Year wrap: Revisiting breakthrough OTT performances of the year
The emergence of OTT platforms has ensured a wide range of content across different streamers and has also been a pathway for several established film actors to foray into the expansive world of OTT. While films may have grasped at straws, OTT has regularly churned out quality content. As the year draws to a close, let's revisit some breakthrough performances that dominated OTT platforms.
Shefali Shah
Shefali Shah has proved repeatedly that there's no role she can't ace! Be it a fierce, gutsy mother in Darlings or a courageous cop in Delhi Crime Season 2, Shah repeatedly proved her ability over the craft. Moreover, the actor also earned adulation for her author-backed role as a demure house-help in Jalsa, which was released on Amazon Prime Video in March this year.
Huma Qureshi
Huma Qureshi's character as Rani Bharti in Maharani has been not just her most memorable performance of the year, but also her career-defining role so far. She took a 180-degree turn with Vasan Bala's Monica, O My Darling, where she played a quintessential femme fatale and the titular character Monica Machado. The roles may have been diametrically opposite, but Qureshi aced them and how!
Pankaj Tripathi
Thespian-actor Pankaj Tripathi already has a towering reputation on OTT, thanks to Amazon Prime Video's crime series Mirzapur. However, this year, he was in the spotlight due to Disney+ Hotstar's Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach and his character Madhav Mishra has garnered an iconic status over the past three seasons. Reports suggest that Tripathi will soon reprise his role in the fourth installment, too.
Tahir Raj Bhasin
Tahir Raj Bhasin's character in Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein, of a man caught in the clutches of a crime-lord and his daughter, wasn't an easy one, but Bhasin breathed life into it and didn't get overshadowed in the presence of actors like Shweta Tripathi and Saurabh Shukla. Naturally, the series was overly reliant on his part and Bhasin did complete justice to his screentime.
Madhuri Dixit
The Dhak Dhak girl has still got it! Madhuri Dixit debuted on OTT with Netflix's The Fame Game where she played a popular Indian actor. Her second offering was Amazon Prime Video's Maja Ma, a movie that championed the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. While both these projects may have received mixed reviews, Dixit's powerful performance was a common denominator across all of them!
