Nayanthara's Malayalam film Nizhal goes to aha

While big platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video are chasing one direct-to-OTT release after the other in Telugu and Tamil, Telugu OTT platform aha continues to bank on its strategy of dubbing popular Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam films in Telugu to populate its content library. While they release the Tamil film Junga (as Vikramarkudu) and Punarnavi Bhupalam's Oka Chinna Viramam this week on July 9, their next high profile dubbed release is Needa. (originally Nizhal in Malayalam) 

Starring Nayanthara and Kunchacko Boban in pivotal roles, Needa is scheduled to release on July 23. The film is about a magistrate named John Baby, who has barely recovered from a personal tragedy, and his interactions with a boy Nitin. Nitin engages John with several murder tales until John realises they resemble a few real incidents. How does he react to this revelation? Where's the story headed?

Directed and co-edited by award-winning editor Appu N. Bhattathiri, the film's original version had released on Amazon Prime Video a few months ago. Nizhal earned mixed reviews upon release and opened days before the lockdown was announced in Kerala. Two other Malayalam films of Kunchacko Boban, Virus and Anjaam Pathiraa premiered on aha recently and earned a good response. It remains to be seen how Telugu crowds respond to Needa.