OTT platforms rule over mainstream

The year 2021 seemed to be the most successful year for the Bangladeshi OTT platforms and Bangladeshi OTT content makers as they produced a good number of original and intriguing content to quench the thirst of their fast increasing audience. With the arrival of OTT platform Chorki, the original contents on such platforms attained more standard to stay in completion and most of the contents were exciting to watch. Below is the list of major OTT releases this year-

Contract

‘Contract’ is based on the novel of the same name by renowned Bangladeshi author Mohammad Nazim Uddin. It was released on the Indian OTT platform Zee5 on March 18.

The series explores the dark side of politics. It narrates how the strong and wealthy people abuse the vulnerable people and create ‘contract killers’ for their own benefit.

The series features Shamol Mowla as ‘Beg’, Mithila as a ‘politician’, Zakia Bari Mamo as ‘Meena’ and Arifin Shuvoo played a role as ‘bastard’. Though the storyline of the series is a bit different from the original book, still it was a hit among the audience for its good cinematography and thrilling storyline.

Mohanagar

Directed and written by Ashfaque Nipun, the series released on Hoichoi on June 25.

Mohanagar’, a 7-hour story inside a police station in Dhaka where a group of criminals, an eminent industrialist, common people and media are all waiting under the same roof to know the fate of that particular night.

In this web series, Mosharraf Karim and Mamo created a buzz on the internet with their roles. The audience seemed to like the screenplay that portrayed the real picture of a police station and the political aspect of the country.

Featuring actor Mosharraf Karim as OC Harun in a lead role, ‘Mohanagar’ stars Zakia Bari Mamo, Shamol Mawla, Mostafizur Noor Imran and Khairul Basar, among others.

Ladies and Gentleman 

Celebrated Bangladeshi director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s maiden web series ‘Ladies & Gentlemen’ was released on ZEE5 Global on July 9.

The story of ‘Ladies & Gentlemen’ revolves around the life of an ordinary girl and her emotional journey to become the voice of working women in Bangladesh. It is a tale of an ordinary girl and how she tackles social issues like gender inequality, rape, misogyny, patriarchy and others.

Small screen actress Tasnia Farin played the main character of the series. It got her popularity among the audience. Her simplicity in acting and capturing the essence of the character won the hearts of the audience.

The cast of the series includes Partha Barua, Hasan Masood, Iresh Zaker, Mukit Zakaria, Pavel Areen and Maria Nur, among others.

Morichika 

Directed by Shihab Shaheen, ‘Morichika’ was released on the OTT platform Chorki on July 12.

Inspired by the true story of the murder of Model Tinni in 2012, the story of the series revolves around an ordinary girl who wants to become a model. But as the story progresses, the series portrays the dark side of the media industry.

Afran Nisho played the character of a bold criminal while Siam played the character of a police officer. The series also features Mahiya Mahi in the lead role.

Unoloukik 

It is an anthology series directed by Robiul Islam Robi. The five episodes of the series explored the psychoanalytic journey of the human mind.

 There are five episodes in this series. The first episode ‘Moribar Holo Taar Sadh’ premiered on 12 July 2021, and the last episode of the series ‘Dwikhondito’ premiered on 12 August 2021 on Chorki.

The series has adopted four stories written by writer Shibabrata Barman – ‘Maribar Holo Tar Sadh, Dwikhandita’, ‘Jagar Bela Holo’ (adapted to Mrs Prahelika), and ‘Television’ (adapted to Hello Ladies) and ‘Don’t Write Me adapted to the same name.

Most of the episodes of the series revolve around the maze of illusion and truth. Each of the stories has its dark materials that present time and space paradoxes and question the existence of reality.

The cast includes Asaduzzaman Noor, Gazi Rakayet, Chanchal Chowdhury, Nusrat Imrose Tisha, Rafiath Rashid Mithila, Iresh Zaker, Intekhab Dinar, Mostafa Monwar, Sumon Anwar, Naziba Basher, Shohel Mondol, Farhana Hamid, Sahana Rahman Sumi among others.

Boli 

Hoichoi original series ‘Boli’ directed by Shongkho Dash Gupta was released on December 3.

‘Boli’ narrated the story of a lawless, isolated island named ‘Cheradia’ and portrayed the clash of families for power. The story of the web series revolves around the story of Sohrab and Rustam as they fight for the rights of the ‘Cheradia’. In the series, Safa Kabir, Sohana Saba and Salauddin Lavlu were seen in a new avatar that has piqued the interest of the audience.

Especially, the character ‘Anarkoli’ played by Sohana Saba won the hearts of the audience. The look and the storyline of the character were much more appreciated by the audience than the plot of the series.

The web series has brought back the iconic duo of Chanchal and Sohel from ‘Taqdeer’.

The series has ensemble cast of Iresh Zaker, Sohel Mondol, Safa Kabir, Moushumi Mou, Ziaul Haque Palash, and Kazi Roksana, Nasir Uddin Khan.