There is quite a variety of subjects turning up on OTT, as film-makers are freed from the box office pressure.
But there is still no getting away from casting movie stars in made-for-streaming films but some unusual plots do get greenlit.
The top 10 films of the year may not be great by themselves but they stand out amidst the other OTT releases.
Deepa Gahlot lists her top 10 movies made for OTT.
Bhakshak
Where to watch: Netflix
Reports of girls being abused in orphanages and shelter homes make it to the news occasionally but the effects of the media outrage never lasts.
Still, this film, produced by Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies, directed by Pulkit, based on a true story, sees the crime from the point of view of a female journalist (Bhumi Pednekar), playing a role in which a male would have been cast, were it a big screen feature.
Vaishali is fearless and driven, even though she has to put up with opposition from her family and a husband who would have preferred a traditional wife.
She takes on a powerful gangster who runs a sex racket using hapless women trapped in shelter homes that are meant to protect them, and brings down the whole ring of predators.
Lantrani
Where to watch: ZEE5
This small anthology film with the odd title did not get the attention it deserved; it portrayed three stories, set in small towns, about ordinary people who break rules.
Directed by award-winning film-makers Kaushik Ganguly, Bhaskar Hazarika and Gurvinder Singh, with actors like Johnny Lever, Jisshu Sengupta, Jitendra Kumar and Nimisha Sajayan, 'collected and written' by Durgesh Kumar, the writer of the popular OTT show Panchayat, the stories are satirical and relatable.
Johnny Lever was wonderful as the luckless constable on the last day of active duty, who has to transport a prisoner from lock-up to court on a motorcycle he cannot ride, with a gun he cannot fire. Only in India!
Amar Singh Chamkila
Where to watch: Netflix
Punjabi singer Amar Singh Chamkila's meteoric rise and tragically premature death is now folk legend.
He and his wife Amarjot (played by Parineeti Chopra) were gunned down when he was just 27. But in that short span, he packed in fame, love and controversy to last a lifetime.
The role was perfect for singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh.
Director Imitaz Ali gave full rein to his creativity, using animation, photographs and footage of the real Chamkila and Amarjot and A R Rahman's music, along with Chamkila's to create a biopic that was meant for the big screen.
Dedh Bigha Zameen
Where to watch? JioCinema
Pulkit's film pays tribute to Bimal Roy's 1953 classic Do Bigha Zamin, and tells the heart-wrenching story of an honest, law-abiding Anil Singh's (Pratik Gandhi) battle against a corrupt MLA who grabbed a piece of land his father had left for him.
The cops refuse to file a complaint against the MLA and the court dismisses his petition. He is aware that it is a long and fruitless fight, but Anil believes he must go through with it for his own self-respect.
Unlike the similar Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006), this story does not have a happy ending, which makes it all the more believable.
Women Of My Billion
Where to watch? Amazon Prime Video
Srishti Bakshi did the near impossible. She embarked on a 'walking pilgrimage' from Kanyakumari to Srinagar, interacting with women along the way, and learning firsthand about their problems.
This documentary, directed by Ajitesh Sharma (and co-produced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas), follows her over 38,000 kilometres over 230 days.
The problems of women in small towns and villages of India seems immense and insurmountable, so for urban armchair activists, it is an eye-opener.
At the end of it an exhausted, yet elated, Srishti Bakshi is able to say, 'My India is not beyond repair.' Because if she saw despair, she also saw hope.
Maharaj
Where to watch: Netflix
Set in the 19th century, this Siddharth P Malhotra directorial is based on the real case of a progressive journalist Karsandas Mulji's (Junaid Khan) expose of the religious leader Jadunath Maharaj (Jaideep Ahlawat), who sexually exploits female devotees.
Karsan has to face the opposition of his family and community, and eventually a defamation case filed by the godman.
Maharaj has the power to threaten witnesses, silence dissent but in the end, Karshan's honesty and persistence wins.
Sadly, Karsan's campaign against blind faith had little impact. Even today, gullible people follow dubious cults.
Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba
Where to watch: Netflix
The sequel to the pulpy Hasseen Dillruba, this one directed by Jayprad Desai, picks up after Rani (Taapsee Pannu) and Rishi (Vikrant Massey) escape a murder scene (he chops off his hand to leave a fake clue) and settle in another town.
They don't live together for fear of the cops and hope to collect enough money to flee the country.
Then, a cop (Aditya Srivastav) from their past turns up carrying his suspicions with him. But worse, the dead man's uncle (Jimmy Shergill) arrives with the promise of exposing the two and their crime.
Rani has to use the help of an admirer (Sunny Kaushal) to formulate another convoluted plan to get out from under the cop's hawk eyes.
The film is far-fetched but also enjoyably thrilling, as Montu Chacha makes life hell for the couple.
Berlin
Where to watch: ZEE5
Atul Sabharwal's film evokes the Cold War era, and the kind of spy universe created by John le Carré. Set in Delhi, when the Soviet leader is due to visit and intelligence agencies get wind of an assassination plot.
Ashok (Ishwak Singh), a deaf-mute waiter from Cafe Berlin, where spooks meet and exchange intel, is arrested for being a spy.
He is taken in for interrogation by Sondhi (Rahul Bose) and a simple sign language teacher, Pushkin (Aparshakti Khurana) is bulldozed into acting as the interpreter.
Pushkin finds himself in a sinister nightmare, but Ashok has been a few steps ahead all along, his disability being no hindrance to his astuteness.
CTRL
Where to watch: Netflix
Vikramaditya Motwate's film CTRL has a very 'today' story: A cautionary tale about the consequences of allowing social media apps too much access to personal details.
Nella (Ananya Panday) and her boyfriend Joe (Vihaan Samat) are popular influencers, which means they share everything about their lives together to gather more followers.
When Joe breaks up with Nella, in a fit of rage and humiliation, she signs up for an AI app and chooses a male assistant to help rid her online platforms of Joe's images.
She gives the app admin access, and basically all permissions to read and access her mails and messages.
The AI avatar she names Allen (voiced by Aparshakti Khurana) acts friendly but gradually takes over her life.
The format of the film is screen life, which means for most part the action is seen on a screen but to a generation that has phones practically grafted to their hands, this is no obstacle in enjoying a thriller that speaks to them.
Agni
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
There are scenes of the fire brigade in action in many movies but Rahul Dholakia's film is about firefighters, and about time too.
Through the eyes of the protagonist Vitthal Surve (Pratik Gandhi), the film tells the story of how the sacrifices of firefighters are never acknowledged.
They are on call 24/7, put their lives on the line every time they enter a burning building, but, as a character in the film says, nobody can name a single firefighter.
The film is a belated hat-tip to these unsung heroes.
