An A-Z Of Your Most-Read For 2023

An A-Z Of What You Loved In 2023

Alcarràs: In 2023, your discerning cinephile side was on display. You loved this essay on Carla Simón’s Alcarràs, about a family of peach farmers fighting for their land, and their future. | 'It's Not Always Sunny In Catalonia'

Asur: You found Asur’s themes — mythology, religion, and the very idea of what is sacred vs what is not — intriguing, and this column as well. | ‘How Asur Takes On The Ideas Of Faith & Fantasy In India’

Aunty-ji: We observed that from Bhaji On The Beach and Monsoon Wedding to Polite Society, the "NRI Auntie" has reached her rightful peak, and you agreed. | ‘Auntie Ji's Ready To Dance’

Beef: Steven Yeun and Ali Wong can do no wrong in the eyes of critics — or you. Their ‘rage story’ got your attention, and how! | 'Netflix's Beef & The Romantic Tension Of Rage'

Citadel: We still go back to this review of Priyanka Chopra-Richard Madden's spy thriller when we need a good laugh, and it seems, so did you! | 'Citadel Uses Its Licence To Kill (Us With Boredom)'

Dhananjaya: The Gurudev Hoysala star spoke with us about his 25-film journey, holding on to the love of his fans, and the quest to prove himself. And you listened to his every word! | 'I Remain A Lower Middle-Class Boy At Heart'

Fahadh Faasil: Fahadh’s unhinged turn in Maamannan made you curious about other Malayalam actors who had stellar roles in other language films. | ‘Fahadh Faasil In Super Deluxe To Dulquer Sulmaan In Chup, 9 Malayalam Actors' Finest Roles In Other Language Films’

Ghosted: This Chris Evans-Ana de Armas film didn’t get much love, but our critic’s takedown of it sure did! | ‘Apple TV's Ghosted Is A Spy-Com That Ghosts Both Style & Substance’

HBO vs Hotstar: Right in time for the final season of Succession, fans found out that HBO’s bouquet of shows would no longer be available on Disney+ Hotstar. Even as this triggered a widespread game of groans (aka talks of cancelling subscriptions), Jio Cinema swooped in and scooped up Succession and its HBO kin. | ‘Has Disney Lost Its Hot Star?’

Heartstopper: ‘No television show should have the guts, gall and gumption to be this cute. But Heartstopper does,’ our critic wrote. And you agreed. | ‘Heartstopper Season 2: Netflix's Queer High School Dramedy Continues To Be All Heart’

Horror: The genre you were most drawn to this year. Anytime we wrote about a horror movie or trend, you couldn’t get enough of it. Some of our greatest horror hits included this series about the modern production houses that shaped the genre. | ‘Child's Play: How Horror's Creepiest Toys Channel Human Fears’

Independence Day: Our columnist’s musings on the search for a good I-Day movie — and what ‘good’ even means in this context — resonated with you. | ‘Border, Swades, Lakshya: In Search Of A Good Independence Day Film’

John Wick: Be it the fourth instalment in the hit(man) franchise, or its TV spin-off invoking the world of the Continental, you didn’t miss a beat. | ‘John Wick: Chapter 4 & The Rent-Heart Hitman’

Kohrra: In many ways, this Barun Sobti-starring series was among the high points of 2023 streaming. Our critic certainly thought so, and so did you. | ‘Kohrra: Netflix's Ambitious Police Procedural Is Rewarding — & Disturbing’

Leo: Vijay. Lokesh Kanagaraj. Need we say more? | ‘Vijay's Leo & Lokesh Kanagaraj’s History Of Violence’

Life On Our Planet: Netflix’s docuseries won fans for its educative yet entertaining lowdown on evolution. You were seemingly among them. | ‘Life On Our Planet: Earth Gets A Netflix Biopic’

Loki: The God of Mischief counted you among his devotees this year. | ‘Loki-n Good: The Marvel Of Norse Myths’

Lupin: Guess what the ‘Gentleman Thief’ stole this year? Your heart. | ‘Lupin Returns, Better Than Ever’

Matthew Perry: Chandler Bing was a friend to us all, which is why Matthew Perry's passing felt so personal. | ‘The Man Who Was Matthew Perry’

Malayalam: The cinema you were most interested in this year, at least when it came to our newsletters. From interviews to reviews and thinkpieces, you keenly followed all our writing on Malayalam films, old and new. | ‘C U Soon's Kevin To Super Sharanya's Sona: Characters We'd Love To See In Spin-Offs’

Made In Heaven 2: Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti’s return to the world of big, fat Indian weddings met with a mixed response. Our much-read review didn’t. | ‘Made In Heaven Season 2: Moral Science Via Seamier Side Of Shaadis’

Mission Impossible 7: Agent Ethan Hunt accepted his mission. And so did you. | ‘Tom Cruise Is A Man On A Mission: Impossible’

Mumbai Diaries 2: Based on the disastrous 2005 floods in the city, Mumbai Diaries’ second season was a deft retelling of a tragedy. | ‘Mumbai Diaries Season 2: Even More Incisive & Wrenching In Its Sophomore Turn’

Naatu Naatu: RRR's Oscar for Best Original Song made history, and underscored the playful anti-colonialism manifested in ‘Naatu Naatu’. | ‘A Ditty's Dizzying Rise’

Night Manager 2: Across two seasons, this Anil Kapoor-Aditya Roy Kapur fronted take on John Le Carre’s espionage thriller showed us how such localised adaptations of international works should look. | ‘The Night Manager & Indian Spy Thrillers’

Obsession: We’ll blame this on the 365 Days phenomenon. Netflix tried to finagle another global hit out of an erotic thriller series. Except, as our critic noted, Obsession was more seamy than steamy. You agreed. | ‘Erotic Filler’

Onscreen Screams: This was the subject of one of our most-read newsletters this year, in which we took a decibel-dive into the evolution of yellish behaviour in cinema, recording how the scream has become a symbol of certain milestone moments in iconic movies. Re-read it here. | ‘The Howl's Moving Passel’

Past Lives: Another of your world cinema faves from our newsletters this year. Even before it earned its five Golden Globe nominations (at the time of writing this), this tale of childhood sweethearts reuniting as adults and navigating the concepts of fate, soulmates and destiny had won your heart. Ours too. | ‘Past Lives & The Language Of Dreaming’

RDX: With his film a box office sensation, director Nahas Hidayath showed he had his finger on the pulse of the masses. The response to this interview with OTTplay showed you wanted to find out more about the promising filmmaker. | ‘I Want To Be The Guy Who Offers You A Great Theatre Watch’

Red, White & Royal Blue: Our review of this English Prince-meets-American First Son romance had its own meet-cute with you! | ‘Red, White & Royal Blue Is The Queer Romcom We Didn't Know We Needed’

Honourable mentions: Rocket Boys 2 — ‘Grounding Its Geniuses’ | Rana Naidu — ‘Foul-Mouthed Men Do Questionable Things’

Sapta Sagaradache Ello: Hemanth M Rao, the maker of this year's most unforgettable Kannada film, spoke with OTTplay about bringing the poignant story to screen. You followed along. | ‘Love Demands Vulnerability’

Scam 2003: The story of Abdul Karim Telgi had you riveted, as also Gagan Dev Riar’s central performance. | ‘Gagan Dev Riar's Turn As Telgi Could Be Breakthrough Performance Of The Year’

Selvamani Selvaraj: The director of this year’s critically acclaimed Netflix documentary, The Hunt For Veerappan, spoke with OTTplay about how he uncovered the man behind the outlaw. | ‘Veerappan’s Story Is One That Teaches Us To Be Better As A Society’

Swarm: Amazon Prime Video’s horror-satire has featured on many ‘Best of 2023’ lists. Our review of it also met with your unequivocal approval. | ‘Swarm Tells The Bloody Truth About Stan-dom’

Taj — Divided By Blood: With our critic labelling the series “campy and confounding”, this was among our most-read reviews in 2023. Would you like to revisit it? | ‘Mughal-e-Spasm’

Tillotama Shome: You loved the actress’ performances in Lust Stories 2 and The Night Manager. And this deep-dive into her well-deserved moment in the spotlight. | ‘The Tillotama Shome Brand Of Brilliance™’

Tum Mere Ho: This offbeat weekend read, part of National Film Award-winning writer Amborish Roychoudhury’s OTTplay series on bizarre Bollywood titles, had you intrigued. | ‘When Bollywood's Shapeshifting Snake Genre Had An Unlikely Hero In Aamir Khan’

Vinayakan: Part of almost 40 films, in roles small and significant, Jailer made Vinayakan’s prowess impossible to overlook. | ‘Vinayakan's Jailer Glory Has Been A Long Time Coming’

Women Talking: Its screenplay took home an Oscar (‘Best Adapted…’). Our review took home your approval. | ‘A Searing Look At Navigating & Negotiating Trauma’

YA: With titles like Kafas, Adhura and School of Lies, the young adult genre showed it was ready to tackle very grown-up themes. | ‘YA Comes Of Age’

YRF Spy Universe: Pathan x Kabir x Tiger. Any wonder why this column by us had you hooked? | ‘With Tiger 3, We're Ready For The Marvel-isation of Bollywood’

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