In the February 2024 Netflix film called Bhakshak, Pednekar plays an investigative journalist called Vaishali, who unearths a child sexual abuse racket at a shelter. While the film opened to mixed reviews, critics lauded her powerful, unconventional performance, as one of her best.
2024 was a great year for him with the release of Kota Factory Season 3 on Netflix and Panchayat Season 3 on Amazon Prime Video. With work already underway on Panchayat Season 4, Kumar’s popularity is only set to soar. Known as ‘Jeetu bhaiya’, he has dominated the OTT world and successfully transitioned to Bollywood with films like Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, Chaman Bahaar and Jaadugar.
She has seamlessly transitioned to OTT platforms, delivering notable performances in web series like Mumbai Diaries. She even directed a segment in Lust Stories 2. Her last outing was the Netflix thriller series Killer Soup. Reviewers praised her performance as the highlight of the series, bringing stability to the show’s unpredictable plot.
The talented actor from Malayalam cinema made her OTT debut in 2024 with the Amazon Prime Video series Poacher. Directed by Emmy-award-winning filmmaker Richie Mehta, it is based on true events from 2015 that exposed the largest ivory poaching ring in Indian history. As Mala, a determined Kerala forest officer, Nimisha brings depth and nuance to the story of real-life heroes who risked everything to protect wildlife.
In a new series called Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper, Kaul plays the lead role of a chartered accountant who moonlights as a sex worker. He adeptly showcases the struggles of the everyman in India, straddling moral conflicts, desperation and misplaced priorities. Kaul handles drama with a dark sense of humour, and delivers one of 2024’s standout performances on the small screen.
The art connoisseur made her OTT debut on the third season of the Netflix series Fabulous Lives Vs Bollywood Wives. Her originality and unique personality made her the talk of the town. Born and raised in Delhi, Passi was a state-level gymnast before discovering her passion for art. She is the founder of MASH, a digital platform that explores the intersection of architecture, art, craft, design, and fashion in an engaging and accessible format.
Despite battling career setbacks, making multiple comebacks, and fighting ovarian cancer, her resilience shines through. Her recent OTT series debut in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi is a testament to her talent. As Mallikajaan, she brought depth and nuance to a complex character, proving that she still rules the screen.
She appeared in the Indian show of the global Citadel franchise on Amazon Prime Video called Citadel: Hunny Bunny, where she plays a family woman-cum-spy. Reviewers praised her performance, some hailing her as Indian cinema’s ‘first real female action star’. Samantha shot to national fame with the 2021 hit song ‘Oo Antava’ from Pushpa. That same year, she made her OTT debut with Family Man Season 2.
In an all-female ensemble cast, Sinha shines in the two roles she plays in Heermanandi. One is of the unabashed, gender-fluid courtesan, Fareedan, and the other, smaller role, is of Fareedan’s mother, Rehana. According to Sinha, Rehana is the cruellest of all the characters, and she straddles both with élan.
She plays the lead role of a senior inspector in the Telugu crime-thriller series Brinda. The show marks the Tamil and Telugu movie star’s foray into OTT. In Brinda, Krishnan plays an anxiety-ridden cop who is dealing with past demons and quietly fighting everyday gender discrimination. Trisha, who is among the top stars in South Indian cinema with a healthy lineup of films in 2025, received a positive reception for her streaming debut.
Solidifying her global appeal, Tabu starred in the OTT science fiction series Dune: Prophecy, where she plays Sister Francesca. In 2024, the actor, known for her flawless portrayals on screen, also appeared in films like Crew and Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha.
Verma portrays Captain Devi Sharan in the Netflix series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, a dramatic retelling of the 1999 Indian Airlines flight hijack. He plays the courageous hero who takes a large piece of credit for managing the crisis, in a performance that has been called authentic and emotionally deep by fans and critics.
The 12th Fail star headlined the Netflix crime-thriller film, Sector 36, playing a depraved murderer who kidnaps, rapes and brutally kills children. Massey excels in his restrained, captivating portrayal of the psychopath, in a story based on true events, of the Nithari killings in Noida. Massey also made headlines for a post that proclaimed ‘retirement’ from acting, but later clarified that he just needs a long break to recoup.
Ali directed Amar Singh Chamkila, one of the most popular OTT releases of 2024, starring Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra. For the film, which is based on the life of the famous Punjabi singer Chamkila, he won Best Director at the Filmfare OTT Awards 2024. He was also chosen as the National Winner for his work on the film at the Asian Academy Creative Awards 2024.
In 2024, the director-editor made her debut as a documentary filmmaker for her film Angry Young Men, depicting the life story of Bollywood’s iconic duo Salim-Javed. The film featured their family members, loved ones, and fans from the film fraternity, and was released on Prime Video in August. The film was rated 7.7/10 by IMDB.
Jeevan J Kang
The trio are the co-creators of the much-loved mythical animated series on Disney Hotstar, The Legend of Hanuman. The show is in its fifth season and has been rated 9.1/10 by IMDB. At the recent Mei International Film Festival, the creators won awards for the fourth season in the ‘Best Animation Short Script’ and ‘Best Animation Short Film-Best Writer’ categories.
For cinema, the factors under consideration were quality of work, appreciation (critical acclaim and popularity), level of challenge and diversity in roles, pipeline of projects, and box office success. In OTT, apart from the challenge and diversity of roles, we also considered popularity and recall value of their respective roles and shows. For sports, the metric was achievements this year, while for music, it was popularity across mainstream genres during the year.Category coordinators: Naandika Tripathi & Rucha SharmaText by naandika tripathi, pankti mehta kadakia and samidha jain
First Published: Jan 09, 2025, 11:56
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