Popular Indian web series with a total bang for the buck

The scene of the Indian web series saw an uplift like never before during the lockdown. Almost everyone saw an opportunity to consume fresh content from the comfort of their homes. And decided to make the most of it. To notch this checklist up, we have put together suggestions based on genres that interest you. Time to fire away!

True stories

Compelling real-life incidents told in the most compelling way. These are sure to leave you spell bound if realism is what you enjoy.

Scam 1992 The Harshad Mehta Story

Streaming on SonyLIV I IMDb 9.5

Adapted from the book ‘The Scam: Who Won, Who Lost, Who Got Away' by journalists Debashis Basu and Sucheta Dalal, this web series is set in the 1980’s and 1990’s of Bombay. The protagonist of this series is Harshad Mehta, a stockbroker who used his manipulation skills to turn the tables in his favor. He scaled up the stock market using tactics that he created as he discovered the loopholes in the Indian banking system. He soared up to his game so much that he began to be known by names like ‘Big Bull’ and ‘Amitabh Bachchan of Stock Market.' What followed was a catastrophic downfall. 

Delhi Crime

Streaming on Netflix I IMDb 8.5

This seven-episode series is set in the aftermath of a brutal rape in Delhi in 2016. It shows how the Delhi police apprehended the six men guilty of the crime. The series aims to demonstrate the officers' patience and perseverance in the face of adversity as heinous as this one. It is a fictionalized crime drama, based on the painstaking investigation which led to the capture of the men who attacked the couple on a running bus on the roads of Delhi. 

Abhay

Streaming on Zee5 I IMDb 8.0

The first episode of this criminal thriller Abhay was inspired by the shocking story of serial killings, cannibalism, sexual abuse, and necrophilia in Nithari, a small town in Noida's suburbs, which shocked everyone in 2006. The protagonist is a Special Task Force officer Abhay Pratap Singh, who cuts short his leave of absence to work with his new team on a series of heinous murders. This time, though, Abhay and his squad are up against some truly wicked assassins. One is harsher than the other.

Jamtara

Streaming on Netflix I IMDb 7.3

The story of Jamtara is based on genuine happenings in the city of Jamtara, Jharkhand, including phishing schemes. Sunny Mondal leads a gang of school dropouts that steal individuals of their money by impersonating employees of reputable firms in order to obtain personal information such as passwords and credit card numbers.

Rangbaaz

Streaming on Zee5 I IMDb 8.1

Rangbaaz's first season is based on Indian gangster Shri Prakash Shukla's life. It depicts Shukla's transformation from an innocent young lad who inadvertently murders a man who taunts his sister to Uttar Pradesh's most feared criminal. This web series, set in the 1990s, is a gripping crime thriller. The web series' second season follows the life of another of India's most wanted criminals, Anandpal Singh, who functioned in Rajasthan.

Comedy

Let there be fun! Let these light-hearted series, crafted to amuse, entertain, and provoke enjoyment to make it to your watch list.

Chacha Vidhayak Hain Hamare

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video I IMDb 7.7

Ronny's entire existence has been built on a falsehood. He is known around the world as the nephew of the local MLA and a youth leader who helps people with their problems. Ronny, on the other hand, is a jobless 25-year-old who has no relation to the MLA with the same surname. The show follows Ronny's exploits as he finds himself in a variety of circumstances as a result of his deception. Anwar and Kranti, two of his closest pals, are also unaware of the truth and regard Ronny as their leader. Avantika is in love with Ronny, but she is too preoccupied with her ex to realize his feelings. His family is anxious about his future and shocked by his lack of motivation to study or find work. Ronny's sister, who believes he is lying about something, is continually attempting to get him in trouble with their parents. Santosh Bhaiya, Ronny's valued mentor, is the only one who understands the truth and tries to aid Ronny.

Tripling

Streaming on MX Player I IMDb 8.5

Three siblings with different personalities, fighting with three different problems, facing different issues in life come together to hop on a road trip destined to end in their parent’s home. It is a matter of coincidence that leads to the formation of this plan. Turns out they get a chance to look back at the decisions they made and their childhood memories. Separated by a job in the US, marriage and the pursuit of becoming a musician, they are now reunited on this trip.

Gullak

Streaming on SonyLIV I IMDb 9.1

This is what a typical Indian middle class looks like. Wanting to enjoy luxuries in life but pulled down by shortage of funds, yet living a truly entertaining life, deriving pleasure from what is going around in the neighborhood. A classic account of sibling rivalry and sibling bond, two brothers express both love and hatred for each other without failing for even a single second. 

Comicstaan

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video I IMDb 6.8

Find out what happens when the top Indian comedians are pitched against each other only to be mentored by the veterans of the industry. A great attempt to make stand-up comedy a more and more accepted genre in the country. 

Pitchers

Streaming on MX Player I IMDb 9.1

A congregation of experiences of aspiring entrepreneurs who take the plunge. What befalls their journey as they quit their jobs to set out to pursue their dreams and passions. The crests and troughs, joys and sorrows, and a bag full of pitfalls are all that is encapsulated in the web series.

Drama

Oscillating between real-time experiences, societal conditions, and creative liberty, Indian web dramas have taken a super haul, thanks to great story writers. 

Made in heaven

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video I IMDb 8.3

Set in the humdrum of Delhi’s high society, this 9 episodes long web series is a telltale of Indian wedding culture. What goes behind in putting a big fat Indian wedding in place, is something that you are sure to find on the other end of this series. Certain acceptances, certain revokes, certain compromises, certain lies, and certain truths, wedding is just the beginning of this race. This series is also a conjunction of the elites enjoying high teas and cutting chai lovers of the less privileged. A good satire on the LGBTQ scene in India. 

Kota Factory

Streaming on Netflix I IMDb 9.2

The true essence of this series spanning over 2 seasons now is encompassed in the name itself. For quite a long time now, Kota, a city in Rajasthan has become ‘the place’ for all IIT-JEE aspirants. Students enroll themselves in educational institutions as soon as they enter their intermediate classes. And from then, their life begins to revolve around what it takes to enter any IIT in India. They sleep, walk, talk and if possible eat IIT as well. And then there are some teachers who leave an everlasting impression in the hearts of these fresh out-of-home students. It is just about the way they teach, the way they attempt to explain the concepts, and the way they inspire. 

Panchayat

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video I IMDb 8.8

If on a Friday evening, a light-hearted engaging series is what you have been looking for, this is it. Watch Panchayat! A young engineering graduate gets a job as a secretary in one of the villages in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Juggling between his actual deliverables and the ones that the panchayat makes him do, every day is a new struggle for him. He is new to the ways that run around in Indian villages. It is this job that gives him a window into this system. Amidst all of this, he decides to prepare for MBA as a way to get out of here as soon as possible, but there is some kind of attachment that sets in. 

A suitable boy

Streaming on Netflix I IMDb 5.8

A Suitable Boy is set in a fictional town called Brahmpur, against the backdrop of a newly independent India. It juggles between unacceptable and acceptable love relationships and marriages. All of this when a country is struggling to make peace after a part of it has fallen out. The political unrest, religious intolerance, and a very eager mother to get her daughter married to a well-off man the soonest. But this daughter is exploring her free will, defying traditions and expectations. 

Yeh Meri Family

Streaming on TVF play I IMDb 9.1

This series surfaces the experiences of a disgruntled 12 years old boy and his comically picturized journey dealing with the pangs of a middle-class family. Sibling rivalry, motherhood, summer holidays, birthday plans, and school friendship, it is sure to take you on a ride down the nostalgic lane. There is one or the other relatable element in the show for everyone. 

Action and Thriller

Quench your thirst for some action as you tune into these Indian make web series.

Mirzapur

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video I IMDb 8.5

It's a fictional story set in Uttar Pradesh, and it's about the mafia and narcotics underground in Mirzapur's Purvanchal region. The audience is accustomed to distinguishing between their hero and villain in all films, but Mirzapur lacks any ‘good' hero-like characters in this series of thrills, crime, and drama. People in this show are less bad than others, and the plot puts the viewers' morality to the test as to who they should support. The gore and violence depicted in this series were unadulterated and unvarnished, inspiring a slew of other Indian shows. 

Special ops

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video I IMDb 8.6

Himmat Singh of India's Research and Analytics Wing (RAW) has successfully drawn a link between significant terrorist incidents and is confident that a single individual is responsible for them all. His task group of five agents, spread throughout the globe, is tasked with apprehending the mastermind. It's based on a 19-year manhunt for the sixth terrorist who was nowhere to be found after the 2001 Parliament attack.

Sacred games

Streaming on Netflix I IMDb 8.6

The series is based on the novel of the same name by Vikram Chandra, which was published in 2006. While the series is a simplified version of the novel, significant elements like political instability, religion, terrorism, and casteism are all expertly woven into the plot. The novel follows two parallel threads: one depicts Gaitonde's rise to power in the early 1980s and 1990s, while the other depicts Sartaj's current struggle to decipher the mysterious meaning of a dying gangster's final remarks.

The Family Man

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video I IMDb 8.8

What happens when an official operating in an anti-terrorist national squad has to keep his job hidden from his family. How one of the best officers tackles giving time to his family yet attending to untimely calls for protecting the nation. At the time, he needs to protect his family too, take care of his growing kids and condition his marriage as well while curtailing a terror threat.

Criminal justice

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video I IMDb 8.1

Criminal Justice is a crime thriller that both serves as a court drama and a police procedural. In the Mumbai-set story, which spans 22 months, there are two main characters. Aditya is perplexed by the criminal justice system and is in the midst of an excruciatingly unpleasant, violent, and life-changing experience in prison. Lawyer Madhav is engrossed in exploiting legal loopholes for his personal gain, while long-suppressed remorse consumes him on the inside. Madhav discovers a method to redeem and mend himself via Aditya's case.