It is impossible to imagine the existence of SonyLIV without its originals. The streaming service offered some good content in February 2023. But they lacked heat. Well, that’s not the case with the projects released on the platform in March 2023.
SonyLIV delivered some great outings in March, like Accidental Farmer and Co, Rocket Boys Season 2, The Whale, and Purusha Pretham. However, Bad Trip and Christy failed to impress the audience.
Bad Trip (Series/Direct-to-OTT) – Miss
Accidental Farmer and Co (Series/Direct-to-OTT) – Hit
Christy (Movie/Licensed) – Miss
Rocket Boys Season 2 (Series/Direct-to-OTT) – Hit
The Whale (Movie/Licensed) – Hit
Purusha Pretham (Movie/Direct-to-OTT) – Hit
Bad Trip (March 10, 2023)
This comedy crime drama revolves around a couple of strangers who end up sharing a cab with a hitman. However, things quickly go sideways when the hitman gets murdered at his drop point. This scenario becomes more interesting when the strangers decide to finish the hitman’s job: kidnap a rich woman for a hefty reward of 3 crores.
Krishna Kanth Mamidala makes his directional debut with Bad Trip. His direction looks flawed, but he still delivers some edgy and funny moments. Although, some of the jokes do not land well at all. Additionally, the series suffers from a weak climax. Ravi Varma and Chaitanya deliver impressive performances. A one-time watch only.
Accidental Farmer and Co (March 10, 2023)
This Sugan Jay series focuses on a young idiot, Chella, who miraculously becomes his village’s hero after growing a herbal plant and converting it into a medicine. However, every good thing in our lives has repercussions, even fame. What happens to him?
The duo of Vaibhav and Chutii Aravind shine in this good but not great comedy drama. The former convinces us with his portrayal of an innocent loser. When it comes to direction, Jay handles this project well. Although, the series would have worked better if it had more jokes or funny moments. In addition, it would have benefitted itself after trimming down some unnecessary moments. Still, the show manages to entertain.
Christy (March 10, 2023)
Filmmaker Alvin Henry’s debut flick tells the story of a teenage boy, Roy, who falls in love with his tutor, Christy. The duo is part of a harmonious community residing in a coastal village. Due to Roy’s horrible academic performance, his family asks Christy to help with his studies.
Henry’s debut helming project functions more like a misfire rather than a heart-touching tale of love. The flick’s title is Christy. But the entire story has been told from the perspective of Roy. In other words, we see Christy only from Roy’s eyes. Did she like him? Or poor Roy just romanticized every good gesture of Christy? The flick portrays her character as a lonely divorcee who feels good about herself when she is with a teenage boy.
The honest performances of Matthew Thomas and Malavika Mohanan give this film some life. But they are enough to save the entire project from weak writing and poor final act.
Rocket Boys Season 2 (March 16, 2023)
The second season of Rocket Boys loses some of its propulsion in its attempt to go bigger and darker than Season 1. Still, it is a worthy addition to the series. The sophomore entry’s plot explores India’s attempts to create a nuclear bomb. Also, we see a larger role played by APJ Abdul Kalam (Arjun Radhakrishnan) and the introduction of Indira Gandhi (Charu Shankar) in this season.
The leading duo of Jim Sarbh (Homi J. Bhabha) and Ishwak Singh (Vikram Sarabhai) wins our hearts again. Regina Cassandra, as Mrinalini Sarabhai, looks in fine form too. However, the second season’s slow pace may test our patience.
Director Abhay Pannu impresses with his helming work in Season 2. Although, the follow-up to Season 1 would have worked better if it had not relied on the heavy fictionalization of the story.
The Whale (March 16, 2023)
This Darren Aronofsky’s directional delivers a captivating and heartbreaking tale of a broken fat man who wants to reconnect with his daughter. And it becomes even better with Brendan Fraser’s killer performance. He has made the comeback of the century in terms of acting with this one. His empathetic and haunting portrayal of an overly-obese man hits hard.
The rest of the cast, including Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, and Ty Simpkins, looks great too. Chau’s Liz perfectly balances the childish behaviour of Charlie. On the other hand, Sink’s Ellie beautifully captures the anger and frustration that develops from parental abandonment. Overall, it is an amazing watch!
Purusha Pretham (March 20, 2023)
Krishand’s third feature certainly turns out better than his previous critically acclaimed outing, Aavasavyuham. The film works as a masterful blend of police procedural and neo-noir satire. It follows Sebastian, a cop who discovers an unidentified dead body in a lake within his station premises. After being left unclaimed for several days, Sebastian and his colleagues decided to give the body a dignified burial. However, the entire scenario changes drastically after a woman claims that the body was her husband’s.
In addition to being a neo-noir thriller, Purusha Pretham also critiques the Indian Police System. Sebastian’s personal and professional life begins to crumble after the mysterious disappearance of the body.
This Malayalam flick deserves all-round applause for its amazingness. The cast does an outstanding job, specially Jagadish, whose one-liners tickle the very core of our ribs. Darshana Rajendran turns out to be a revelation in this one. A must-watch!
SonyLIV bestowed four exclusive entries and a couple of licensed outings in March this year.
SonyLIV Success Score in March: 66.67%
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