The advent of the new OTT platforms has allowed for new script and character-driven content as well as novel approaches to storytelling. It's also delivered some truly fascinating Hindi Original dramas on both Netflix and Amazon Prime. From hardcore crime fiction and true crime stories to women-centric series, these shows take fans through the minds of psychopaths or immerse audiences in the glamorous but murky lives of elite social classes.
Whether telling the stories of flawed, everyday men and women shattering stereotypes, unhinged murderers, or desperate mothers in search of their kids, the following dramas offer a range of fascinating characters. They're guaranteed to keep fans on the edge of their seats and take their places firmly on the must-watch list.
Amazon Prime: Paatal Lok
The Amazon India Original garnered critical appreciation for its stellar performances. The drama follows protagonist Hathiram Chaudhury, a disillusioned cop, as he dives deeper and deeper into the New Delhi underworld hoping to unravel the mystery behind the attempted assassination of a famous journalist.
The series ran along the central theme that the paatal lok - meaning the underworld or netherworld - was filled with the worst abominations of the world, while heaven was where the ruling classes reigned supreme. Finally, the two worlds intersected on earth where humans struggled to survive. This chilling drama is certainly worth a watch.
Netflix: Sacred Games
One of the most powerful Indian Originals, this Netflix drama is an adaptation of author Vikram Chandra's award winning novel of the same name. The story opens with troubled cop Sartaj Singh receiving a mysterious call from someone who identifies himself as Ganesh Gaitonde, a notorious gangster who had been on the run for decades after having given the chase of a lifetime to police forces across multiple countries.
The ensemble cast puts their best foot forward in a racy drama that addresses the murky nexus of politics, religion, and law enforcement. Fans find themselves rooting for different people at different times as new information surfaces with every twist.
Amazon Prime: The Family Man
Srikant Tiwari is a tired, middle-class man often at the wrong end of his family's expectations. Yet, he harbors an important secret. Srikant works undercover for TASC, the Threat Analysis and Surveillance Cell, a fictitious Indian intelligence agency, and regularly locks horns with the most terrifying terrorists who have nothing to lose.
Widely touted as one of the best Hindi Amazon Original dramas, according to IMDb, the series keeps fans hooked as the protagonist, played by multi-award-winning actor Manoj Bajpayee, battles on multiple fronts in his daily life. The third season is currently much anticipated and all viewers need to do to catch up is get a bucket of popcorn and prepare to lose a weekend!
Netflix: Delhi Crime
The International Emmy winning series is based on a chilling true crime that rocked India as well as the world at large. On December 16, 2012, a horrifying crime took place on a moving bus in the Indian capital that has since gone on to become infamous as the 'Nirbhaya' case. 'Nirbhaya' in Hindi means fearless, a reference to the braveheart who fought for her life for a couple of weeks after the horrifying attack.
The taut drama follows the immediate aftermath of the crime as the case is investigated by the Delhi police who spend sleepless nights and end up nabbing the accused within a couple of days. The series picked up accolades for its understated depiction of this dark phase in the country. It's one of the best things on Netlflix for true crime fans to watch.
Amazon Prime: Mirzapur
The lawless land of Mirzapur is overrun by greed, corruption and the uncontested sway of power-hungry crime lords who would stop at nothing to hold on to status-quo. As fans are taken deeper and deeper into the tangled web of violence, politics and ruthless one-upmanship, the boundaries between what is right and what is wrong become blurred.
With impeccable performances all around, the edgy crime drama leaves a profound impression on fans' minds. In Mirzapur, the fight is unto death, quite literally, and the stakes are upped at every stage.
Netflix: Typewriter
A rare gem of the horror genre, Typewriter is the tale of a young woman named Jenny who comes back to her ancestral home after decades even though she remembers nothing of it. Events are set in motion as soon as her family moves into the house that had been abandoned for years, and long suppressed memories return along with terrifying implications as the mansion's old typewriter comes to life all on its own.
A well-made thriller with oodles of supernatural elements, the series manages to keep its pace from waning. Makers aren't the most prolific when it comes to horror in India, and it would be difficult to come up with and rank some of the best Indian horror movies of all time. Yet, the series captures fans' imagination, and is most binge-worthy.
Amazon Prime: Made In Heaven
If crime and horror aren't your thing, then there is much else to choose from. This critically acclaimed Amazon Prime Video drama series takes fans into the complicated lives of Tara and Karan who run a wedding management company called 'Made in Heaven.'
As they organize lavish weddings for their super-rich clientele, they find themselves navigating the tides of upper class hypocrisies, and the secrets that every family keeps behind their glittering facades. Tara and Karan also have their own family dramas to deal with. Each episode ends with a commentary on how different classes bring with them a vast social paraphernalia.
Netflix: Leila
Based on a dystopian novel of the same name, this is the story of Shalini, a woman who gets separated from her little daughter, Leila, in a newly fascist regime and is desperate to get back to her.
The story addresses concepts of purity, nationalism, totalitarianism. It takes fans on a bold, imaginative journey of what the world could look like twenty years hence. With a very novel approach, the series found some rave reviews from critics and fans alike.
Amazon Prime: Four More Shots Please!
This glamorous drama about four independent women in urban India was nominated for the 2020 International Emmys. Widely seen as the Indian Sex & The City, Amazon Prime's Four More Shots Please! improves on SATC in some ways while failing in others.
Damini, Anjana, Siddhi and Umang navigate life on their own terms, fearlessly owning their sexuality, finding their voices, and pursuing their dreams. As they make mistakes and try to pick up the pieces again, fans become invested in the lives of these free-spirited women who break the glass ceiling and come out stronger in their struggle for survival.
Netflix: Bombay Begums
Women are at the helm of affairs in this Netflix Original set in modern day Mumbai, the financial capital of India, the city of dreams and utopia. Here is a brave take on five ambitious women from different layers of society as they traverse life.
The strong female leads in this series - written and scripted by women - are flawed, selfish, and unashamed about what they want from life. Unlike the conventional image of the 'good' woman who is devoted to her family and committed to never stray from her prescribed path in society, these women frequently, blur the boundaries between right and wrong, good and bad, moral and amoral.