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Netflix India Loves Radhika Apte – Four Best Radhika Apte Films and Shows on Netflix

Radhika Apte has had a great run of collaborations with Netflix India. The platform also contains some of Apte’s unmissable performances.

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Netflix India And Radhika Apte Are Obsessed With Each Other

2018 was seemingly the year of the great Radhika Apte in cinema. Apte, who has had a string of projects in collaboration with Netflix India, had some major head turning drops within a span of few months in the same year.

With Apte as a lead, Netflix India had not one, not two, but three big-budget back-to-back releases in the summer of 2018: Lust Stories in June, Sacred Games in July, and Ghoul in August. This apparent obsession of Netflix with the actor didn’t go unnoticed by her admirers, and Netflix India smartly played along to the trolls by changing their Instagram bio to “Just another Radhika Apte fan account.”

Screenshot of Netflix India's bio in 2018 via 'India Today'

The filmography of Radhika Apte dates back to the early 2000s. Over the years, Apte has worked in multiple arrays of the Indian Film Industry, where she has been lauded by critics for her small yet impactful roles in films like Manjhi – The Mountain Man, Badlapur, and Hunter for leaving her mark.

However, her career saw an all-time high in 2018 with her OTT and theatre releases, one such project being Sriram Raghavan’s Andhadhun. The film had actors like Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, and Apte in the lead. It was a commercially successful and critically acclaimed film that earned multiple awards for both the film and its actor. Apte was also seen on R. Balki’s hit Padman starring Akshay Kumar in the same year, which earned her accolades and furthered the argument that she was to be taken seriously.

Radhika Apte, Ayushmann Khurrana and Anil Dhawan in 'Andhadhun'

Apte’s mastery of her craft has been rightly identified by Netflix, and the multiple collaborations she shares with the platform just prove the point. As much as Netflix loves casting Apte, we love to watch her on screen. While Apte has a long list of remarkable performances, we have picked some of our favorites that are easily available on the streaming platform.

Here are our Top 4 Radhika Apte Movies and TV Shows to watch on Netflix.

1. Ghoul (2018)

One of Apte’s 3 big TV show releases of 2018 is Netflix’s miniseries Ghoul. While Ghoul wasn’t as popular of a show compared to her other releases of the same year, it still stands out as one of those underrated horror shows on Netflix. Written and directed by Patrick Graham, the show stars Radhika Apte alongside actors like Ratnabali Bhattacharjee and Maanav Kaul.

The world of Ghoul imagines a dystopian future where humans and demons come alive simultaneously, and these demons are literal. Apte (Nida Rahim) plays a trainee soldier under the National Protection Squad’s Academy. The show’s conflict lies in the subtext of Apte’s dysfunctional relationship with her father, played by S.M. Zaheer, a rebellious professor questioning the government’s moves every step of the way. Apte’s patriotism places her in a moral dilemma with her father, whom she considers an anti-nationalist.

As the story progresses, the social and political commentary of the show is met with a supernatural tone, and the horror genre unfolds. The show is deeply unsettling at times and places the ethical and philosophical stances of its viewers in an uncomfortable impasse, keeping us surprised and entertained throughout. Apte is terrific in her role, and the plot, while slow-paced, gets its job well done.

With only three episodes to its name, Ghoul offers a mixture of horror, thriller, and mystery on the side and could serve as a perfect binge-watch on a day when one is looking for some perceptive scares.

2. Monica, O My Darling (2022)

Vasan Bala’s recent release Monica, O My Darling saw Rajkumar Rao, Huma Qureshi, and Radhika Apte in the lead. The neo-noir comedy with a blend of thriller, which also seems to be Indian Directors’ favorite theme recently, offers a funny take on Johnny’s (Rao) tragedy and luck.

Everything in the film is absurd, yet every event adds up to something much larger in this dark crime thriller. The plot follows murder of Monica (Huma Qureshi) and a power-hungry tech-genius, Johnny (Rajkumar Rao).

Official poster of 'Monica O My Darling'

A typical but unconventional who-dun-it, the film doesn’t reveal its real convict until the very last scene. There are problems upon problems, confusion upon confusion, and every time a solution seems afoot, a new problem reveals itself.

The plot is a big win in storytelling, and the suspense is complemented by masterful direction and screenplay. Till then, everyone is a suspect, and who better to tail the suspects than the best tough talker in town, Officer Naidu (Apte)? Apte’s confidence, comic timing, and dedication to the silly accent throughout the second half serve as sprinklers in this delicious, multiple-tiered ice cream cone.

The film’s title is borrowed from one of 70’s super-hit songs, Piya Tu Ab To Aaja. The director doesn’t shy away from his love for the classics throughout the film, making it evident with multiple odes and references. With a run-time of a mere 130 minutes, the viewers get much more than what they signed up for from this atypical chaos, keeping them on their toes until the very end.

3. Raat Akeli Hai (2020)

While we are on the topic of famous songs that are also film titles, the one film that cannot skip the list is Honey Trehan’s directorial debut Raat Akeli Hai. Following Apte’s love for the thriller genre, Raat Akeli Hai is another crime thriller with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Shivani Raghuvanshi, and Apte in the lead.

The plot of Raat Akeli Hai offers multiple deaths in forms of murders and suicide and a cop who has been assigned to investigate the said crimes. With numerous characters in place, Raat Akeli Hai is oftentimes confusing and hard to follow, but the strong casting and nuanced direction somehow make this noir work.

Apte plays the role of Radha, the mistress of a powerful patriarch, Raghuveer Singh (Khalid Tyabji), who is murdered on the night of his wedding with his mistress. In his course of action to find the killer, Jatil Yadav (Siddiqui) starts developing feelings for Radha.

The complexities of Yadav’s feelings for Radha and Radha’s careful manipulation play out well on the screen. As the plot falls in place, Siddiqui and Apte prove that craft overpowers supposed chemistry, and we are left rooting for them. The pairing is exquisite!

Radhika Apte as Radha in 'Raat Akeli Hai'

The film sheds light on some important issues, such as toxic masculinity, patriarchy, and abuse, that serve as hard-hitting realities even in this modern day and age. However, the story takes its sweet time to untangle itself and may not always make sense to the viewers. Regardless, the best way to get the most out of this complicated piece of art is to be patient with it.

4. Sacred Games (2018)

One of Netflix India’s biggest shows and one of the most popular TV shows in India, this list is incomplete without the mention of Netflix India’s first original series, Sacred Games. All the accolades for the show are in excellent form simply because it deserves it.

Based on a novel of the same name by Vikram Chandra and sharing its contextual

similarities with real-time events of Mumbai during the 80s and the 90s, Sacred Games is the labor of love of three prominent Indian Directors: Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, and Neeraj Ghaywan.

Upon its release, the show observed a commendable demand and response in India and other parts of Asia. The show also had an incredible cast line-up comprising Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Saif Ali Khan, Pankaj Tripathi, and our favorite Radhika Apte, along with various other actors.

Sacred Games follows the journey of Officer Sartaj Singh (Saif Ali Khan) and a gangster named Ganesh Gaitonde (Siddiqui). Sartaj is a disturbed cop who is adamant about saving his beloved city Mumbai, which is supposedly on the brink of destruction within the next 25 days. There is no way to summarize the crux of Sacred Games in a few lines or paragraphs, as every episode is a masterclass on storytelling and plot lines.

Radhika Apte appears as RAW agent Anjali Mathur, an important character in Season 1 of the show. If the reports are to be believed, Mathur’s character was supposed to be a minor one, as in the novel. However, the makers had much more for Apte’s Anjali Mathur because she and the character narrative had much more to offer.

Apte also believes that the success of the show brought her pleasant attention from the industry, adding to her glory in the year that was 2018. What a year for Apte!

The crime thriller offers gangster action, suspense, and drama on a large scale, and even after almost six years of its release, the show remains a fan favorite. Fans of the show were primarily disappointed upon learning that it had been scrapped from Netflix after only two seasons, especially as it ends on a cliffhanger.

If you’re yet to watch Sacred Games, consider yourself lucky and start immediately. If you’ve watched it already, now is a good time to revisit the show. Who knows, maybe you will figure something out that Sartaj didn’t!

Entertainment

Three True-Crime Documentaries Coming to Netflix in April 2024

Time to snuggle with a cozy blanket and some popcorns!

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Three True-Crime Documentaries Coming to Netflix in April 2024

Netflix has a wide range of TV shows and movies.

Alongside them, Netflix also hosts a lot of documentaries. It has a wide range of documentaries but the true-crime genre is the one that has its audience sitting on the edge of their seats.

There are various true-crime documentaries and docuseries on the platform, including American Nightmare, Girl in the Picture, Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, Tiger King, and Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer, among others.

In April 2024, various documentaries and docuseries are coming to Netflix. However, the three most anticipated true-crime shows are — What Jennifer Did, Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer, and Files of the Unexplained

Here is all we know about it.

‘What Jennifer Did’ 

What Jennifer Did is an upcoming documentary directed by Jenny Popplewell, the creator of another famous Netflix documentary, American Murder: The Family Next Door.

What Jennifer Did digs into the frightening story of Jennifer Pan, who plotted to murder her parents. The crime, disguised as a heist gone wrong, unravels through police interrogation film and interviews, showing Pan’s network of lies leading up to the incident.

Pan is a Canadian woman who was convicted of a 2010 kill-for-hire attack on her parents, which killed her mother and injured her father. The crime occurred at the Pan house in Unionville, Markham, Ontario, in the Greater Toronto Area. 

According to her exact account, several gunmen entered the house, forcefully retrained her and her parents, then shot them. Her father, Huei Hann, was sent to the hospital, and her mother, Bich Ha, died instantaneously.

A whole new image appears as the law enforcement personnel piece together the facts. Pan plotted the entire operation with her drug dealer boyfriend, Daniel Wong, whom her parents had forbidden her from dating. 

This motivated her to seek his help and devise a plan to murder her parents. This threatening notion was carried out in the form of a burglary, with Pan as the victim. The documentary will also concentrate on her arrest and the legal processes.

What Jennifer Did will be released on April 10, 2024.

‘Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer’ 

As the name of the documentary suggests, Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer is based on true events that occurred in Berlin. The series examines the case of several odd and unusual killings.

In 2012, three guys were murdered and robbed in Berlin after being unintentionally drugged. While the murderer was called ‘The Darkroom Murderer’ at the time, just one occurred in a dark room at a homosexual bar in Berlin. 

‘Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer’ will be released on April 3, 2024.

‘Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer’ will be released on April 3, 2024. (Source: Netflix)

However, the murderer did look for guys in and around the city’s party scene to prey on victims. Only when one of his targets survived his attack and the assassin attempted to purchase a train ticket with one of the deceased men’s credit cards did the inquiry begin to narrow.

Jan Zabeil and Caroline Schaper directed this true crime show and Netflix will begin streaming the series on April 3, 2024. 

‘Files of the Unexplained’

Files of the Unexplained is an upcoming terrifying eight-episode docu-series that talks about strange encounters, weird disappearances, disturbing incidents, the mystery of mutilated feet washing up, and more. 

This investigative documentary series examines genuine stories that defy explanations and talk about witnessing weird encounters and strange events. 

Files of the Unexplained kind of dives into a similar area as its previous documentaries like Unsolved Mysteries, Haunted, and 28 Days Haunted. According to its plot on Netflix, the series is described as “Eerie encounters, bizarre disappearances, haunting events, and more perplexing phenomena are explored in this chilling investigative docuseries.”

The docuseries will be released on April 3, 2024.

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‘Cowboy Carter’ — Everything You Need to Know About Beyonce’s New Album

The album will be released on March 29, 2024.

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‘Cowboy Carter’ — Everything You Need to Know About Beyonce’s New Album

When Beyoncé announced her 2022 album Renaissance, she made it clear that it was merely the first installment of a multi-act body of work.

And now, after over two years of waiting, the singer has revealed that Act II is on the way — Cowboy Carter. Cowboy Carter, also known as Act II: Cowboy Carter or just Act II, is Beyoncé’s eighth studio album, set to be released on March 29, 2024, by Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. 

It is the second chapter of Beyoncé’s trilogy project, developed during the COVID-19 epidemic, and follows Renaissance (2022).

The then-untitled album was first announced on February 11, 2024, during Super Bowl LVIII, when Verizon Communications aired a Super Bowl commercial, titled ‘Can’t B Broken,’ in which Beyoncé tried to ‘break the Internet’ by doing increasingly outlandish means —  from releasing a jazz saxophone record and performing on top of the Las Vegas Sphere to building an AI version of herself and launching a “Barbey” doll collection.

After all of the ideas failed, Beyoncé closed the advertisement by saying, “Okay, they ready. Drop the new music.” Following the broadcast, the singer shared a preview video for Act II on Instagram. 

The video paid tribute to the 1984 movie, Paris, Texas, which mentions border blasters, and incorporates Chuck Berry’s 1955 song ‘Maybellene.’ The singer’s official website was updated the same day, announcing her eighth studio album, Act II, which would be released on March 29, 2024.

The album’s two main singles, ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ and ‘16 Carriages,’ were then made available for digital download and streaming. On March 12, 2024, Beyoncé stated that the album would be called Cowboy Carter via a teaser poster with a western saddle and sash. 

She released the album cover on Instagram on March 19, 2024, and teased surprises and collaborations on the album. On March 20, 2024, she unveiled a limited edition unique cover featuring a ribbon that says “act ii BEYINCÉ,” referring to a generational family surname.

On March 27, 2024, she unveiled the album’s tracklist via a themed poster. She shared a graphic on Instagram of the album’s tracklist, which was inspired by classic Chitlin’ Circuit posters. 

Cover of Beyoncé’s eighth studio album, ‘Cowboy Carter.’

Cover of Beyoncé’s eighth studio album, ‘Cowboy Carter.’ (Source: Instagram)

It includes the titles “Dolly P” and “Smoke Hour Willie Nelson,” implying possible collaborations with Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. Similarly, ‘Jolene,’ was written on the poster, which netizens believe is a cover or reinterpretation of the Parton’s song of the same name.

‘The Linda Martell Show,’ has also been mentioned on the poster, possibly referring to the first Black woman to achieve commercial success in the country genre. 

The themed poster revealing the album’s tracklist has been confusing a lot of netizens. The following things have been mentioned on the poster, so possibly, these are the songs on the album.

They are —  ‘Texas Hold ‘Em,’ ‘16 Carriages,’ ‘Ameriican Requiem,’ ‘Blackbiird,’ ‘Protector,’ ‘My Rose,’ ‘Bodyguard,’ ‘Daughter,’ ‘Spaghettii,’ ‘Alliigator Tears,’ ‘Smoke Hour Willie Nelson,’ ‘Smoke Hour II,’ ‘Just for Fun,’ ‘II Most Wanted,’ ‘Levii’s Jeans,’ ‘Flamenco,’ ‘Ya Ya,’ ‘Oh Louisiana,’ ‘Desert Eagle,’ ‘Riiverdance,’ ‘Tyrant,’ ‘II Hands II Heaven,’ ‘Sweet Honey Buckin’,’ ‘Amen,’ ‘Jolene,’ and ‘The Linda Martell Show.’ 

It looks like we will only get to know the collaborations and tracklist of Cowboy Carter after its release on March 29, 2024.

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‘Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2’ Debuted With 100% Rotten Tomatoes

“A drastic improvement over its novel predecessor.”

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‘Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2’ Debuted With 100% Rotten Tomatoes

When Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey was released back on March 10, 2023, it was not received well. 

It was neither liked by critics nor the audience. At the time of writing, it has 3% on Tomatometer out of 62 reviews and a 50% audience score.

Looking at the previous installment, many believed that the second movie — Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 — would not do well. However, it came with a massive comeback.

It debuted with 100% on Tomatometer and at the time of writing, it has 56% with 18 reviews. One of the critics wrote, “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 is a drastic improvement over its novel predecessor, even if it suffers from some of the same problems.”

“This flawed but enjoyable sequel defies expectations — albeit low ones — and outperforms its predecessor on most levels,” another critic quipped.

By the looks of it, the audience is loving the second movie more than the first. It has an 83% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes with over 250 audience reviews.

Giving reviews on the movie, one netizen wrote, “Really fun twist on a classic. Directing acting and plot was fantastic. Not corny like most movies just fun and worth the watch.”

“This sequel was incredibly enjoyable! Despite my appreciation for the first film, this one surpassed it 1000% with its fantastic kills, (so much fun brutal, gory kills) the enhanced appearance of Pooh and friends, and a captivating storyline that kept me interested throughout. I’m eager to add this movie to my collection,” another commented. 

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 is a 2024 British indie horror film directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield and written by Matt Leslie. It is the second installment in the Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU) and a follow-up to Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023), a horror reinterpretation of A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories. 

The film stars Scott Chambers as Christopher Robin and Ryan Oliva as the eponymous figure, with Tallulah Evans, Eddy MacKenzie, Lewis Santer, Marcus Massey, and Simon Callow in support. 

In a June 2022 interview with Dread Central, Frake-Waterfield showed interest in making a sequel to Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, stating that he wants to ramp it up even more, go even crazier, and go even more extreme. In September 2023, teaser photographs were revealed revealing the new character Owl. 

The film contains a fresh cast and character designs, and it is set in the Ashdown town rather than the Hundred Acre Wood. Furthermore, the character Tigger, who was absent from the original film, reappeared after entering the public domain in January 2024.

The film’s budget was first rumored to be five times bigger than its predecessor, it was subsequently revealed that the budget had climbed to ten times that of the previous picture. Shaune Harrison, who has previously worked on the Harry Potter franchise and Game of Thrones, was the film’s monster and gore designer, while Paula Anne Booker oversaw the special effects. 

In the movie, Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Owl’s house and life are jeopardized as Robin discovers their presence. Not wishing to remain in the shadows any longer, the group resolves to go on a rampage through Robin’s native village of Ashdown to exact their retribution once and for all.

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