From Hansal Mehta to Zoya Akhtar: Filmmakers who ventured into OTT and tasted success

Bollywood Hungama looks at filmmakers who tasted success in the web medium.

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

October 4, 2023 - 3:24 PM IST

The OTT arena started in India around seven years ago, but the boom of web shows happened only in 2020 after theatres were shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new medium saw a number of well-known actors turning towards it. But along with them, a number of established filmmakers to ventured into the web medium and made some memorable shows and films.

From Hansal Mehta to Zoya Akhtar: Filmmakers who ventured into OTT and tasted success

In this feature, Bollywood Hungama looks at those filmmakers.

Hansal Mehta

Hansal Mehta is known for creating some meaningful and hard-hitting films like Shahid, CityLights, Aligarh, Omerta, etc. But he found immense fame only after he ventured into the web world. His Sony LIV show Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta story is considered one of the top OTT shows from India. He followed it up with the more acclaimed projects like the movie Faraaz, crime show Scoop and the second show in the Scam series in the form of Scam 2003: The Telgi Story. This has ensured that Mehta has become one of the most famous names on OTT.

Prakash Jha

Prakash Jha is known for his serious dramas that often deal with politics or some social evil. After making numerous films in this sphere for almost four decades, he ventured into the OTT arena with the show Aashram. It told the story of a fake Godman, played by Bobby Deol, who is worshipped by lakhs of his followers as they are unaware about his ghastly evil side, which includes crimes like murders and rapes. Aashram, which has had three seasons till now, has had several moments that showed a glimpse of the hard-hitting content Jha is known for.

Raj and DK

Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, popularly known as Raj and DK, have some acclaimed films to their credit like Shor In The City and Go Goa Gone. But the director duo found actual fame on OTT with the two seasons of their espionage show The Family Man, which starred Manoj Bajpai in the titular role. They followed it up with Shahid Kapoor’s first web series Farzi, which also succeeded in entertaining the audience. The two are right now considered for their quirky content, all thanks to the OTT.

Zoya Akhtar

Zoya Akhtar’s OTT venture Made In Heaven turned out to be a success. The show brought an interesting story of lavish wedding planners while showcasing social realities. The success of its first season gave rise to the second season, which also received rave reviews. Zoya’s web project comes after a string of acclaimed films like Luck By Chance, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Dil Dhadakne Do and Gully Boy. She was also the writer and creator for the highly acclaimed show Dahaad, which starred Sonakshi Sinha in the lead. She also has the highly anticipated web film The Archies in the pipeline, which marks the film debut of Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan among with others.

Reema Kagti

Reema Kagti was also one of the directors of Made In Heaven along with her close friend Zoya Akhtar. She also directed and created Dahaad, for which Zoya was one of the writers. Both of Reema’s web projects have yielded fruitful results. Before turning towards OTT, she had films like Honey Moon Travels Pvt. Ltd, Talaash: The Answer Lies Within and Gold to her credit. Her upcoming project is in the form of the film Superman Of Malegaon.

Nagesh Kukunoor

Nagesh Kukunoor started making multiplex movies before multiplexes even arrived in India. His films like Hyderabad Blues and Rockford made it clear that he is here to swim against the tide. He made it more evident with films like 3 Deewaren, Iqbal and Dor. But his entry in the web world through the political drama City Of Dreams was much mainstream in nature. The show, which starred Priya Bapat, Atul Kulkarni, Sachin Pilgaonkar, Eijaz Khan among others, showcases the power struggle between a father and her daughter to win the crown of the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. As Kukunoor’s show has been well received, it has had three seasons till now.