gripping watch. Beautifully shot during the pandemic, the film sends a shiver down your spine at every turn. The eerie silences in between, slow progression, and then the climax - there's not a thing director Dileesh Pothan and writer Syam Pushkaran missed.

REASONS TO WATCH: Great script, Fahadh Faasil's brilliant acting, and ironic climax.

Also read: Gajraj Rao praises Fahadh Faasil for Joji, takes dig at Bollywood

Ray: Netflix

Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor in 'Ray'

Inspired by Satyajit Ray's short stories, Ray is an anthology of four films - Forget Me Not, Bahrupiya, Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa and Spotlight. I was conflicted about reading the original short stories first and watching the films, so I did both. The Ali Fazal-starrer adopted the basic concept from Ray's story and gave it a dark twist. Kay Kay Menon's Bahrupiya, owing to his brilliant acting keeps you hooked to his meek character and his transgressions till the curtain closes. Abhishek Chaubey's story featuring Manoj Bajpayee and Gajraj Rao stayed true to the original story, but his vision, the insertion of ghazals, the Urdu milieu, and treatment make this one a beautiful treat. Lastly, Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor and Radhika Madan's Spotlight weaved a story around the feeling of existential crisis. All said and done, I preferred the short story over its visual interpretation for this one.

REASONS TO WATCH: Satyajit Ray's stories, brilliant performances, and novel adaptation.

When the Camellia Blooms: Netflix

A still from 'When the Camellia Blooms'

This 2019 South Korean series was something I watched following Gong Hyo-jin's (lead female actor) work. The comedy-thriller revolves around an orphaned single mother, Oh Dong-baek, who moves to the little town of Ongsan (fictional) to restart her life after being abandoned by her partner. Six years living in the town, and still being hated by her crab-selling prejudiced neighbours is not easy. However, her fiercely protective eight-year-old son, Kang Pil-gu more than makes up for it, until love comes knocking down her door. Beautiful, quiet, and an amazing cook, she became the envy of all the women in town, more so because the men found her captivating and flocked to her bar, Camellia. Kang Ha-neul as Hwang Yong-sik gets reallocated to Ongsan's police station and falls in love with Dong-baek at first sight. On learning that the love of his life is next on the serial killer, Joker's radar, he diverts all his attention to finding him, while battling people who oppose their relationship, including his mother. The series navigates and touches on topics like women power, the bigoted mentality of society, unbiased love. It will make you laugh, cry, cringe, and wait in anticipation. The 20-episode series may seem like a long watch, but it explores every character's story in detail, hence you got to have patience.

REASONS TO WATCH: Excellent performance, in-depth characterisations, blend of thriller and comedy.

Also Read: mid-day's OTT recommendations: Five movies and shows that you can binge-watch