Zoya Akhtar To Apoorva Lakhia: Directors Who Made Promising OTT Debut
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Gone are the days when directors had to only showcase their work through television and movies. Over the last few years, we have seen countless filmmakers showcase their work in the form of web series or films streaming on OTT platforms. Continuing to fascinate each one of us through their films, here are five stellar movie directors who had an OTT directorial debut that was applauded by critics and viewers alike.
Pradeep Sarkar – Having helmed path-breaking films like Parineeta, Mardaani, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Lafangey Parindey, and most recently, Helicopter Eela, the talented director gave us a show to cherish with ALTBalaji and ZEE5’s Coldd Lassi aur Chicken Masala. Featuring Divyanka Tripathi and Rajeev Khandelwal who played the leads and are shown as chefs, the web series that was filled with the many ups and downs that the couple goes through gave one ample food for thought. Despite the web series has released a long time ago, the show continues to be binge-watched by subscribers even today.
Apoorva Lakhia – This multi-talented director, known for some big-screen crime movies like Ek Ajnabee, Haseena Parkar, Shootout at Lokhandwala, brought his expertise to the OTT world with his debut series Crackdown on Voot Select. Starring Saqib Saleem and Shriya Pilgaonkar, this espionage thriller is a no-nonsense drama that keeps its focus on the main narrative and offers up twists and turns in the plot when you are least expecting them.
Ken Ghosh – Known to make films spanning a host of diverse genres, this all-rounder of a director debuted on the OTT space through ALTBalaji’s web-series Dev DD. Going on become a superhit owing to its innovative storyline, Dev DD is about a modern young woman trying her best to break stereotypes about how an Indian female is supposed to be. The web-series starred Asheema Vardaan, Akhil Kapur, and Sanjay Suri. Having directed movies like Ishq Vishk, Fida, Abhay, and many more, it was fascinating to watch Ken Ghosh offers viewers yet another masterpiece.
Deepa Mehta – This extremely talented director, who’s given the world three terrific films in the form of Fire, Earth, Water, and much more, made Netflix original Leila as her very first web series which went on to gain rave reviews worldwide from audiences and critics alike. The web series starred Huma Qureshi in the lead role as Shalini, who tries to find her missing daughter in a dystopian world set many years from now. Feeling like a show that was well ahead of its time, there was no surprise to see it be one of the best web series of 2019.
Zoya Akhtar – When a director of Zoya Akhtar’s caliber makes a film, rest assured that it will be worth your time. The maker of Dil Dhadakne Do, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Gully Boy, made her bow into the OTT realm by directing one of the 4 episodes of Netflix’s ‘Lust Stories’. The episode starred Neel Bhoopalam and Bhumi Pednekar and showed the sexual relationship between the owner of a house and his housemaid, going on to receive many positive reviews from critics.
