‘Missing’, ‘Badla’, ‘Bhakshak’, Chehre and ‘Silence 2’ are perfect for an extended binge-watching session

The recent popularity of Malayalam procedurals and investigative stories is indicative of the growing audience affinity for thrillers. Here are five stories that will entertain, intrigue and thrill you when you are in a mood for some spine-tingling mysteries.

Missing

‘Missing’, starring the magnificent Tabu with Manoj Bajpayee is a riveting psychological thriller about a couple whose daughter goes missing at a resort in Mauritius. The reality of the relationship between the two is also revealed and the needle of suspicion points to the most unlikely suspect. Who is guilty of an unspeakable crime? The arrival of a police officer complicates matters further. Find out if the missing girl really exists or is the figment of a fevered imagination. Directed by Mukul Abhyankar, the film is produced by Shital Bhatia, Shabana Raza Bajpayee, Vikram Malhotra, Markand Adhikari, Anand Pandit and Roopa Pandit. It is streaming on Prime Video.

Haseen Dillruba

This thriller directed by Vinil Mathew and written by Kanika Dhillon is also at its twisted core, a love story that literally goes through a trial by fire. Starring Taapsee Pannu, Vikrant Massey and Harshvardhan Rane, this film reached the Netflix top 10 list in 22 countries, thanks to its unpredictable plot twists and performances. The film begins with an explosion, a charred body and a severed hand and then segues into the mind and heart of Rani (Taapsee) whose marriage to Rishab “Rishu” Saxena (Vikrant) was in troubled waters. But as we dig deeper, we find there is more to this story than meets the eye. Produced by Eros International, Aanand L. Rai, Himanshu Sharma, Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar, the film is streaming on Netflix.

Bhakshak

Inspired by a real case, this investigative thriller follows independent journalist Vaishali Singh (Bhumi Pednekar) who struggles to uncover the exploitation and horrific abuse of young girls in a shelter. As she chases clues against all odds, she endangers her life, the criticism of her family and threats from powerful men who don’t want the truth to come out. Her story is not just indicative of the rot in society but also of the dangers inherent in grassroots journalism. The film also stars Sanjay Mishra, Aditya Srivastava and Sai Tamhankar. The Pulkit directorial is produced by Gauri Khan and Gaurav Verma and is streaming on Netflix.

Chehre

This Anand Pandit production explores the difference between legal and natural justice via a mock trial. The story begins when business tycoon Sameer Mehra (Emraan Hashmi) takes shelter in an isolated mansion during a snowstorm. Here he meets a retired judge, a defense lawyer, and a public prosecutor and slowly, under the pretext of playing a game, they trap Sameer into a web from which he cannot extricate himself without revealing a deadly secret. Watch what happens next in this psychological thriller on Amazon Prime Video. The film co-produced by Saraswati Entertainment Private Limited and directed by Rumi Jaffrey stars Amitabh Bachchan, Krystle D’Souza, Rhea Chakraborty, Annu Kapoor and Dhritiman Chatterjee.

Silence 2

ACP Avinash Verma’s (Manoj Bajpayee) adventures continue in ‘Silence 2’ as he explores a horrifying ‘Night Owl Bar Shootout’ . Accompanied by inspector Sanjana Bhatia (Prachi Desai) , he goes down a rabbit hole of lies and deceit to finally uncover the chilling and shocking truth. The film also stars Sahil Vaid, Parul Gulati, Vaquar Shaikh and Ankit Bhardwaj and is produced by Zee Studios and Kiran Deohans. Watch the Aban Bharucha Deohans directorial on ZEE5.