Showing posts with label Sikandar Ka Muqaddar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sikandar Ka Muqaddar. Show all posts
Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar dominate India’s 2024 streaming charts
7:59 AM
Javed Farooqui (THE ECONOMIC TIMES; January 24, 2025)
Prime Video and Netflix topped India’s 15 most-viewed Hindi streaming shows in 2024, while Disney+ Hotstar led in Tamil and Telugu, according to Ormax Media’s ‘Streaming Originals in India - The 2024 Story’ report.
The report emphasized the dominance of platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar, which collectively have an estimated 70 million subscribers. It highlighted the growing role of regional content and franchise-driven formats in shaping India’s streaming landscape.
Netflix and Prime Video each had five entries in the top 15 Hindi streaming shows. Mirzapur Season 3 was the most-watched Hindi series with 30.8 million viewers, followed by Prime Video's Panchayat Season 3 (28.2 million) and Netflix’s Heeramandi (21.5 million). The viewership estimates were based on primary data, according to Ormax.
In the non-fiction OTT category, JioCinema's Bigg Boss OTT Season 3 led with 17.8 million viewers. Netflix’s The Great Indian Kapil Show Season 1 ranked second with 15.7 million viewers, while SonyLIV's Shark Tank India Season 3 secured 12.5 million viewers.
The report also highlights a wide variety of unscripted genres, spanning TV extensions, documentaries, game shows, and reality formats driven by influencers.
Netflix also dominated Hindi direct-to-digital films claiming 11 of the top 15 spots, with Do Patti leading at 15.1 million viewers, followed by Sector 36 (13.9 million) and Sikandar Ka Muqaddar (13.5 million).
“Audiences today seek more choices—across stories, devices—and we’re here to meet that demand,” said Monika Shergill, Netflix India’s vice president, content. “The sheer convenience of streaming with improved accessibility and broadband and CTV market growth is leading to a revolution in how we consume our entertainment. Exceptional storytelling enhanced by quality subtitles and dubbing in several languages is enabling more stories to travel and be consumed by more audiences in India and around the globe."
She further noted, “At Netflix, originals like Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, Amar Singh Chamkila, The Great Indian Kapil Show, and blockbuster movie slates in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu have demonstrated how entertainment and experience can together become the key drivers of streaming growth.”
Nikhil Madhok, Head of Originals, Prime Video India, stated that Indian audiences are open to good stories regardless of language, format, or genre. He highlighted Prime Video's success in engaging audiences across languages with titles like Mirzapur Season 3, Panchayat Season 3, Inspector Rishi, and global hits like The Boys and The Rings of Power.
"We are in a unique time, a renaissance in Indian entertainment, where all kinds of stories are being told and all genres are being explored on streaming. We will continue to collaborate with the finest creators and storytellers from India and around the world to offer our customers some of the most dynamic, fresh, out-of-the-box stories," he said.
Last year, Netflix and Prime Video unveiled ambitious content slates. Netflix’s 2024 slate included 14 shows and eight films, while Prime Video India announced plans to release 70 series and films over the next two years.
In regional content, Disney+ Hotstar's Save The Tigers Season 2 (5 million viewers) and Prime Video's Inspector Rishi (4.9 million viewers) were the top Telugu and Tamil shows, respectively. Disney+ Hotstar dominated the top 10 lists in both languages, with four Telugu and seven Tamil entries.
Netflix’s Squid Game Season 2 became the most-watched international show of 2024 with 19.6 million viewers, securing its place as India’s all-time leader. Among international films, Prime Video’s Road House led with 6 million viewers.
While the report excluded YouTube Originals, it acknowledged the success of India’s Got Latent on Samay Raina’s YouTube channel, which could have ranked in the top three.
According to Ormax, the report evaluated the top original shows and films released in 2024 in Hindi, International, Telugu, and Tamil across parameters such as viewership, marketing buzz, and content strength. It focused exclusively on original content, excluding theatrical films, catch-up TV, sports, and other non-original streaming content.
(Crisp) Movie Review: SIKANDAR KA MUQADDAR by FENIL SETA
10:27 PM
Sikandar Ka Muqaddar, which has released today on Netflix, begins with a bang. The plot initially seems novel; one hasn't seen something like this before and hence, it grips viewers. But in the second half, the film falters big time as the script develops cracks. The suspense is not entirely unpredictable. Also, the intent of the characters is questionable. One character is shockingly forgotten while the final scene fails to entice. Avinash Tiwary is quite effortless despite having a challenging role. Tamannaah Bhatia looks gorgeous and does very well. Jimmy Sheirgill is the best performer of the film. Rajeev Mehta is okay and is hardly there. Divya Dutta is too good, as expected, in a cameo. Ridhima Pandit (Priya Sawant) and Zoya Afroz (Tabassum) do well in small roles. The others who leave a mark are Santanu Ghatak (Anoop; who gives the tip), Khurshed Lawyer (Parker; advocate), Ashrut Jain (Manish; Sikandar's friend) and Aparna Upadhyay (Sikandar's mother). All in all, Sikandar Ka Muqaddar is yet another disappointing film from Neeraj Pandey after Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha.
My rating - ** out of 5!
My rating - ** out of 5!
Jimmy Sheirgill is holding on to his pauses way better now-Neeraj Pandey
7:51 AM
In the run-up to the release of Sikandar Ka Muqaddar, director Neeraj Pandey talks about being genre-agnostic, and working with Jimmy Sheirgill over the years
Sucheta Chakraborty (MID-DAY; November 24, 2024)
“More numbers on the speed dial, you mean?” quips Neeraj Pandey when we ask him about the things that have changed in his approach to filmmaking in the 16 years since he burst onto the filmmaking scene with A Wednesday! The rigours of storytelling remain unchanged, he says, just as the pressures of dealing with producers, studios and networks persist.
“The ability to grasp things might have gotten sharper, but now you’ve got new tech that throws new challenges. You live and learn every single day on the set, and you just hope you’re always catching up. The tech is growing faster than you can imagine, and so that part of learning is pretty complicated and you want to stay up to speed,” he says.
Pandey’s new film Sikandar Ka Muqaddar marks a return for the writer-director to the thriller, a genre he has often experimented with in the past through projects such as Special 26, Baby, Special Ops and The Freelancer. “I consider myself pretty genre-agnostic though,” he refutes. “It’s mostly about getting a story you’re excited about.”
Sikandar Ka Muqaddar, which premieres on Netflix on November 29, builds around a diamond heist. “Sikandar [Avinash Tiwary] becomes a suspect and cop Jaswinder [Jimmy] shapes Sikandar’s destiny throughout the film, over the course of 15 years,” Pandey tells us. Hence the title.
Is there a reference to the Prakash Mehra-directed Amitabh Bachchan film it plays on? “Nothing,” shrugs the director, “apart from the fact that I grew up on that film and my entire generation loved its music.”
Sikandar Ka Muqaddar was shot over a period of three months in Mumbai, Karjat, Pune, Lonavala, Agra and Abu Dhabi. While there are usually different trials and challenges to negotiate on a set, the weather and light conditions proved tricky, the director tells us. Since they wanted to finish filming by April to shoot with a certain kind of light and weather, they were racing against time, he adds.
The new film also marks another collaboration between Pandey and Jimmy Sheirgill after A Wednesday!, Special 26 and Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha. His “longevity” distinguishes him, says Pandey of the actor who began his film career in 1996 with the Gulzar-directed Maachis. “He’s been around and not changed much as a person. He’s pretty much the same guy he was when I was filming A Wednesday! in 2007—at least with me,” he says.
At the same time, he has evolved significantly as an actor through the different roles he has done, he points out. “There’s a certain amount of stay that has come in. His performance is more nuanced and he’s holding on to his pauses way better now.”
Besides Sheirgill, Tiwary and Tamannaah Bhatia in lead roles, the ensemble also features actors like Zoya Afroz, Ridhima Pandit and Rajeev Mehta. “As individuals, these actors are chalk and cheese, and so, it gets interesting when you’re dealing with them on set,”
Pandey tells us, explaining how a director must understand the actors’ individual processes and ways of interpreting information. “You cannot use the same grammar, the same vocabulary with every actor. With some, like Jimmy who’s had this journey with me, I can convey [a lot] without saying too much.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)