Bhooth Bangla to Karuppu: What to stream this weekend

MUMBAI: Your sofa may be booked, your snacks may be ready, and your watchlist is about to get considerably longer. OTT platforms are serving up a buffet of fresh releases this weekend, with everything from haunted mansions and crime mysteries to fantasy action dramas and family reality shows vying for viewers’ attention. Whether you’re in the mood for supernatural chaos, edge-of-your-seat suspense or comforting binge-worthy drama, the latest slate has something for every screen habit.

Leading the pack is Bhooth Bangla on Netflix, which reunites Akshay Kumar with director Priyadarshan in a horror-comedy that blends family drama with paranormal mayhem. The story follows Arjun Acharya, an NRI who inherits a sprawling ancestral palace and decides to host his sister’s wedding there. Predictably, the celebrations take a spooky turn as long-buried secrets and supernatural forces emerge from the shadows. The film also stars Tabu, Wamiqa Gabbi, Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav.

For crime-thriller fans, Prime Video’s Raakh travels back to 1970s Delhi, where a police officer investigates the disappearance of two teenagers. Led by Ali Fazal alongside Sonali Bendre and Aamir Bashir, the series draws inspiration from one of India’s most chilling criminal cases and unfolds as a tense, emotionally charged investigation.

Also arriving on Prime Video is Karuppu, one of the most talked-about South Indian films of the year. Fresh from a successful theatrical run, the Suriya-starrer sees a divine guardian assume the identity of a lawyer to battle corruption and injustice. Directed by RJ Balaji and co-starring Trisha Krishnan, the fantasy-action drama combines mythology, courtroom drama and commercial spectacle.

Action enthusiasts can head to Lionsgate Play for Shelter, where Jason Statham plays a former assassin pulled back into danger after rescuing a young girl during a violent storm. What begins as a simple act of heroism quickly spirals into a battle for survival against powerful adversaries.

On the lighter side, ZEE5’s Maa Hai Na brings celebrity families into the spotlight. Hosted by Shilpa Shetty Kundra, the reality series pairs celebrities with their mothers for cooking challenges, candid conversations and emotional moments that celebrate family bonds.

Netflix also welcomes the fifth season of Sweet Magnolias, with all 10 episodes dropping at once. The feel-good drama continues the journeys of Maddie, Helen and Dana Sue as they navigate new twists in their personal and professional lives.

Among the platform’s international offerings is The Polygamist, adapted from Sue Nyathi’s novel. The drama follows a successful influencer whose seemingly perfect marriage begins to crack after hidden truths about her husband emerge, setting off a chain of betrayals and revelations.

Animation lovers can look out for I Am Frankelda, Mexico’s first feature-length stop-motion animated film. The story follows a young writer whose imagination unleashes fantastical creatures into the real world, blurring the line between fiction and reality.

Netflix’s Maternal Instinct takes a darker turn, revisiting a notorious fetal abduction case in the United States through interviews, archival footage and investigative records that reconstruct one of the country’s most shocking crimes.

Rounding out the weekend slate is Taarkata on ZEE5. The Bengali action-thriller stars Vikram Chatterjee as a former police officer battling memory loss who returns to his hometown to investigate a mysterious death, only to find himself trapped in a web of secrets, deception and danger.

With haunted palaces, unsolved mysteries, fantasy warriors and heartfelt family moments all landing at once, the biggest challenge this weekend may not be finding something to watch, but deciding where to start.