The winners of the 69th National Film Awards were announced yesterday from the titles certified by CBFC in the year 2021. Films like ‘RRR’, ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’, ‘Sardar Udham’, ‘Pushpa’ and ‘Pushpa’ bagged major awards during National Film Awards 2023. However, there were also some films whose names were sorely missed by fans. We have compiled a list of some must-watch movies which couldn’t win any awards in the ‘Best Film’, ‘Best Actor’, ‘Best Director’, ‘Special Mention’ or any other categories this time. You can watch these films on various OTT platforms which we have mentioned below.
Sarpatta Parambarai (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video)
It’s a brilliantly executed period boxing drama set during 1970s North Madras. The film features Arya in the role of an underdog boxer Kabilan. He gets a golden opportunity to redeem himself and his Sarpatta Parambarai clan by winning a boxing match against the rival Idiyappa Parambarai clan and defeating their reigning champ Vembuli.
Karnan (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video)
This Tamil language action film stars Dhanush in the titular role of a fearless and conservative villager and how he valiantly fights for the rights and justice of the oppressed village people.
Minnal Murali (Streaming on Netflix)
Set during the 1990s, the film follows the superhero origin story of a small-town tailor Jaison (Tovino Thomas). When Jaison is struck by a bolt of lightning in a rare astronomical event, it bestows him special powers like super speed, extraordinary strength, telekinesis, and extreme agility. After Jaison embraces these powers and assumes the superhero mantle of Minnal Murali, he must protect the people from his evil counterpart.
Jai Bhim (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video)
Directed by T. J. Gnanavel, ‘Jai Bhim’ is an intense courtroom investigative drama that starts off with the story of a man from a primitive tribal community who is accused of stealing from an affluent house. Thereafter, he is taken into police custody and eventually goes missing. The man’s pregnant wife takes the help of an upright High Court advocate Chandru (Suriya) to find her missing husband. How the lawyer fights for the justice of the tribal couple, forms the rest of the film’s plot.
Maanaadu (Streaming on SonyLIV)
‘Maanaadu’ is a high-concept science fiction action thriller movie deftly executed by Venkat Prabhu. The plotline revolves around a common man Abdul Khaaliq (played by Silambarasan), who, by a twist of fate, gets stuck in a time-loop on the same day as that of a political campaign where the Chief Minister is addressing a rally.
Aarkkariyam (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video)
Set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the crime drama movie follows the story of Shirley and Roy, who are going through a financial crisis. They leave their home in Mumbai for Shirley’s place in Pala where her father resides. But the story takes a turn when Roy realizes that there is more to her home than meets the eye.
83 (Streaming on Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar)
Helmed by Kabir Khan, the movie showcases the Indian cricket team’s historic victory at the 1983 cricket world cup. Ranveer Singh essayed the role of the Indian cricket team’s legendary captain Kapil Dev and portrays his and his teammates’ incredible journey from being an underdog team to lifting the world cup by beating the formidable West Indians at the Lords Cricket Ground on 25th June 1983.