For a long time, the Indian film industry and the television industry have been in two different leagues. While Bollywood has been making waves globally with its content, our television industry has refused to reinvent itself and remained stuck to the same melodrama which we have been watching for years. Thankfully, the introduction of Indian web series in the country brought about a fresh wave of new and innovative content. Creators are not shying away from trying to think and create content that is out of the box. The biggest motivating factor in this is the lack of censorship.
The battle of creators with the censors has been going on since ages. While the creators feel that their content is actually putting a mirror on the things that are happening in our society, the censors think otherwise. With the lack of censorship, creators on the webspace are now free to present their story the way they actually want to.
Over the last decade (2010-2019), the internet has churned out the kind of quirky, bold, unusual, and intelligent content that has made binge-watching our favourite millennial activity. So here's our pick of the best Hindi-language web series from the last decade:
1. INDIAN WEB SERIES - SACRED GAMES
Produced by: Netflix
Streaming on: Netflix
Director: Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane
IMDB Ratings: 8.8/10
When the first scene in the show is of a dog falling from the height of a skyscraper, you know that this Indian web series isn’t going for subtlety. In fact, it’s the level of brutality the marks the cornerstone of this web series. Sacred Games was the first web series produced by Netflix in India and with a duo of talented directors like Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane pulling the strings, people naturally expected big things. Since it is Netflix, obviously they weren’t holding back as along with getting ace directors on-board, they also went all out with the casting of this Indian web series. Having stars like Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte is an Indian web series that proves that even Bollywood stars are realising the massive potential of the platform.
This Indian web series is based on Vikram Chandra’s 2006 novel of the same title. While the storyline won’t be termed as extraordinary, it is the visual craftsmanship of the directors that distinguishes Sacred Games from following the footsteps of other crime dramas. The acting by the cast too is absolutely spot on. Saif Ali Khan is convincing as a Sikh police officer and even nails his Punjabi accent while he is at it. It seems that playing a ruthless gangster can come to Nawaz even in his sleep as like his past performances he fits this role like a glove. Radhika Apte delivers an impactful performance as a RAW agent. Another standout performance in the Indian web series is by Kubra Sait, who plays a transgender singer and dancer Kukoo. She mesmerises the audience and Gaitonde.
2. INDIAN WEB SERIES - MIRZAPUR
Produced by: Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhawani
Streaming on: Amazon Prime
Director: Karan Anshuman, Gurmeet Singh, and Mihir Desai
IMDB Ratings: 8.5/10
Mirzapur is a typical gang war drama in which people are ready to go to any extent for securing power. Right from the first scene itself, this Indian web series establishes the world you’re in. This seemingly lawless land is ruled by Akhanda Tripathi aka Kaleen Bhaiya (Pankaj Tripathi). Carrying out a carpet business as a cover, Kaleen Bhaiya carries out every illegal activity imaginable like dealing in desi kattas (guns), drugs and blackmail to name a few. His son Munna, played by Divyendu Sharma, is extremely hungry for power and wishes to take over control from his father as soon as possible. In walk two brothers – Guddu (Ali Fazal) and Bablu Pandit (Vikrant Massey), who join Kaleen’s business activities as they catch his attention thanks to their impressive hustling skills. This doesn’t sit too well with Munna as he considers them to be an obstacle in his way of securing power.
Even though the plot in this Indian web series is wafer-thin, the exceptional performances by the cast of the show prove to be the saving grace. Pankaj Tripathi absolutely nails his act as the local don. Be it his nuances, mannerism or the way he delivers lines, it"s hard to not be in awe of him. Vikrant Massey is his usual reliable self as he delivers an impressive performance. Ali Fazal does a commendable job as an all brawn and no brain. Divyendu Sharma, however, comes as the surprise package with his portrayal of Munna in the Indian web series. It"s good to see him play an extremely negative character for the first time and nail it.
3. INDIAN WEB SERIES - YEH MERI FAMILY
Produced by: The Viral Fever
Streaming on: Netflix
Director: Sameer Saxena
IMDB Ratings: 9.3/10
“Summer is a festival, not a season.” declares a 13-year-old Harshu (Vishesh Bansal) - an average boy from an average family. Within a few minutes of the Indian web series, the message is very clear.
TVF wants you to go on a nostalgia ride through their Indian web series. The Indian web series is filled with elements of nostalgia like hearing cricket commentary on the radio, talking on cordless phones while drinking Rooh Afza, phantom cigarettes, and WWF trump cards.
In fact, all that’s missing is a dial-up connection and Yahoo chatrooms. The web series revolves around the events that occur during the summer in a family of five. Many shows tend to suffer from nostalgia.
They compensate for a lack of originality by serving a glorified throwback of the good old days. However, Yeh Meri Family has enough substance in it along with providing a healthy dose of nostalgia.
4. INDIAN WEB SERIES - LITTLE THINGS
Produced by: Dice Media
Streaming on: Netflix
Director: Ruchir Arun
IMDB Ratings: 8.3/10
This cute little Indian web series based on the life of a couple in a relationship won the hearts of people ever since it was released online. The realistic and refreshing take on love blooming between two youngsters over little things in the big city of Mumbai is probably the biggest selling point of the show. The Indian web series recently concluded its second season.
In the second season, we find the protagonists to be in a much different position than the first. Dhruv has quit his job as a Data Analyst at a startup, while Kavya is making leaps and bounds of progress at her new job. The Indian web series explores this power imbalance within the couple without over-dramatizing their situation. The thing that works best for the Indian web series is the lead couple’s effortless chemistry.
The simplicity and ease with which the lead pair play their parts are truly commendable. The show is realistic in the way it portrays love.
It celebrates the imperfections of love and life, and it shows us exactly what happens when two real people fall in love and decide to go for it. It’s messy, it’s imperfect, but, at the end of the day, it is all worth it.
5. INDIAN WEB SERIES - DELHI CRIME
Director: Richie Mehta
Producers: Robert Friedland, Brian Kornreich, and Sidney Kimmel
Streaming on: Netflix
Cast: Shefali Shah, Rajesh Tailang and Rasika Dugal
IMDB Ratings: 8.5/10
The Nirbhaya rape case was an incident that shook the entire nation. Several years have passed since the tragedy but the people of the country have still not forgotten. It was a crime that made headlines across the world, and as detail after shocking detail of the case got out, it left us stunned with the horror of it all. So while many web series focused on the incident and what were the factors that drove the culprits towards such a heinous act, Netflix puts light on how the Delhi Police went about the job of catching the criminals during the fragile political conditions.
We all know that the criminals were arrested within the matter of days of the incident but what we were not aware of is how meticulously the task force at the Delhi police worked for this to happen. The 7-episode series details the stellar efforts on the part of the Delhi police in nabbing the men behind the act. The star of the show has to be Shefali Shah. Her character refuses to let gender get in the way of her duty and strays away from falling into the pit of police politics.
If nothing else, watching this series will make you truly appreciate the efforts of policemen in our country. Being a police officer in a country like India is truly a thankless job. Despite being relentless at work for hours at stretch, they’re treated as a virus filled with corruption.
All in all Delhi crime is a fascinating watch, one that grips your heart and never lets go till the very end.
6. INDIAN WEB SERIES - CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Director:
Produced by: Myleeta Aga, Sameer Nair, and Deepak Segal
Streaming on: Hotstar
Cast: Vikrant Massey, Pankaj Tripathi, Jackie Shroff, and Rucha Inamdar
IMDB Ratings: 8.1/10
Criminal Justice is a crime thriller and court drama rolled into one. The Hotstar original is based on the 2008 BBC show of the same name. The Indian version has been adapted by Sridhar Raghavan and directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia and Vishal Furia. In the Hindi drama, we see Vikrant Massey play the role of the cabbie played by Ben Whishaw in the original.
Aditya (Vikrant Massey) plays a cab driver, who ends up having a one night stand with one of his passengers and wakes up the next morning only to find her murdered. Obviously, he becomes the prime suspect in the case, but, did he actually do it?
Criminal Justice is a show that keeps you glued throughout the. 10 episodes Having a bunch of the finest actors in Bollywood at the moment obviously does kick things up a notch. Every actor is in sync with the dark, gripping mood of a crime that isn’t as simple as it seems.
However, it’s Vikrant Massey and Pankaj Tripathi’s presence that truly make the show special. Both Vikrant and Pankaj have been seen in a variety of roles in the past few years and yet again they’ve managed to slip in with ease into their characters. It is how they portray their characters that keep the viewers so interested in finding out what lies in store next. Although we see some cliche that we’re used seeing in Bollywood for years now, this one is definitely worth your time.
7. INDIAN WEB SERIES - KOTA FACTORY
Streaming On: TVF Play
Cast: Mayur More, Alam Khan, Jitendra Kumar, Ahsaas Channa, Ranjan Raj
IMDB Ratings: 9.2/10
Over the years, Kota has got earned the reputation of mass-producing IIT graduates. But, what we don’t see behind this astonishing success rate is that along with this there are also many people who are forced into this field and are termed as ‘misfits’. The Kota Factory gives us a birds-eye view on the functioning of this conveyer belt routine that produces these future 9-to-5ers.
This 5 episode Indian web series follows a teenager Vaibhav Pandey (Mayur More), who joins a coaching institute that preps students for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) entrance examination. Vaibhav along with his friends Meena (Ranjan Raj) and Uday (Alam Khan) are shown to go through the gruesome schedule which includes living in a new town, late nights, a parentless home and coaching class hierarchies.
The camera work in the show too gives us a gist of the life of these young achievers. The signature drone shot is of the city of Kota which is often used as an opening to shots and gives you an impression of the city which makes it looks like a maze and the students in the maze are a hamster. This Indian web series & also features Jitendra Kumar in a pivotal role, who impresses as the teacher, mentor, and overseer Jeetu Bhaiya.
8. INDIAN WEB SERIES - THE FAMILY MAN
Streaming On: Amazon Prime Video
Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi and Neeraj Madhav
IMDB Ratings: 8.7/10
Starring Manoj Bajpayee, The Family Man is an edgy action drama that revolves around a middle-class man who’s a secret agent for the National Investigation Agency. While he’s saving his country from terrorists, he also needs to protect his family from the impact of his secretive yet low paying job. What makes this Indian web series stand out is the fact that Bajpayee’s family sidetrack that we witness in the show. Normally, spy based drama is all about the action on the field but with this, we learn little more about the character and his personal life resulting in a sense of attachment to the lead. It also addresses a very sensitive issue regarding how Muslims are mistreated as we see many students are shown being harassed and humiliated by the cops for no reason other than the fact that they are Muslim. Manoj Bajpayee, as usual, is effortless and completely immerses himself in the character.
9. INDIAN WEB SERIES - TRIPLING
Streaming on: TVF Play
Cast: Sumeet Vyas, Maanvi Gagroo, Amol Parashar
IMDB Ratings: 8.6/10
The tagline of this show is ‘Crisis ke waqt family hi kaam aati hai’ which is enough to give you a gist of what to expect. The show takes us on an unplanned road trip along with three siblings who aren’t on the best of terms. All three main leads, Sumeet Vyas, Maanvi Gagroo & Amol Parashar have done complete justice to their roles and truly make the arguments and bonding between them seem authentic which adds further depth to the show. Kunaal Roy Kapur, Kumud Mishra & Shernaz Patel are enjoyable too in supporting roles. This definitely not like the road trip film we’ve seen in Bollywood - Farhan Akhtar’s Dil Chahta Hai and Zoya Akhtar’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Director Rajesh Krishnan doesn’t try to mimic the style and instead focuses on the idiosyncrasies of the bunch. The three characters might have egos that touch the sky but they also are extremely vulnerable. TVF also recently launched the second season which digs deeper into the lives of these siblings. All in all, Tripling is a cheerful misadventure that we all can relate to
10. INDIAN WEB SERIES - PITCHERS
Streaming on: TVF Play
Cast: Naveen Kasturia, Arunabh Kumar, Jitendra Kumar, Abhay Mahajan
IMDB Ratings:- 9.2/10
“Tu kya hai? (What are you?)” This question is that people often ask themselves when they don’t know their purpose in life. Few of them have the courage to answer this question and the rest of the bunch just choose to move along with their life. Pitchers is a show about four friends who quit their job to work on their ‘million dollar idea’. While working on their idea is obviously the biggest motivating factor, they also want a change. From their routine corporate lives, to start their own company and to be masters of their will. This five-episode season takes us through the struggles of this group as they work towards turning their dream to reality. The inspiration clearly comes from Silicon Valley, a show in which a group of friends builds a startup but they have personalized the characters and the storyline to a large extent. It doesn’t look like a typical comedy as it doesn’t fall prey to cliche jokes and maintains its intellect. It’s very intelligent yet never comes off as pretentious.
Cheers!
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