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Time of India
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Trigger: A Korean Action Thriller Examining Gun Control and Social Dynamics
Fresh Concept That'll Make You Paranoid About Every Package Imagine ordering biryani online and instead of your usual delivery boy, someone drops off a mysterious box containing... a loaded gun. That's exactly the premise of Trigger , the new Korean action thriller that just dropped on streaming platforms today. Set in South Korea - a country where spotting a gun is literally rarer than finding a parking spot in Connaught Place - the show explores what happens when illegal firearms start getting delivered through regular courier services to ordinary people. Star Power That Actually Delivers Unlike Your Local Delivery Boy Kim Nam-gil takes on the role of Lee Do, a former military sniper turned police officer who's basically that one responsible friend trying to clean up everyone else's mess. Having served as a sniper in conflict zones, he knows exactly how dangerous these weapons can be and is determined to get them off the streets before South Korea turns into a Korean version of a Wild West movie. Kim Young-kwang plays Moon Baek, the mysterious figure who shows up when things get complicated. The dynamic between these two is giving major Sacred Games vibes but with way more psychological tension and significantly better production values. Their on-screen chemistry is already being praised, with Kim Nam-gil mentioning how his co-star helped bring emotional depth to his character while maintaining consistency throughout the series. The timing couldn't be more relevant. Director Kwon Oh-seung, who previously worked on Midnight , emphasized that while the show explores societal breakdown, it's meant to highlight the importance of gun control rather than glorify violence. The show's exploration of how military training intersects with civilian life adds another layer of complexity that makes it particularly compelling. More Than Just Action - It's a Social Experiment Gone Wrong Director Kwon Oh-seung didn't just want to make another action series filled with gratuitous violence. The show digs deep into what he calls "everyone's trigger" - basically, what pushes ordinary people to make extraordinary and often terrible decisions. Each episode features different characters receiving these mysterious gun deliveries, exploring their individual breaking points and moral choices. The series tackles themes that resonate universally - economic pressure, social inequality, and the thin line between justice and revenge. In today's world where everyone seems to have a breaking point, Trigger asks uncomfortable but necessary questions about human nature. It's particularly relevant considering India's own struggles with violence, social tensions, and the breakdown of traditional support systems during economic hardships. What makes this even more intriguing is how the show reflects the unique Korean context where military service creates a population with weapons knowledge but no legal access to firearms. This paradox creates tension that's uniquely Korean - imagine if every guy in your college had commando training but couldn't even own a toy gun legally. The contrast between having the skills and being legally prevented from using them creates a fascinating social dynamic that Trigger explores masterfully. The show's exploration of how quickly a peaceful society can descend into chaos feels especially relevant. South Korea maintains complete civilian disarmament despite having a population where most men are trained in advanced weaponry. It's this contradiction between capability and restriction that makes the premise so psychologically compelling. Trigger premiered globally today with all 10 episodes available for binge-watching. With its combination of intense action sequences, psychological depth, and thought-provoking social commentary, it's shaping up to be one of those series that'll have everyone talking - and maybe looking at their next delivery with a lot more suspicion. In a world where the line between fiction and reality keeps getting blurrier, this show serves as both entertainment and a fascinating exploration of how social order can be both fragile and resilient at the same time.
Indian Express
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2, Traitors, IPL, Kapil Sharma: How streaming is replicating television, the very beast it wanted to tame
When streaming first began in India in the early 2010s, the audience was still getting used to YouTube and the phenomenon of a 'web series,' a television show that could be watched anytime, anywhere on your smartphone or laptop, and could also be paused, rewinded, and forwarded. It was Tata Sky+ yet in a completely new medium, that gave rise to faces and brains who were struggling to get noticed by the Hindi film and TV industry. The Jio revolution in the next few years allowed the masses to access even new international streaming apps like Netflix and Prime Video, which entered the domestic market in 2017. Netflix India's first Original, Sacred Games, and Prime Video India's first original, Inside Edge, also dismantled the confines of television and demonstrated how streaming could push boundaries of what Indian entertainment came to be known as till then. Then came the pandemic in 2020-22 when India, confined to its homes, warmed up to streaming to such an extent that it'd be an ordeal to bring them back to cinemas even when the lockdowns ended. Streaming became a habit, and the Indian audience its slaves. The victim was not only cinema, but also television. Cable television and direct-to-home services, once a household necessity, were replaced by smart TVs and fire sticks. Streaming turned out to be for satellite what satellite was for VHS (Video Home System) and Doordarshan in the 1990s. But now, as cinemas and other avenues of entertainment open up after the pandemic, streaming can't sustain the skyrocketing growth it once registered in India during a couple of years. So, 2023 brought a shift in direction — the streaming, once known for being a substitute to television, started to embrace parts of the latter that appealed to India's masses. It was no longer the rebel kid, but that backbencher in a classroom who wanted to get away with the exam by peeping into the class topper's papers. Smriti Irani, former I&B Minister, recently claimed that last year, the television industry and the streaming industry accounted for a revenue of Rs 30,000 crore and Rs 24,000 crore, respectively. She rallied for the two industries to unite and generate content together instead of competing with each other. This month, she's set to reprise her iconic character of Tulsi Virani in Ekta Kapoor's landmark daily soap Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, which will be available for viewing on both its native home StarPlus and its streaming counterpart, JioHotstar. Sameer Nair, who was the head of programming at StarPlus back in 2000 when Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi first premiered, believes the show can still work as well as it did back then, but only if the story has adapted to the times and the audience it's catering to. 'Honestly, it's not got so much to do with streaming or TV. On JioHotstar, their strong, long-performing show has always been Anupamaa. On SonyLIV, for the longest time, Bade Achhe Lagte Hain used to be their #1,' argued Nair, in an interview with SCREEN. Not every TV show with an immense recall value would fare as well on streaming, as one saw in the case of Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai – Take 2. 'I think the streaming of daily soaps allows more flexibility to its primary audience — the homemakers, the mothers, the elderly women. They get the option to access it any time of the day, something they wouldn't be able to do when it aired at a very late slot of 10:30 pm on TV,' said a former StarPlus official, who's also worked with JioHotstar. 'At that time, these women used to wait for their husbands and kids to fall asleep after watching Kaun Banega Crorepati so that they could get their guilty hour of Kyunki. But now, they can stream it anytime, without guilt! It's not just Ekta and Smriti Irani, but also the streaming that's empowering them this time,' they added. Nair, who's now the Managing Director at Applause Entertainment and collaborates with a host of streaming platforms, saw this televisionization of streaming coming from a mile. 'Streaming is just settling down now. It just means they're going for a wider audience by catering to the largest common denominator. But streaming can also cater to niches. The good thing is both can co-exist on streaming. So you can do both a Kyunki and an Adolescence. The technology allows you to do that. On TV, you could be either a GEC or a niche channel,' he reasons. Why does then an Anurag Kashyap then blame Netflix India for entering a partnership with Ekta's Balaji Telefilms instead of commissioning an Indian version of Adolescence? Why does he call Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos the 'definition of dumb' when he opines that they should've launched the platform in India with something 'more populist' than Sacred Games? 'That's because if all the energies and resources are directed towards a populist form of entertainment, then a niche or a less mainstream show has to really elbow its way in to get the streamer's attention. Streaming was supposed to enable and empower these, and not really use them as a token to show how cutting-edge they are, whenever it suits their narrative,' says a screenwriter who's worked with both Kashyap and Netflix India. When asked, on Nikhil Kamath's podcast People by WTF, to react to the shift in programming of Netflix India with CID and The Great Indian Kapil Show, he played the diversity card — If it's not for you, it's for someone else. But a former Netflix India employee claims diversity is more of a buzzword than a thought-through corporate strategy. 'Reed Hastings is an LA guy so he really cares for the movies. He's the one who started Netflix as a DVD business. He's a true disruptor,' they tell us, adding, 'But when Sarandos took over, there was a change in direction. Since every country Netflix is in is culturally so different from each other, the only common point they could find between them was diversity. And that became their corporate strategy, so to say. But make no mistake, it was always made clear that the priority is numbers.' When SCREEN asked Tanya Bami, Series Head at Netflix India, why shows like The Royals, Rana Naidu, and Mismatched got renewed despite getting a large chunk of negative reviews from critics, she said, 'Love from everyone is critical. As a human being, you seek that affirmation. But in terms of a stack order, we're very clear it's the love of the audience that matters to us.' That became very apparent with Netflix India's programming in the last three years. 'We were never categorically asked to sell some shows more. They wouldn't say that because that doesn't go with their brand image. But you figured, with the kind of people they hired or the kind of shows they greenlit, that the focus had changed. There are so many ex-Balaji faces in Netflix India now,' added the former employee. Balaji has been a champion of broadcast, but it's also tried its hands at streaming. Ekta, who has straddled cinema, TV, and OTT, believes they serve different purposes — community viewing, family viewing, and personal viewing respectively. That's why the woman behind culturally rooted, sanskari daily soaps on TV churned out tonally divergent shows like Gandii Baat and Ragini MMS: Returns on her now-defunct streaming platform ALTBalaji. But with the advent of smart TV in Indian homes, families began to increasingly watch OTT content together instead of separately on their phones. That gave rise to The Viral Fever's family-friendly shows like Gullak and Yeh Meri Family. That also explains Ekta's pivot back to what she knows best — daily soaps, but those that can be positioned as effectively on streaming as they can be on TV. Many marketing executives, who enthusiastically joined streaming platforms, in order to promote the kind of alternate content, they believed in, have now gone independent to push middle-of-the-road cinema in theatres and indie films at global festivals, and fill the gaps that have long plagued India's entertainment ecosystem. They neither know 'how to sell a Kapil Sharma' nor do they believe a Kapil Sharma needs their selling. But this coexistence of Kapil Sharma and Vir Das on a platform comes at an interesting cultural juncture for India. Sample last year, for instance: audience of both the mainstream and niche turned up in hoards to attend concerts of Diljt Dosanjh, a grounded Punjabi popstar, as well as Coldplay, a British rock-pop band. That's also why an audience that once looked down upon Bigg Boss or similar reality shows are now lapping up The Traitors, the Indian adaptation of the globally resonant American show, on Prime Video. 'I think they've hit the sweet spot with that one. Unlike some versions in the West, they've taken a bunch of internet celebrities and made a reality show with them that just has high production value than say, a Bigg Boss,' points out an industry insider. 'Having Karan Johar to host it with all his campness intact is a masterstroke — he's one celebrity who gets equal attention from the classes and the masses, whether it's love or hate,' adds another. Instead of the crassness associated with Bigg Boss and MTV reality shows like Roadies and Splitsvilla, Traitors rolls out like a saucy game of chess — pretty much like a very expensive, lived-in version of board games like Shasn and Cards Against Humanity. 'For every Traitors, there should be a Stolen. But the fact is for every Traitors, there's also a Khauf, a brilliant horror show that goes under the radar,' says a former employee of Prime Video India, adding, 'Streamers made quick money during the pandemic by not just having a captive audience, but also buying ready, big-budget films from production houses waiting to release their films in endless lockdowns. They've grown used to that licensing model. So they're just picking up anything and everything that's worked in the past, whether from films, sports or TV, instead of developing envelope-pushing content like they did pre-pandemic. Which is why you see how the slate of originals has gone down drastically. Licensed shows which happen to work in the first season are then adopted and then developed like it was their own baby to begin with.' If picking existing IPs from TV wasn't enough, streaming has also stooped down to advertisement revenue in order to sustain. Prime Video is the most recent platform to introduce ads and an ad-free premium version, as per the YouTube and Spotify revenue model. 'India is a price-sensitive country, so even if you give us the option to pay more and get rid of ads, we'd stick to the ads,' says a former Netflix India employee. They claim that commercials on streaming isn't new to India, but the hullabaloo is about the way Prime imposed it. 'At Netflix, there were designated employees for this job, who scientifically picked points when it could switch to commercial in a way that the audience don't lose interest. It was transparent and gradual, unlike the blindsiding that Prime has done now,' they add. Also Read — Sameer Nair feels Indian adaptation of The Office would do far better today: 'Market was smaller then, wanted to do 11 seasons like US' Is it really only about the transparency? Should streamers just own it that they want to go where TV did and accept that the daily soaps, broad comedy, reality shows, advertisements, and sports entertainment are their mainstays? The life-sized hoardings of WWE on the Mumbai expressways tell that very story. But is it a bad deal if IPL gets more consumers to subscribe to JioHotstar so they could watch a School of Lies that they otherwise wouldn't? 'I don't see it that way. Would I really count my show as a success story if it excels in the same months that IPL airs? It's a good way to show numbers and ask for an appraisal, but those who're doing this for creative reasons deserve better.' Going back to television is a disservice to the innovation of streaming. As iconic comedian Milton Berle so wisely put it, 'We owe a lot to Thomas Edison. If it wasn't for him, we'd be watching television by candlelight.'
Pink Villa
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Kalki Koechlin breaks silence on her divorce from Anurag Kashyap: ‘Hurtful to see the other person with somebody else'
Kalki Koechlin and Anurag Kashyap got married in 2011 but parted ways after 4 years of marriage. The former has been open about her divorce from the filmmaker. In a recent interview, she reflected on her decision to separate from Anurag and mentioned that it might have stemmed from her parents' troubled relationship. Recalling how her mom and dad got engaged in a nasty divorce, Kalki emphasized that she put her relationship in danger. Talking to Zoom, the Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani actress said, 'My parents divorce when I was 13, and it was really bad. They were really nasty to each other and it was like cold and mean growing up between them. That was very tough. Maybe that's why I'm divorced.' Highlighting that she witnessed her parents hating each other and their connection turning sour, Kalki remarked, 'There is a certain part of you that jeopardise relationships once they start turning bad, but you are like 'oh this happens' because you have witnessed that as a child.' Further, the actress also expressed how her separation with Anurag Kashyap affected her. Kalki said, 'The first few years after the divorce were not easy for us. Then came a point when we were like 'we need to stay out of each other's lives' because it was hurtful to see the other person with somebody else, just the reminders are so strong.' The Sacred Games actress stated that it took her a few years to digest their divorce. However, their distance helped them to move on. 'It does take a few years. We didn't get to it immediately and distance helped. Now we are in a good place and we are able to catch up once in a while,' concluded Kalki. For the unversed, Kalki was present at the wedding ceremony of Anurag Kashyap 's daughter, Aaliyah Kashyap, with his first wife Aarti Bajaj. Kalki Koechlin made her Bollywood debut with Dev D. After a couple of years of dating, she tied knot with Kashyap, who was the director of her debut movie and then got separated in 2015. Stay tuned to Pinkvilla for more updates.
News18
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Special Ops To Asur: 5 OTT Thrillers To Watch Before Mandala Murders
Let's dive into some of the most binge-worthy thrillers already on OTT ahead of Mandala Murders release All mystery thriller fans, mark your calendars as Mandala Murders is all set to release on July 25 on Netflix. The show promises a gripping blend of secrets, prophecies and murder mystery. Vaani Kapoor, who plays the lead role in the show, portrays detective Rhea Thomas. She teams up with Vikram Singh (played by Vaibhav Raj Gupta) to solve the mystery behind a string of murders. Joining her in the entertaining watch will be Surveen Chawla, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Siddhanth Kapoor and Raghubir Yadav, giving us all the reasons to binge-watch the show this week. Since the show is a few days away from release, let's dive into some of the most binge-worthy thrillers already on OTT before Mandala Murders. The Night Manager A remake of the British classic, this show on JioHotstar is a must-watch. Aditya Roy Kapur plays Shaan Sengupta, a former Navy officer turned hotel manager, who finds himself caught in the world of the arms trade after discovering a secret involving a powerful businessman, Shelly Rungta. Packed with twists, the series' season 2 is rumoured to be on the cards. Special Ops For an intense espionage thriller, watch Neeraj Pandey's show starring Kay Kay Menon in the lead role. As RAW agent Himmat Singh, hell-bent on tracking down the terrorist mastermind behind several attacks, Kay Kay Menon delivers an impressive performance. As for season 2, it shifts to cyber warfare, where Himmat confronts a dangerous businessman trying to control the economy. Asur In this one-of-a-kind series, murder meets mythology. The dark psychological thriller stars Arshad Warsi as Dhananjay Rajput, a forensic expert chasing a serial killer who believes himself to be a modern-day avatar of the demon Kali. It also stars Barun Sobti as Nikhil Nair, Anupriya Goenka, Ridhi Dogra and Sharib Hashmi in pivotal roles. The Family Man One of the most loved thrillers on Indian OTT, the espionage thriller is the perfect blend of action, suspense and emotion. Manoj Bajpayee plays Srikant Tiwari, a middle-class man secretly working for the Threat Analysis and Surveillance Cell (TASC), a special cell of the National Investigation Agency. He navigates the challenges of his high-pressure, low-paying job while trying to keep his family safe from the impact of his profession. Sacred Games A cult favourite for a reason, Sacred Games brings together gritty storytelling and powerful performances by the cast, including Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Kubbra Sait and others. Said plays a troubled cop chasing clues dropped by gangster Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) as he warns of catastrophe ahead. view comments First Published: July 21, 2025, 15:01 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Time of India
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Saurabh Sachdeva reveals he nearly turned down Animal, credits Sandeep Reddy Vanga's convincing pitch: 'He showed me the Triptii Dimri scene with Ranbir Kapoor...'
Saurabh Sachdeva almost declined his role in Animal. Sandeep Reddy Vanga convinced him to stay. Vanga showed him key scenes to ease his doubts. Sachdeva trusted Vanga's vision despite initial confusion. The film became a career highlight for Sachdeva. He looks forward to Animal Park. He was last seen in Maalik with Rajkummar Rao. Saurabh Sachdeva may have delivered one of the most compelling performances in Animal, but not many know he nearly walked away from the project. In a candid conversation with DNA India, the actor opened up about his initial doubts, how director Sandeep Reddy Vanga convinced him to stay, and how the film ultimately became a game-changer in his career. In an exclusive with DNA India, Saurabh shared that Animal marked a turning point in his career, significantly boosting his visibility. He recalled first hearing about the role at the Bambai Meri Jaan success party, when filmmaker Bejoy Nambiar mentioned that Sandeep Reddy Vanga was looking for him. Though initially intrigued, Saurabh admitted he forgot about it until a few days later when T-Series reached out for a script narration. After attending the meeting and hearing the script, Saurabh felt uncertain about the character and the film's overall tone. He even considered turning it down, citing confusion about the world the story belonged to—whether it was grounded in gritty realism like his previous projects Sacred Games, Haddi, or Bambai Meri Jaan. Encouraged by his manager, he requested a second narration with Vanga to better understand the role before making a final decision. To ease the actor's doubts about Animal, Sandeep Reddy Vanga took a more visual approach. After listening to Saurabh's concerns, the director brought him to the edit room and showed him select sequences from the film. The first was the intense interval gunfight scene featuring masked men, which initially left Saurabh feeling unsure. But it was the second scene—featuring Triptii Dimri and Ranbir Kapoor in a subtle, emotionally charged moment—that changed his mind. The combination of raw action and emotional depth convinced Saurabh to come on board. He further admitted that even during the shoot, he remained unsure about his character's journey in Animal. Despite the confusion, he chose to place his trust in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's vision. His very first scene was the film's climactic runway sequence—a chaotic bloodbath where he had no dialogue or clear action to anchor himself, only reactions to deliver. Yet, he went with the flow. When the film released, it exploded in popularity, and his character received immense love. Looking back, Saurabh credits Vanga for the breakthrough, acknowledging that Animal gave his career a fresh push, all thanks to the director's clarity and conviction. Animal Park is undoubtedly one of the most-anticipated sequels in recent times. When asked for an update, Saurabh Sachdeva shared that while there's no fixed timeline yet, he's hopeful the project will move forward once Ranbir Kapoor wraps up Ramayana and Sandeep Reddy Vanga completes Spirit. He added that he's genuinely excited about returning for the sequel. On the work front, Saurabh was last seen in Maalik alongside Rajkummar Rao.
