‘Fame is easy to acquire; impact is much more difficult’ – Hans Rosling
Making an IMPACT on people is something that one should always aspire for. And this holds good in our entertainment industry wherein impact plays a key role in determining the success-rate of a show or series.
As we at IWMBuzz.com sit down and look back at the year 2018, the year has indeed been a great one for us, with our loyal readers appreciating our hard work and accuracy in getting our breaking news right!!
We start our Year-Ender Features with this article ‘Web-Shows that Impacted in the Year 2018’.
So how was the year 2018 for the growing web platform?
The digital space is surely the space to watch out for in the near future! With so many big players indulging in making interesting content, there is a lot on offer for the viewers in terms of shows that vary from being realistic to bizarre, layered with thrill and mystery to the ones that are for family viewing, while many are on the lines of s*x and drama.
Without getting into any chronological order, here is IWMBuzz.com listing out its Top 10 Web-Series for the year 2018. We have arrived at our list by taking into consideration the content, impact it has created amongst masses, and above all, on our reviews.
ARRived: India’s first YouTube Original, ARRived has certainly set new norms and standards with respect to reality shows, and is way above the creative reach of TV reality shows that we see day in and day out. The sole reason for this huge success is that ARRived concentrates on music and music alone. It makes an impact for being clean in its content, without focussing on over-the-top drama and sob stories of contestants, which is usually the case on TV. We are immensely impressed with the quality of singers and talent. Overall, A.R. Rahman along with Shaan, Vidya Vox and Clinton Cerejo have hit bull’s eye and have succeeded in impressing music lovers all over.
And if you have not read the IWMBuzz.com review of ARRived, do not miss reading it here.
Breathe: It’s always a cat and mouse game between strong players, Netflix and Amazon, when it comes to its content. With both these players coming up with their Indian original series, the battle on the Indian digital platform opened up this year with the streaming of Breathe. And for Amazon Prime, it is its second Indian Original series after Inside Edge in the year 2017. This Amazon Prime Original, Breathe succeeded in giving a solid punch with its gripping, strange and terrifying content. The show stealer was of course R. Madhavan, whose masterpiece performance took the series to another level. Amit Sadh’s character also touched the chords of masses. Though the story puts viewers in a rather depressing state, the punches in the story line have kept them glued.
Breathe was reviewed by us at IWMBuzz.com If you have missed reading it, you need to catch a glimpse of it here.
Imperfect: Isha Sanghvi has made a mark in the minds of all viewers, and how! Yes, this Zoom Studios Original series is a quirky and funny tale of an imperfect woman’s imperfect life and her imperfect dreams. It brought in a refreshing take on the whole concept of perfection. The unconventional way of storytelling is what attracted the viewers. Above all, the lead of the series, Samridhi Dewan, stole the limelight with her effective portrayal and right emotions. Definitely one of the series that made a mark this year! Produced by Anand Tiwari and Amritpal Singh Bindra’s banner Still and Still Media Collective, Imperfect is armed with great writing and effective storytelling.
IWMBuzz.com was indeed impressed with the series Imperfect and gave it a great rating. For those who want to read it, you can get a glance here.
Little Things 2: Well, we simply cannot get carried away with the title. The series does not deal with the little things, but with the biggest of issues that one will face in life. This Dice Media and Netflix series is for the mature lot. The series will give you a changed perception of looking at life and this is certainly true. Little Things 2 is all about love and the intricacies in a relationship. Dhruv Sehgal and Mithila Palkar have done a fab job yet again and have made their characters look so relatable and engaging. They are the soul of the series and are brilliant. The series created an impact with its mature dealing with respect to the story line.
We at IWMBuzz.com liked the series and reviewed it with well-deserved stars. Did you miss reading it? No worries; read it here.
Sacred Games: It came, entertained and conquered! This is the way in which Sacred Games proved to be a cut above the rest. Netflix’ Sacred Games, based on Vikram Chandra’s 2006 book which went by the same name, has Mumbai’s dark underworld as its setting. This Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane directed series gave viewers immensely popular characters and performances. It brought the engaging tale of the unholy nexus between organized crime, police and their politically inclined masters. The series also made an impact with its overdose of cuss words. Bollywood icons like Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui made merry and came out triumphant with their stints in the series. The series gained a huge thumbs-up from one and all and certainly deserves a spot in our top 10 for the year 2018.
Well, if you have missed out on reading our review, read it now and right here..
SideHero: Well, this one from Eros Now was typical binge-watch material. Kunaal Roy Kapur, like breeze, made inroads into the hearts of all. He was tailor-made for his role and how well he performed! The story telling was quite intelligent and the direction and writing proved to the jewel in the crown. Produced by Rohan Sippy, the series effectively brought forward the banality of the film industry with a light-hearted approach. The ending of Season 1 has really kept us on one leg, and we are eager to watch Season 2 of SideHero.
You can catch the IWMBuzz.com review of Eros Now’s SideHero right here.
The Great Indian Dysfunctional Family: This one coming from ALTBalaji was a gem and truly deserves accolades and awards for its content, characterization, performances, and above all, the writing and direction. It created a huge impact for being the series that dwelled on a very weirdly-knit family, their falling apart and then coming together, thus proving that blood runs thicker than water. Amazing storytelling with unpredictable revelations related to every character in the series simply made the series worth binge-watching again and again. The cast, comprising of Barun Sobti, Kay Kay Menon, Shri Swara, Eisha Chopra, Swaroop Sampat, Sanaya Pithwalla, had huge scope for great performance and came out as winners! Producer Tanveer Bookwala and Ekta Kapoor deserve a pat for bringing this series to us.
Want to get a glance at our review of The Great Indian Dysfunctional Family? Read it .
Twisted 2: While Twisted 1 talked about Aliyah Mukherjee fooling the whole system of law with her planned killing, Twisted 2 was all about romance, and the twisted dynamics between the two lovers who fall in love, but can never trust each other!! Twisted 2, which was loaded with sensuous romance and interesting cat and mouse games, created a huge impact on viewers, and went on to appeal to the masses. Nia Sharma as Aliyah Mukherjee impressed big time with her performance, stunning looks and amazing chemistry with fellow actor Rrahul Sudhir. Directed by Anupam Santosh Saroj, this Vikram Bhatt web-series was gripping and engaging from the first episode to the finale.
If you want to read the review of Twisted 2, read it .
Yeh Meri Family: Nostalgic to the core, this TVF series proves to one and all that it is not always the overdose of s*x and romance that defines good content on the web. Yeh Meri Family which has Akarsh Khurana and Mona Singh as the strong pillars of the family shines like an ever-glowing star and has to be one of the best content made available for binge-watching on the web space this year. The wise humour, stunning one-liners and the ability of the story to touch the emotional chord of audiences, has been credited with huge response and we look forward to seeing the family getting into their histrionics yet again, in Season 2 of Yeh Meri Family.
For all those who want to read the IWMBuzz.com review of The Viral Fever’s series, you can read it .
Zero Kms: ZEE5 has covered huge grounds this year with its innovative, differentiated content. Zero Kms takes the cake amidst stiff competition coming from the other interesting content made available on ZEE5 this year. Zero Kms is all about the dark, dangerous world of human trafficking. The background music, the sequences and the darkness in the scenes keep viewers gripped all throughout the story line. Fabulous performances coming from the cast is another impressive factor about the series. Surely, Q’s first web-series has left us wanting for more!
You can read our review of Zero Kms right IWMBuzz.
Well, this forms our Top 10 Web Shows for the Year 2018. However, we simply could not take our minds off from a few other wonderfully-scripted impactful series that have created good enough impact on the web.
Hence we decided to give a Special Mention of few series that have really engaged us in the year 2018.
To start with, Sony LIV’s The Good Vibes certainly gets us into a positive frame of mind. The concept talks about gender equality and the turmoils in a couple’s relationship in a beautiful way. We are impressed with Naveen Kasturia and Maanvi Gagroo’s amazing screen presence. Truly worth mentioning, this series!!
The next in our list is Hungama Play’s series Hankaar, the crime-thriller that follows the lives of five unrelated protagonists in Mumbai, each of them fighting a battle of survival and endurance. The characters are very well-defined and played out and this is the best aspect about the series. The series will be remembered for its depiction of Mumbai’s crime scene.
ALTBalaji’s Kehne Ko Humsafar Hai, starring Ronit Roy, Mona Singh, Gurdeep Punjj, is the perfect example of a sensitive take on relationships. The story which talks about an extra-marital affair and the continuous storms that the people affected by this have to weather, has been described craftily. Exceptional writing, followed by great performances is what makes this series a sure-shot winner!
ZEE5’s Khaar is the next on our Special Mention list. As we said earlier, the content on offer on ZEE5 has been interesting and simply cannot be ignored. Khaar is a docudrama that shows viewers all about Gandhiji’s famous Salt Satyagraha. We are sure this educative story line must have driven few facts in the minds of every Indian. Overall, a well-researched concept executed in the best way possible. Director Suhail Tatari needs a special mention for his work done with complete precision.
Lastly, on our special list comes Voot’s It’s Not That Simple 2 produced by Victor Tango. It is a very well thought-out show with a very different kind of treatment. The characters keep the series going, and also encourage women to be what they are, irrespective of the situations they face in society.
In totality, it is sheer good content that prevailed in the year 2018 on the web space! And cheers to a lot many that will create history in the New Year!
Signing off, till we meet you with yet another Year-Ender feature right here on IWMBuzz.com. Keep reading and keep supporting!
