Ahsoka to Aakhri Sach: Top Movies and Web Series to Watch This Week

Netflix’s top-ranking spy-thriller Heart of Stone is also among the most popular titles in the list of OTT releases this week.

Written by Rahul Chettiyar, Edited by Ali Pardiwala | Updated: 25 August 2023 13:58 IST

Ahsoka to Aakhri Sach: Top Movies and Web Series to Watch This Week

Photo Credit: Disney/ Lucasfilm

Rosario Dawson in and as Ahsoka

Highlights

Heart of Stone holds the #1 position on Netflix for the second week
Guns & Gulaabs stars Dulquer Salmaan, Rajkummar Rao, Adarsh Gourav
Aakhri Sach is based on the real-life Burari deaths from 2018

As we approach the end of August, OTT platforms have ramped up their content output, offering ample options for people to binge-watch shows and movies throughout the weekend. No one wants to waste time scrolling through streaming apps for hours, and so, we've come back with a list of films and shows that'll keep you entertained. The new Star Wars live-action series Ahsoka is easily the standout, with Rosario Dawson returning to investigate an emerging threat in the galaxy far, far away. It's already out on Disney+ Hotstar. Meanwhile, on the Indian content front, we've got Guns & Gulaabs, the retro-style crime-comedy from Raj & DK that blends romance, action, and nostalgia into a fine paste.

For Indian hip-hop fans, we've got Bajao, which navigates the Punjabi pop music industry via the eyes of three young filmmakers who've found themselves in big trouble. The series marks rapper Raftaar's acting debut, and is now streaming on JioCinema. On the movie side, the Gal Gadot and Alia Bhatt-led Heart of Stone is a major one, continuing its #1 global rank, as per Netflix's charts.

With that, here's a guide on what to watch this weekend:

Ahsoka

When: Now streaming
Where: Disney+ Hotstar

Former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano makes her long-awaited live-action debut in the latest series from Dave Filoni, as she embarks on a new adventure to take on General Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), who is poised to return as the heir to the Galactic Empire. Her effort is compounded by having to deal with her strained past — specifically, her former student Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) — an expert on explosives — who was abandoned mid-training and therefore has a bone to pick with her master. Completing the trio of returning Star Wars Rebels characters is the Twi'lek ace pilot Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), navigating the stars via her starship ‘Ghost.'

The series will also pit Ahsoka against her former master Anakin Skywalker, who we know will eventually turn to the dark side and be known as the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Hayden Christensen will be reprising that role, presumably touching on his reasons for abandoning Ahsoka many years prior. Meanwhile, the dark force honing Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and his student Shin (Ivanna Sakho) serve as other major hurdles in Ahsoka's path to saving the fragile New Republic.

The first two episodes of Ahsoka are now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. The remaining six will drop on a weekly basis, every Tuesday, until October 3.

Best Star Wars TV Series to Watch Before Ahsoka

Bajao

When: Now streaming
Where: JioCinema

A trio of young aspiring filmmakers — Ved (Tanuj Virwani), Dhaari (Sahil Khattar), and Cookie (Sahil Vaid) — strike a deal with a problematic hip-hop icon Babbar (Raftaar) to make a music video that would herald his comeback to the rap scene. Their lives soon take a disastrous turn when a night of celebration turns to chaos, causing them to lose a bag of Rs. 2 crore in cash, and the rapper missing. With no recollection of their memory and a 48-hour countdown, Bajao swells into a twisted search and rescue mission, navigating hip-hop culture and street crime, all the while dealing with a local gangster, whom the filmmakers appear to have wronged.

Yes, that last part is quite reminiscent of Todd Phillips' The Hangover, and I wouldn't be surprised if the missing rapper had been right under their noses the entire time.

Jio Studios Unveils Content Slate With 62 Titles: Raftaar-led Bajao, Shah Rukh Khan's Dunki, More

Satyaprem Ki Katha

When: Now streaming
Where: Amazon Prime Video

Kartik Aaryan stars in this musical love story as Satyaprem aka Sattu, a good-for-nothing law school dropout, who always dreams — literally — about getting married to a beautiful woman, but gets rejected for being jobless. However, the realisation doesn't strike him hard until much later, when he encounters a mesmerising dancer Katha (Kiara Advani), who is way out of his league and is looking to marry the ideal husband — something Satyaprem isn't.

That said, fate has different plans for him and the pair end up getting married, much to Katha's dismay, forcing Sattu to improve his ways and become a worthy husband, while being understanding of her dark secret. Marking director Sameer Vidwans' first Hindi-language film, Satyaprem Ki Katha also stars Gajraj Rao (Maja Ma), Supriya Pathak (Rashmi Rocket), and Rajpal Yadav (Phir Hera Pheri).

Heart of Stone

When: Now streaming
Where: Netflix

After partaking in a sleek heist in Netflix's Red Notice, Gal Gadot is now slipping into the role of Rachel Stone, an international spy working for the Charter, an elusive group with no political leanings that relies on a mysterious asset called ‘The Heart' for its day-to-day tasks. It's basically a powerful AI that keeps track of a person's digital footprint to create data that helps predict potential global threats and deliver odds of success in thwarting them. That prize soon gets stolen by the mysterious hacker Keya Dhawan (Alia Bhatt), kickstarting a globetrotting hunt across the snowy mountaintops to even some risky airborne manoeuvres.

Heart of Stone also stars Jamie Dornan (Belfast) as the MI6 agent Parker, Matthias Schweighöfer (Army of the Dead) as the Charter's tech specialist ‘Jack of Hearts,' and Sophie Okenedo (Hotel Rwanda) as its leader Nomad.

Guns & Gulaabs

When: Now streaming
Where: Netflix

Guns & Gulaabs serves as an ode to Bollywood in the mid-90s, focusing its sights on a fictional cartel-run town called Gulaabganj, where a group of outlandish characters try making a name for themselves. Among them, we've got Rajkummar Rao's (Monica, O My Darling) Paana Tipu, a lovesick mechanic distraught by his father's death, who murders a couple of thugs by shoving a spanner down their throats. Hence the first name: Paana.

Then there's Chhotu Ganchi (Adarsh Gourav), the reluctant heir to a drug empire, who struggles with transporting a large amount of opium and is hell-bent on making his father proud. Adding some spice to this interconnecting drama is a local goofy assassin named ‘4 Cut Aatmaram' (Gulshan Devaiah), notorious for killing his victims with four stabs of a switchblade. He never breaks his rule.

Adding some normalcy to the otherwise cartoonish characters is the honest narcotics Officer Arjun Varma (Dulquer Salmaan), who turns into a chaos agent when asked to turn corrupt and help out with smuggling opium. It's an all-around quirky story that jumps between its characters and focuses on worldbuilding in the first half before things fall into place to unfold a revenge arc, heartbreak, and the taste of sweet innocence through the eyes of three schoolmates. Adding to its aura are the vintage titles, pop-culture references, and some classical music suited to the time period to best immerse you in Raj & DK's newly-crafted world.

Aakhri Sach

When: August 25 (Now streaming)
Where: Disney+ Hotstar

Hard-nosed investigative officer Anya (Tamannaah Bhatia) is summoned to solve a bizarre case, in which the 11 members of a ‘regular' family were found dead — 10 of them were found hanging in the courtyard of their residence. Yep, this new Hotstar Specials show is based on the infamous real-life Burari deaths from 2018, where it was concluded that the family had committed mass suicide. While going about her investigation, Anya discovers an odd connection between the house's layout with the family member count — there are 11 windows, 11 doors, and 11 odd pipes peeking out of a wall, making for a rather perplexing case. The only solid account she has is a set of diaries maintained by the family members.

Robbie Grewal — best known for Romeo Akbar Walter — directs all episodes of Aakhri Sach, which also stars Abhishek Banerjee (Paatal Lok) as Anya's junior officer, and Shivin Narang as a key suspect.

What are the most exciting titles that gamers can look forward to in 2023? We discuss some of our favourites on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Ahsoka

Release Date 23 August 2023
Genre Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Cast
Rosario Dawson, Hayden Christensen, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Director
Dave Filoni, Steph Green, Peter Ramsey, Jennifer Getzinger, Geeta Patel, Rick Famuyiwa
Producer
Dave Filoni, Jon Favreau, Carrie Beck, Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson,

Bajao

Release Date 25 August 2023
Genre Comedy
Cast
Raftaar, Tanuj Virwani, Sahil Khattar, Sahil Vaid, Adinath Kothare, Mahira Sharma, Rajesh Sharma, Nitish Pandey
Director
Shiva Varma, Saptaraj Chakraborty
Producer
Jyoti Deshpande, Pragya Singh, Vijendra Sahaani

SatyaPrem Ki Katha

Release Date 29 June 2023
Language Hindi
Genre Drama, Musical, Romance
Cast
Kiara Advani, Kartik Aaryan, Gajraj Rao, Arnob Khan Akib, Supriya Pathak, Shikha Talsania, Ritu Shivpuri, Mahru Sheikh, Himanshu Jaykar, Nrbarz, Ashik Mridha
Director
Sameer Vidwans
Producer
Kishor Arora, Shareen Mantri Kedia, Sajid Nadiadwala

Heart of Stone

Release Date 11 August 2023
Language English
Genre Action, Thriller
Cast
Gal Gadot, Jamie Dornan, Alia Bhatt, Sophie Okonedo, Matthias Schweighöfer, Jing Lusi, Paul Ready
Director
Tom Harper
Producer
David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Bonnie Curtis, Julie Lynn, Gal Gadot, Jaron Varsano

Guns & Gulaabs Season 1

Release Date 18 August 2023
Genre Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Cast
Rajkummar Rao, Dulquer Salmaan, Adarsh Gourav, TJ Bhanu, Gulshan Devaiah, Goutam Sharma, Gourav Sharma, Krish Rao, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Satish Kaushik, Pooja Gaur
Director
Raj Nidimoru, Krishna D.K.
Producer
Raj Nidimoru, Krishna D.K.

Aakhri Sach

Release Date 25 August 2023
Genre Thriller
Cast
Tamannaah Bhatia, Abhishek Banerjee, Shivin Narang, Danish Iqbal, Nishu Dikshit, Kriti Vij, Sanjeev Chopra
Director
Robbie Grewal
Producer
Varun Malik, Ujjwal Anand

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