OTT Releases in South India This Week Aug 18

Indian films, in general, and South Indian movies, in particular, will delight viewers as the third week of August welcomes a wide range of cinematographic works to the OTT platform. From super-duper historical action to tear-jerking marital drama, tent-burning to wordy comedies, the gamut of fiction within the Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam film industries is represented in the current week of digital releases. Due to the fact that the much-awaited Coolie, featuring Rajinikanth, failed to achieve significant box office success, streaming platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, Sun NXT, Lionsgate Play, and OTT Play Premium are stepping in with their own releases. The top of the list includes the Pawan Kalyan starrer Hari Hara Veera Mallu, the Fahadh Faasil starrer Maareesan, and the Vijay Sethupathi starrer Thalaivan Thalaivii, among other smaller yet interesting films like Kolahalam, Soothravakyam, and Kapata Nataka Sutradhari.

Big-Budget Titles Leading the Week

1. Hari Hara Veera Mallu (Prime Video, August 20)

This Telugu period-based drama was a big-ticket film by the top star Pawan Kalyan after a gap, in spite of his active political career keeping him in the limelight. The story is set during the Mughal era and centers on the courageous efforts of warrior Veera Mallu, portrayed by Bobby Deol, to free a city by overcoming Aurangzeb. Though the theater reception was bad, owing to haphazard VFX and poor quality all in all, the film is likely to raise eyebrows on streaming. It is in Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam and can find a new life in digital media.

2. Thalaivan Thalaivii (Prime Video, August 22)

This is the economic marital drama in Tamil in which love changes after marriage as Vijay Sethupathi and Nithya Menen get together following 19(1)(A). The movie got a mixed reception, although it posted exemplary box office results, showing that it had struck the right chords with the people. Its OTT launch is likely to be enjoyed by fans who had not watched it in the cinemas.

3. Maareesan (Netflix, August 22)

The 37-year-old Malayalam superstar Fahadh Faasil makes a handsome appearance in Tamil with an alluring style, along with the veteran Vadivelu. Fahadh portrays the role of a small-time thief and a travelling companion who attempts to take a man with Alzheimer‘s. After Fahadh goes on a road trip with a sick man, he plays a rather complicated and rich character in this slow-to-develop thriller. Maareesan has attracted positive-to-mixed reviews with its low-key narrative of realistic twists and will become a highlight of streaming. Quirky Stories and Fresh Concepts

4. Kolahalam (Sun NXT, August 22)

Translated as “commotion,” it is a Malayalam comedy-drama revealing a funeral in progress when a thief, out of the blue, breaks into a house. Theatrically, the film was a low-key release under the supervision of Rasheed Parambil, but it can perhaps be anchored to the digital territory because of the situational humor.

5. Soothravakyam (Lionsgate Play, August 21)

Shine Tom Chacko, in conjunction with Vincy Aloshious, is a Malayalam drama centered on a circle inspector who functions as a tutor of the school children at his police station. Although the film emerged with pre-release controversies, it had little impact in the theaters. A weird plot; it may attract the eyes of the viewer who uses over-the-top treatment.

6. Kapata Nataka Sutradhari (Sun NXT, August 22)

It is the inaugural film of Dhiraj MV that focuses on the topics of religion and tradition in a transformative ritual scenario of a certain temple. Things become dramatic when the teacher and his colleague attempt to do a sacred crawl beneath an elephant sculpture. The movie has been praised as a sensitive treatment, but it has the undertone of issues deeper than those practiced in the disguise of the basic plot.