OTT Releases This Week: CTRL, The Signature, Manvat Murders and More

This week is big on entertainment with a host of interesting releases from across genres, on the home front as well as globally. We face the dangers of AI technology in Ananya Panday’s Netflix thriller CTRL and relive the horror of brutal, occult killings in a Maharashtrian village in the 1970s in SonyLiv’s Manvat Murders. Anupam Kher brings out the story of a heart-shattered man who must decide when to pull the plug on her wife of 35 years, who is now in a vegetative state, billing on expensive life support machines.

Internationally, two highly acclaimed web series are renewed for the third time. The Legend of Vox Machina takes us to the fantasy world of Exandria — from the popular game Dungeons & Dragons — and Heartstopper gives us more of the heartwarming love story of two teenage boys.

Next is the big news for anime lovers: Netflix is releasing a brand new adaptation of the Japanese manga Ranma ½. The series follows a young martial artist who turns into a girl with a splash of cold water and needs a splash of hot water to get back to normalcy.

Top OTT Releases This Week (September 30 – October 6)

This week’s lot of our favourite picks are a mix of critics-approved shows making a return, chilling recreations, and a refreshing slice of less-covered themes in Indian cinema. Here is more about the same to help you decide on your first binge-watch series of films of the week!

But that’s not all – streaming platforms are bursting with a diverse range of exciting new releases across genres, offering something for every taste and preference. To cater to all the cinephiles, we’ve listed all the releases of the week at the end of this article. Dive in and discover your next favourite show or movie!

CTRL

Release Date: October 4

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Where to Watch: Netflix

Cast: Ananya Panday, Vihaan Samat, Devika Vatsa, Kamakshi Bhat

Social media and artificial intelligence have both plagued our lives beyond measure. In CTRL, we witness their darker side and potential dangers. Here, we meet a social media power couple: Nella Awasthi (Ananya Panday) and Joe Mascarenhas (Vihaan Samat), whose perfect on-screen life crumbles after an ugly public breakup. A heartbroken Awasthi seeks help from an AI application to erase Mascarenhas from her life. Everything seems fine until the application starts taking control of her life, turning her into a mere spectator.

The Signature

Release Date: October 4

Genre: Drama

Where to Watch: Zee5

Cast: Anupam Kher, Mahima Chaudhry, Ranvir Shorey, Annu Kapoor, Sneha Paul, Manoj Joshi, Maira Khan, Neena Kulkarni, Herman Dsouza

Anupam Kher’s The Signature deals with the sensitive subject of life support systems for terminal patients. Kher here plays an ordinary middle-class man whose beloved wife of 35 years is put on a life support system after an unexpected health crisis. As medical bills keep mounting and hopes of her reviving shrinking, the husband is caught up in the heart-breaking dilemma of whether to continue the treatment or pull the plug on her vegetative wife. The film is a Hindi adaptation of Vikram Gokhale‘s National Award-winning Marathi film Anumati (2013).

Manvat Murders

Release Date: October 4

Genre: Crime, Thriller

Where to Watch: SonyLiv

Cast: Ashutosh Gowariker, Sonali Kulkarni, Sai Tamhankar, Makarand Anaspure, Mayur Khandge, Kishor Kadam

Between 1970 and 1976, the Manvat village of Maharashtra was horrified by the mysterious murders of a few children, infants, and women. The bodies are said to have strange marks suggestive of occult or ritualistic killing. Even after years of probe, the culprits and motives behind these brutal killings are still not clear. SonyLiv’s eight-part series is based on these murders and retells the story from the perspective of an investigating officer. It will be available to stream in Marathi, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Bengali.

The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3

Release Date: October 3

Genre: Action, Adventure, Animation

Where to Watch: Prime Video

Cast: Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Matthew Mercer, Liam O’Brien, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, Travis Willingham

The Legend of Vox Machina returns once again with the adventurers ready to give it their all to save the fantasy world of Exandria. This season, we see our misfit heroes surviving in hell, taking on dangerous battles, and grappling with tumultuous personal struggles. Meanwhile, the romance between Keyleth and Vax keeps blooming amidst the chaos.

The series is based on the first campaign of the web series Critical Role, which is, in turn, based on the game Dungeons & Dragons. Both seasons were well received by both critics and the audience and have a rating of 100% on the popular review website Rotten Tomatoes.

Ranma ½

Release Date: October 5

Genre: Anime, Adventure, Comedy

Where to Watch: Netflix

Cast: Megumi Hayashibara, Kappei Yamaguchi, Kagga Jayson, Noriko Hidaka, Akio Ôtsuka, Kôichi Yamadera, Minami Takayama, Kikuko Inoue, Chô, Ken’ichi Ogata

Ranma ½ is one of the most popular manga series of all time. It follows the story of Ranma Saotome, a young martial artist who turns into a girl after being splashed with cold water and back to a boy with hot water. As romance comes knocking at his door, this curse makes things further complicated for him. The series was earlier serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday in Japan from August 1987 to March 1996. Some of the original voice actors, including Kappei Yamaguchi, Megumi Hayashibara, and Noriko Hidaka, are reprising their roles.

Heartstopper Season 3

Release Date: October 3

Genre: Drama, Romance

Where to Watch: Netflix

Cast: Joe Locke, Kit Connor, Jonathan Bailey, Hayley Atwell, Eddie Marsan, Nicol Shaw, Marcel Wirtl

The heartwarming romance between Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) and Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) is back to charm viewers for the third time. Our lovestruck boys are now ready to face the looming pressures of adulthood – university prep, personal anxieties, and emotional growth. Meanwhile, Charlie is having a hard time articulating his feelings. Needless to say, as their relationship evolves, more drama follows. Jonathan Bailey joins the cast this season as Charlie’s celebrity crush.

List of Other OTT Releases This Week

From the exciting world of Simpsons, returning to entertain us for the 36th time, to a peak into Swedish luxury real estate, here’s everything new from the entertainment world this week. As you binge on these, don’t forget to check our entertainment hub and keep your watchlist updated.