The Netflix Top 10 is a funny entity. It can make kingpins out of the most mediocre pieces of content out there. Take for instance, the very ordinary Polish film, 365 Days. The movie, which can almost be categorised as soft porn, has stayed put in the Netflix India Top 10 ever since it released on the streaming platform in June. Likewise with the Spanish series, Dark Desire – another sex-filled, ho-hum show.
And now, this week, a little known Hindi film is trending in the Netflix India Top Ten, out of the blue. It is a movie barely a few people would have heard of, if at all. It is – ‘Santa Banta Pvt Ltd’!
Gotcha! We bet you’ve never heard of the movie. Yes, we were shocked out of our wits too, when we found that the aforementioned movie – the unimaginatively named Santa Banta Pvt Ltd is at #5 on the Netflix India Top 10 Movies of the Week – ahead of The Devil All The Time, Cargo and Raat Akeli Hai; and #10 in the common Top 10 list.
Santa Banta Pvt Ltd was released in the theatres in 2016 (really??), and obviously flopped. It came and went without a trace, with hardly anyone registering its existence. But now look! It’s a rockstar – courtesy the Netflix India Top 10!
The movie’s cast, though, is quite eclectic. It is packed with powerhouse performers. Santa Banta Pvt Ltd stars Boman Irani, Vir Das, Neha Dhupia, Lisa Haydon, Johnny Lever, Ram Kapoor, Sanjay Mishra and the inimitable Vijay Raaz. It is a spy comedy, and the classic comedy of errors.
Two friends, Santa and Banta, obviously Sardarjis, both of them, are mistaken to be secret agents and packed off to rescue the kidnapped Fijian Ambassador. Vir Das and Boman Irani play the friends Santa and Banta. The movie is written and directed by Akashdeep Sabir. It has been produced by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures.
Santa Banta Pvt Ltd may have been panned by critics and flopped when it first released in 2016, but it is enjoying its place in the sun again, courtesy Netflix, and its band of subscribers!
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