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Since the inception of over-the-top (OTT) media services, the Indian audience is spoilt for choices under all regards. With the growth of Netflix and its revolutionary content, the Indian entertainment landscape is undergoing a significant positive change.  

Netflix India released its first originals Lust Stories and Sacred Games in 2018,  establishing its venture into the Indian online space. This carved a new niche and standard for the Indian viewership; from exploring female sexuality to the Bombay underworld, the viewers were left with no complaints! The rapid growth of OTT media has led to a significant decrease in television viewership, which has time and again succumbed to the age-old formula of saas-bahu and reaffirming gender roles. With not much variety to cater to the interested viewer’s space, other than clichécliche romance or hyper-realistic action films, both on Hindi cinema and television, the emergence of Netflix felt like a breath of fresh air. 

In search of better content and quality cinema, especially in genres like thriller, crime, and horror, the Indian viewership shifted from Bollywood to Hollywood. An audience which has grown up with Ram Gopal Verma and the much silenced,  yet talked about, ‘sex-horror’, found refuge in the Conjuring Universe. With Netflix producing back-to-back quality content, the announcement of Ghoul with an astounding star-cast of Radhika Apte and Manav Kaul, put aside all the previous hatred towards Hindi media. 

Lying under the grounds of a dystopian world with classification on the basis of religion and dealing with sacrilegious texts, Patrick Graham’s Ghoul keeps you on the edge, constantly. Vinitha Singh, a first-year Journalism student at Kamala Nehru College, says, “I have watched Ghoul and I liked the fact that it was so mysterious. At every episode you are scared, but then, you keep on binge-watching because you cannot be patient enough. With so many twists and turns, it makes it hard to predict. I kinda loved it!” Indian viewers love the idea of ‘experimentation’ and Ghoul fits into this sphere perfectly. Religious myths and age-old narratives in a dystopia makes one a little more than simply existential. 

Following the huge success of Ghoul in 2018, Netflix released the much-awaited Typewriter by Sujoy Ghosh in 2019. Commonly referred to as India’s sasta (downgraded) Stranger Things, Typewriter is a roller-coaster ride with a bunch of 10-year-olds. The possession of an inanimate object leads to a series of drastic consequences due to a deep historical significance. Tightly packed with another set of the notable star-cast of Purab Kohli, Palomi Ghosh, and Jisshu Sengupta, Typewriter was welcomed by a lot of mixed reviews. Accusations of rushing into the climax by destroying the build-up is a common critique. Sarah Susan Varkey, a Political Science student at Jesus and Mary college states, “ I was very excited for the release of Typewriter after Ghoul and Stranger Things Season 3. But my happiness was short-lived as I didn’t really feel the horror other than a few jumpscares. I had high expectations, mostly due to the premise and the star-cast.”

With the massive success of both Ghoul and Typewriter, the Indian audience has increased its expectations, and would not bow down to nonsensica horror from Bollywood. Netflix India’s new horror original, Bulbul is all set to take wings within a few weeks; until then, happy binge-watching!

Feature Image Credits: Livemint

Anandi Sen 

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Stranger Things streamed its Season 3 on Netflix last week. Here is my take on this weird and mysterious season that certainly lived up to its hype.

Familiar faces return to our laptop screens when yet again, the mind-flayer is down to do the dirty. Amidst great publicity, promotion and production, Stranger Things Season 3 dropped with an engaging plotline and larger than life monster crises. The success story of this show’s popularity comes from its advantage of being a certified binge-watch. With just eight episodes, almost all of us sit and finish them, watching one after the other, playing it out like an eight-hour long movie rather than eight separate episodes.

This time around, the monster is bigger and better; American capitalism is growing, the show engages national level security crises where the Soviet Union is involved, the kids are now teenagers with priority issues and the mind flayer has a personal grudge against Eleven. These plotlines lead to a few kids and adults actually saving their country from not only an otherworldly being but also a Soviet Union infiltration of America.

Despite how absurd it always sounds, the Duffer Brothers make you buy it. Even if their story and imagination go off rails, their always loved characters bring the story back to its place and keep the viewers engaged. The emotional entanglement between the characters always pulls at your heartstrings, makes you laugh at places, and cry at others.

Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven is as adorable as it can get, she is still learning and exploring, she is naive when it comes to human relations but fierce when fighting monsters and throwing cars with her mind. She gets a confidant in the sassy out-going Max which works superbly well. There is Mike and Lucas, who are entwined in girl problems, Will who is feeling left out and Dustin, who is mostly away with a new gang of hooligans. This party with our beloved Steve and new faces Robin and Erica is the most fun to watch.

On the other hand, Joyce and Hopper have switched places with Nancy and Jonathan from Season 2 by undertaking the bickering-old-couple persona in their separate journey. Just like the past two seasons, it all culminates with one last fight, where all of these separate bands come together.

Another commendable moment was Robin coming out. We get to know little about this new character, but she remains fresh and boldly away from stereotypical gay representation. Steve again steals our hearts with his platonic friendship goals. Another aspect that Duffer Brother’s might explore in the next season can be Will’s sexuality. I strongly feel that he might come out as an asexual but his unwillingness to enter into romantic angles can also just be another aspect of him clinging to his childhood.

The show ends at a definitive cliff hanger which is absolutely heartbreaking for all of us, but it also makes many of us excited and already come up with fan theories about what will happen in the next season. Looking forward to Season 4, till then, keep the door open 3 inches!

 

 

Image Credits: YouTube

Sakshi Arora

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The premiere of Riverdale’s second season is scheduled on 11th October, and that of Emmy-nominated Stranger Things is appropriately just before Halloween, on 27th October. These much-hyped comebacks have a lot of exciting fan theories building up. But, hey, what about college internals? October is the onset of the exam season, with an overflow of assignments and internals. Take a break, watch the reruns of these shows while you wait for the new seasons, and build up some fan theories of your own.

Unlike the upbeat tone of the Archie Comics, the trailer of Riverdale starts off with some quick cuts that take on a noir, suspense-thriller tone. Since hitting our screens in January, Riverdale surprised critics and viewers alike. The Jason Blossom murder mystery has been solved, but there are plenty more questions to answer in this modestly dark town. Season one of the show ended with the murder of Archie’s father, Fred Andrews, in the local diner. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, show’s creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa said the identity of Fred Andrew’s shooter will be “the mystery that launches season two”. There are a plethora of fan theories just about who the killer is. Also, Betty’s brother – the abandoned son of Alice Cooper – is to appear in this season, theories say, as Chic Cooper. Can Joaquin the Southside Serpent have Cooper blood? If so, the tense moments between Mrs. Cooper and FP could be somewhat explainable. Hiram Lodge will finally share the screen, answering a lot more questions about his elusive character. Hope all stays good between our beloved Betty and Jughead; after all, he’s a Southside Serpent now and went on to stay in the southern part of the town. Will Veronica and Archie share more chemistry this season? There’s a lot to take in from the 30-second trailer, and it only gets crazier from there. Does Archie have a gun? Why is Jughead sneaking around a dark house with a baseball bat? Who is wearing the mask?

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Set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana in the 1980s, the first season of Stranger Things focused on the investigation into the disappearance of a young boy amid supernatural events occurring around the town, including the appearance of a psychokinetic girl who helps the missing boy’s friends in their own search. The second season is set a year after the first, and deals with attempts of the characters to return to “normal”, as well as consequences from the first season. The second season seems to have scenes set during Halloween having that retro ’80s throwback vibe. It turns out that this season will have a different vibe to the first, adopting a more ‘slow-burn’ atmosphere. “Trick or Treat?” states the caption of the latest poster of Stranger Things,an illustration of a young boy amidst a creepy field of pumpkins. Nancy and Mike are mourning for the apparent losses of their friends Barb and Eleven; however, the major part of the season is that Eleven is still alive! It all started with Will’s disappearance, but it was just the beginning: the adventure is yet to unfold its grasps. Can’t wait more!

 

Feature Image Credits: Tvovermind
Stranger Things Image Credits: Deadline

Radhika Boruah
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