Since there is no box office pressure on OTT, actors are willing to experiment with roles, as well as open to performing with greater sincerity.
Talented actresses are still struggling to get challenging parts, but the advantage of OTT is that age or star status are not insurmountable hurdles.
Large chunks of Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 2 are exhausting and boring, despite the efforts of the likeable cast, with the '80s outfits and big hairstyles that were trendy then, looking earnest and hassled because the fate of the world depends on them, observes Deepa Gahlot.
In the year gone by, quite a few of the younger actors flexed their acting muscle. Whether the films were blockbusters or not is immaterial, what matters is the effort put in.
There were quite a few female-led shows in 2025, and actresses got to play some interesting, non-cliched parts.
In 2025, the top actresses remained absent, the ones who could have commanded strong roles. In any case, great roles for women are not even written in mainstream cinema, but when they get a role worth working for, they did their best.
While some of them were excellent, most were passable. But many were far superior to the theatrical releases.
Four More Shots Please 4 seems to have been made to show off trendy outfits because more than the script, attention was paid to the costumes, observes Deepa Gahlot.
By not turning Mrs Deshpande into a monster like the notorious Hannibal Lecter, the show may have reduced the chills. Still, it's an efficiently made crime show, which depends on the stardom of Madhuri Dixit, observes Deepa Gahlot.
2025 had some interesting performances on OTT series and films. Deepa Gahlot picks the Top 10 Male OTT Performances.
In 2025, OTT series were entertaining enough, even though most were in the crime genre.
In half a century, actors have aged or passed away, the shape of the city has altered, the film industry has changed beyond recognition, most single screens have made way for multiplexes, audiences tastes have changed, rural life is very different now, and inflation has devalued the rupee. But a great film is forever. Deepa Gahlot salutes Sholay, as it re-releases in theatres.
The year had a variety of films to choose from. Not all of them were successful at the box office, but had merit.
Saali Mohabbat escalates the hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-woman-scorned theme, and fashions a dark domestic thriller, discovers Deepa Gahlot.
In the midst of crime and cop shows all over, a family comedy comes as a relief, notes Deepa Gahlot.
Christmas Karma narrowly misses being a highway pile up, mainly because its heart is in the right place, believes Deepa Gahlot.
The Great Shamsuddin Family is a seemingly light chamber piece that hides its claws of social commentary under the chirpy banter of an apartment full of women, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Dhurandhar may not have the dark realism of a spy story which a web show can manage. But it does not have the flamboyance either, that has come to be associated with espionage movies, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Dharmendra got his He Man image with Phool Aur Patthar, which was so strong that he never managed to fully shrug it off.
Those who have not watched earlier seasons of Stranger Things would be baffled by it, but then the finale is meant for fans who understand the themes and remember its mythology, observes Deepa Gahlot.
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