Tag Archives: March 3

Streaming Video News: June 11, 2021

I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with today’s additions of the Tamil comedy Sarbath and the Hindi/English coming-of-age film Skater Girl. The skatepark that was constructed in Rajasthan for the filming of Skater Girl was left up and is free for public use.

This month’s paucity of new Indian releases got me wondering about the fate of the titles from Netflix’s big March 3 announcement of their slate of upcoming projects. The announcement included 13 feature films, 15 new and returning series, and 13 unscripted movies, series, and comedy specials.

Five of the films — Ajeeb Daastaans, The Disciple, Milestone, Pagglait, and Sardar Ka Grandson — have released so far, with Jagame Thandhiram and Haseen Dillruba set to join them in the coming weeks. Bombay Begums and Ray (coming out later this month) are the only series to be added. Two unscripted titles have been released as well: Searching for Sheela and The Big Day, Collection 2. In all, that’s only 11 of 41 titles accounted for.

Even though fiction series made up the bulk of the titles announced, only two have gotten release dates. I’m not sure if this was always the plan or if this is a result of pandemic-related production delays. It could be the former — a series starring Mike Myers just started filming, two years after it was announced — but recent COVID-19 shutdowns had to affect at least some of the shows (not to mention the five stand-up comedy specials that were announced).

Despite a whole lineup of series and shows, could this month’s anemic offerings be the start of an Indian content drought at Netflix? The answer is… maybe? Most of 2021’s few theatrical releases — like Roohi and Madam Chief Minister — are already on Netflix or another streaming service. But maybe the titles from the March 3 announcement are further along in production than I assume. Still, I won’t be surprised if Netflix starts throwing cash at distributors to acquire some of the titles that have been waiting for a theatrical release since last spring. The theatrical release calendar is awfully crowded, and several movies have been postponed more than once. Might be time for distributors to cash in and help bulk up Netflix’s catalog.

Hotstar has today’s other new Hindi feature release: the road trip musical Shaadisthan.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with a handful of Indian titles that have been added in the last week. I’m undertaking a massive weeding effort on the Amazon page, pulling entries that are no longer available free with a Prime membership. By the time I’m done, the page will be less than half the length of its peak several months ago.

Have a nice weekend!

Opening March 3: Commando 2 and Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai

Two new Hindi films open in the Chicago area on March 3, 2017, including my most highly anticipated Hindi movie of the whole year. Commando 2 is the followup to the awesome 2013 action flick Commando, starring Vidyut Jammwal, Bollywood’s best action star. He’s joined in the sequel by Esha Gupta and Adah Sharma.

Commando 2 opens Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 24 min.

Also new this weekend is Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai. Here’s Fandango’s unhelpful plot synopsis:

jiknhplotsynopsisI have no idea why this is releasing internationally. If Running Shaadi earned less than $15,000 here with recognizable actors and the backing of a major studio, I don’t know why anyone thinks a romance starring Salman Khan’s brother is worth the effort. Maybe the timing’s better. We’ll see.

Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai (god, I’m sick of typing this long-ass title already) opens Friday at MovieMax, South Barrington 30, Cantera 17, and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 40 min.

Rangoon carries over for a second week at MovieMax, Cantera 17, and South Barrington 30, which also holds over Jolly LLB 2. MovieMax has the Hindi version of The Ghazi Attack/Ghazi as well as the English-subtitled Telugu version, which also gets a third weekend at Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend: