6 of the best crime dramas/ thrillers that 2020 has to offer

Gang wars, mysterious killings, nefarious plots and notorious villains – 2020 saw the rise of all this and more with crime dramas or crime thrillers emerging as one of the most loved OTT genres for the year. Small budget, ensemble cast, big production and varied treatments – we think we’ve seen it all when it comes to this genre and here’s listing down 6 of the best crime dramas/thrillers that 2020 has to offer, stream them NOW!

1.        The Missing Stone - The 5-episodic series is a story of a happily married couple, Dhwani (Bidita Bag) & Sahir (Barun Sobti). With Dhwani’s birthday just around the corner, she decides to go on a weekend getaway at a resort, but this surprise soon turns into a shock when her sister Payal (Rashi Mal) does not arrive at the resort. The world stops for Dhwani, when she realizes that her sister is missing, or worse – she may be dead. The romantic birthday getaway soon becomes a trap for Dhwani, where she’s left putting together the clues of the puzzles that will help her find the truth about Payal. Directed by Vishal Furia & Alok Naik, the series sees Bidita Bag & Barun Sobti along with Rashi Mal, Saqib Ayub, Vitthal Kale, Pallavi Patil in pivotal roles. The series dropped on MX Player and is available to watch for free

2.       Aashram – Touted to be the biggest OTT entertainment series for this year - Aashram, directed by Prakash Jha stars Bobby Deol as Kashipur Waale Baba Nirala, a sinister godman who is convinced of his own divinity and is revered by his followers and devotees. His immoral intentions, his insatiable need for power, lust and greed makes him a complicated character who portrays shades darker than what anyone could have envisioned. Aashram Part 1 released in August, and the second chapter premiered on MX Player in November. Aaditi Pohankar, Darshan Kumar, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Adhyayan Suman, Anupriya Goenka and Tushar Pandey also play key roles in the show.

3.       Mirzapur 2 – ‘Mirzapur 2’ is a franchise that took the OTT world by storm. An action crime thriller that revolves around drugs, guns, murders and lawlessness, its second season takes on from where season 1 ended, a fight to win and become the ‘King of Mirzapur’. This season, the war goes down between Kaleen Bhaiya and Guddu Bhaiya. In an attempt to kill one another for vengeance, see who wins this battle. Starring Pankaj Tripathi, Shweta Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Divyendu Sharma, Rasika Duggal, amongst others in pivotal roles, this series is available on Amazon Prime Video

4.      High – This series traces the life of Shiv Mathur who is an addict struggling to get a grip on life and eventually finds himself in a rehab facility that is run by Doctor Roy and two other junior doctors who are working on a mysterious compound. The existence and sampling of this pill creates disorder in the illegal drugs market and pharmaceutical industry. The 9 episodic series is directed by acclaimed ad film maker Nikhil Rao and also stars powerful performers like Ranvir Shorey, Shweta Basu Prasad, Nakul Bhalla, Prakash Belawadi, Mrinmayee Godbole, Kunal Naik, Mantra and Madhur Mittal in key roles, available only on MX Player

5.       Asur – Starring Arshad Warsi, Barun Sobti, Anupirya Goenka, Ridhi Dogra amongst others, this series is set in the mystical city of Varanasi. A story of a forensic-expert-turned-teacher returns to his roots at CBI along with his former mentor, only to find himself in a cat and mouse chanse of a serial killer. A blend of suspense, mythology, murder and a riveting tale that will leave you with knee-gripping shockers. The series is available on Voot Select

6.      Special Ops – Helmed by Neeraj Pandey for Disney+ Hotstar, this series is a crime espionage thriller series. A story of Himmat Singh (Kay Kay Menon) of RAW devotes his life to find the attacks planned by a terrorist and convinces himself along with others that there’s only one person behind all these attacks, combined. Determined to find him along with his task force, he faces many challenges. This series is inspired by several espionage missions undertaken by India in the last two decades. Along with Kay Kay Menon, this series also stars Karan Tacker, Vinay Pathak, Vipul Gupta, Saiyami Kher, Gautami Kapoor, amongst others in pivotal roles