Media networks across the globe are betting heavily on Over the Top media services. Netflix, though the first mover, in terms of creating original content for its streaming service, is going to face some stiff competition from Disney+, AppleTV, etc globally.
The Indian market, on similar lines, has entered into a War on Original Content with a number of media houses vying hard for the huge viewership base in India. There has been a slew of ‘Original content’ produced by each of these media houses. Though Netflix India, Hotstar & Amazon Prime command the highest subscription fees, dozens of other media houses have come up with their own apps with lower priced subscription plans and are trying to provide good quality original content.
Horror is one of my favorite genres & I have watched dozens of horror movies, animes and TV Series. I will write reviews about them as well, however, I will try to review, as much as possible, the Horror / Supernatural content produced for Indian audiences. The amount of content available is stupendous. You just have to open a Netflix or a Hotstar and search for Horror and you’ll be presented with dozens of titles to choose from. I hope my reviews will help you to directly decide what to see / what not rather than choosing randomly.
One of the best parts of watching a new movie / TV series is the discussion that goes into it after watching it. We love discussing the endings, the storyline, the acting and whatnot. I hope we can do the same. With that in mind, I’ll be request you all to share your views and opinions. It would be a fun experience discussing different opinions/ preferences/ biases and when these things merge they end up enriching and elevating the whole experience of watching something.
Finally, though I’ve said I’ll try to review more of the Original content produced for Indian audiences by the apps, but I won’t be limited to them. Expect a lot of oddballs and curveballs with content from all across the world – Japanese/ South Korean/ Spanish/ French, you get the point. In clichéd terms, expect the unexpected.
Happy Reading!
REVIEW 1: BHRAM (ZEE5 TV SERIES)
BHRAM
ZEE5 TV Series
MyScore: 7.5/ 10
IMDB Rating: 6.6/ 10
I had taken a month’s Zee5 subscription to watch Judgementall Hai Kya (a great movie – must watch) & that’s when I came across the trailer for Bhram. I had to ‘vasulofy’ (get my penny’s worth of) my monthly subscription & since Kalki in the trailer looked promising, I decided to take this series for my first review.
Even then, I was a bit skeptical as the first few scenes looked eerily similar to a French horror series I had recently watched – Marianne (again, a great watch. I’ll review it next week). Both have psychotic writers returning to their hometown after a tragedy. They both have grim looking local town priests. But luckily, my fears were soon alleviated as I realized that the similarities ended there.
The word ‘Bhram’ can mean many things. According to me, the word closest to its meaning would be “delusion” or “misconception” depending on the context in which it’s used. Of course it could be my “bhram” (see what I did there). From the trailer, you’d be forced to think that it’s the first meaning of the word that’s being used in the show – the protagonist – Kalki is having Delusions. Or is it something else?
The crux of the story is that Kalki is a writer who’s suffered a recent tragedy post which she’s suffered from psychological trauma. Her sister, Bhoomika Chawla, brings her back to their hometown, where she lives with her husband & teenage daughter. The show then flits between the past & the present as Kalki then tries to get to grip with reality as her “Bhram” (delusion) gets more and more dangerous.
The first couple of episodes are filled with so many horror movie tropes (have fun googling the meaning of that one) that you’re gonna be thinking it’s too predictable – an old unkempt homeless man giving a jumpscare to the protagonist(OSO – Andar mat jaanaa), a tribal legend about a horned God who resides in the forest (The Ritual – 2017), teenagers with bursting hormones and so on. You get the feeling that they are trying to do multiple horror elements together. There’s also a gratuitous dosage of sex scenes. Some of them involving the inspector of the town seemed completely irrelevant. Also, Bhoomika Chawla, portraying as Kalki’s sister feels rather dull, & she’s got a lot of screen presence in the first few episodes.
However, that’s almost all of the things that I didnt like about the series. Now coming onto the things that I did like. After the first couple of episodes, you will get a grip of the story & know where it is going. Until, you’re proved wrong & you form a new opinion about it. This will happen a few more times, you’ll feel you have it all sorted, when you come to know you haven’t. And finally, the last few episodes, that’s when the pace really picks up & the jigsaw pieces start falling together. With the amount of content being produced nowadays, it’s difficult to have a unique voice & an interesting storyline. However, Bhram manages to do pretty decently on both the fronts & manages to keep you on the edge of your seats, especially for the final few episodes.
Overall, it’s worth watching with a decent storyline & some brilliant performances (I’m not going to name by whom, it could be a spoiler).