As we approach the end of October, OTT platforms continue to put out fresh content, offering plenty to binge on during lazy weekends. We’ve all experienced the mundanity of scrolling through streaming apps for hours as our food grows cold, so we’ve returned with a list of recommendations to keep you engaged. First up, Mona Singh and Ashutosh Gowariker come together for Kaala Paani, a Netflix survival drama set in the isolated Andaman and Nicobar Islands. On the same platform, we’ve also got filmmaker Mike Flanagan’s not-so-surprising return during the Halloween season — this time, with The Fall of the House of Usher, a modern-day take on the eponymous Edgar Allan Poe short story.
The Dulquer Salmaan-led King of Kotha is another standout, debuting on Disney+ Hotstar less than two months after its theatrical release. Then, of course, you can catch a new episode of Loki season 2 — not mentioned below — to follow the God of Mischief on more of his time-hopping adventures. The series premiere drew 10.9 million viewers globally, marking the second-most watch premiere for Disney+. With that, here’s a guide on what to watch this weekend:
Kaala Paani
When: Now streaming
Where: Netflix
When a mysterious illness spreads throughout the lush Andaman and Nicobar Islands, its inhabitants — including a group of tourists gathered together for a festival — are trapped within and forced into a fight for survival under the perpetual delusion of a cure being developed soon. Politicians and law enforcers struggle to keep the denizens calm while the medical professionals toil all day, tallying fatalities and figuring out what caused them. It’s also why this thriller show is named the way it is — Kaala Paani, a reference to the prison in Port Blair, whose actual walls aren’t made of brick and mortar, but thousands of kilometers of seawater that make ideas of escape impossible. The story, however, is unveiled through its cast — Mona Singh (Made in Heaven), Ashutosh Gowariker (Lagaan), and Amey Wagh (Asur) — differing perspectives.
Permanent Roommates Season 3
When: Now streaming
Where: Amazon Prime Video
One of TVF’s most-beloved couples, Tanya (Nidhi Singh) and Mikesh (Sumeet Vyas), is back with a third instalment of Permanent Roommates. The pair is still together after seven long years, navigating fresh challenges, albeit Tanya feels stuck in her partner’s so-called ideal life. Attributing this unhappiness to her mundane career, she brings up the idea of wanting to move abroad Canada and sort of restart their life from scratch. Mikesh, however, isn’t fond of that and wants to stick to his Indian roots, having spent years in the US before and finding some solace here. As you’d expect, this decision puts the couple at odds, taking them on a bumpy ride as they rekindle their love and interests.
The Fall of the House of Usher
When: Now streaming
Where: Netflix
Ruthless siblings Madeline (Mary McDonnell) and Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood) turned Fortunato Pharmaceuticals into a huge corporate empire, albeit with a fair share of malpractice. But things get wild when a mysterious woman from their past, Verna (Carla Gugino), invades their life, causing the Usher bloodline to die one by one in horrific ways that are reminiscent of renowned author Edgar Allan Poe’s works. As usual, creator Mike Flanagan is reunited with some of his previous collaborators in The Fall of the House of Usher, including Rahul Kohli (Midnight Mass), Kate Siegel (The Haunting of Hill House), and Samantha Sloyan (The Midnight Club).
King of Kotha
When: Now streaming
Where: Disney+ Hotstar
Dulquer Salmaan stars in this period drama as Raju, a power-hungry individual who grows up to become a merciless gangster like his father, much to his family’s dismay. Some depressive circumstances in his crime-infested town of Kotha cause him to leave forever, that is, until he is summoned back by Inspector Shahul Hassan (Prasanna) to take down the ruthless drug empire built by Kannan (Shabeer Kallarakkal), an old friend of Raju. On a mission to save the youth of Kotha from living on narcotics, the two go head-to-head, dissolving past differences in gung-ho style action and fight sequences. King of Kotha is directed by debutant Abhilash Joshiy and it also stars Aishwarya Lekshmi (Ponniyin Selvan: II) in the lead.
Upload season 3
When: October 20 (Now streaming)
Where: Amazon Prime Video
Newly-downloaded Nathan (Robbie Amell) and his handler Nora (Andy Allo) are now officially in a relationship, living an ideal life, albeit with the risk of the former being deleted. For the uninitiated, Upload is set in a futuristic world whereupon computer programmer Nathan’s mysterious death his conscience is uploaded onto a digital afterlife called Lakeview. Through this, he continues living and interacting with people he knew in real life, though in season 3, a new problem presents itself. Turns out, there’s another version of him living elsewhere, which the ‘real’ Nathan ponders whether it counts as identity theft. Meanwhile, the clone has presented his ex-girlfriend Ingrid (Allegra Edwards) with a second shot at making their lost relationship successful, which is bound to cause some drama.
The Conference
When: Now streaming
Where: Netflix
Halloween season always calls for slasher movies, and this week we’ve got The Conference, a Swedish language thriller trapping a group of municipal employees in a fight for survival. The public-sector workers are at a modest countryside resort in order to celebrate their latest achievement, when accusations of corruption start getting hurled around, unravelling the dysfunctional relationship between them. Meanwhile, a mysterious masked figure stalks and trudges along the compound, killing the members one-by-one in a brutal fashion. The Conference stars Katia Winter, Maria Sid, and Adam Lundgren as leads.