OTT streaming giant Netflix India announced its line-up of projects for 2025 on Monday. The line-up promises some interesting new entrants, promising returns of older successes, and surprising new names entering the digital landscape of India.
First up, they announced the digital debut of director Siddharth Anand, who is helming Jewel Thief, headlined by Saif Ali Khan and Jaideep Ahlawat. The logline of the show reads, “A Jewel thief is hired by a powerful crime lord to steal the world’s most elusive diamond – The African Red Sun. His perfectly planned heist then takes a wild turn. Chaos, twists, and unexpected alliances unfold in this high-stakes race making it a deadly game of deception and betrayal.” This would mark Saif’s return to the streamer after kick-starting Netflix’s Indian sojourn with Sacred Games in 2018.
If thieves are in town, so is thuggery as Netflix announced the return of Rana Naidu with its second season. The real-life uncle-nephew duo of Venkatesh and Rana Daggubati are back in the game as there is the usual family troubles, and the unusual return of a problem from the past. And who plays this problem? Well, it is Arjun Rampal who enters the world of the Naidus.
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Next on Netflix is a rather quirkily titled Rajkummar Rao film, Toaster. And if you read the logline, you’d know why this film needed Rajkummar, and a platform that accepts quirk is a way of life. What happens when a miser, who gifts a toaster for a wedding, finds himself embroiled in murder and mayhem? Colour us intrigued. Apart from Rajkummar, Toaster featuresSanya Malhotra, Abhishekh Bannerjee, and Upendra Limaye in pivotal roles.
The breakthrough web series, Delhi Crime, featuring the ever-dependable trio of Shefali Shah, Rasika Dugal, and Rajesh Tailang are back for the third season, and take on a formidable foe, who is at the centre of a trafficking ring. This time around, the series features Huma Qureshi and Sayani Gupta in pivotal roles.
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Although Netflix already announced Naadaniyaan, starring Khushi Kapoor and Ibrahim Ali Khan, the It-duo took to the stage to launch the first single of the film, “Tere Ishq Mein”. As expected, Netflix also launched the Madhavan-Fatima Sana Shaikh love drama, Aap Jaisa Koi, which traces the lives of Shrirenu Tripathi and Madhu Bose, who might seem polar opposites, but as the old adage goes… opposites attract. It also marks the return of Madhavan to the romance genre after quite a few detours.
Close on the heels of announcing Delhi Crime Season 3, Netflix also announced the second season of the highly lauded series, Kohrra. Barun Sobti as Garundi gets transferred to another station, and finds a new boss in Mona Singh’s Dhanwant Kaur as they come together to solve the case of a brutally murdered woman.
One thing that OTT gets right is in how actors can fleet between streamers and get the space to headline quality projects everywhere. Netflix’s Glory stars Pulkit Samrat, Divyenndu and Suvinder Vicky. Is it Rocky? Is it Fighting with the Family? Well, we’ll know it quite soon as the makers proclaim that sometimes… the road to sporting glory isn’t laid on just sweat and grime, but blood and brotherhood too.
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Next up, Netflix and YRF Entertainment are joining hands to bring a few interesting projects to the streamer. Vaani Kapoor and Surveen Chawla headline the gripping and intense Mandala Murders that promises to weave an intriguing tale of deceit that is interconnected with a lot of things in the series’ world, and of course… fate. The logline reads, “The motive lies in the past, the madness lies in the method. In an unsolvable mystery, all roads lead to a secret society.” Who is behind this society? Who is killing? Why are they being killed? Vaani doesn’t have all the answers, but we can rest assured, she would get there as the closing credits of Mandala Murders come up.
And for their next collaboration, they strike talent gold as National award winner Keerthy Suresh and the extremely talented Radhika Apte come together, along with a stellar star cast including names like Tanvi Azmi, to headline the series Akka. “The matriarchy stands strong. A rebel plots their downfall. A girl from Pernuru seeks revenge against the Akkas,” reads the official logline of the series, which promises to be a bloody actioner that doesn’t shy away from giving a new look to each of its actors, who look like they’ve taken to the challenge like a fish to water.
Netflix also announced its continuation of Neeraj Pandey’s Khakee series, which began with the Bihar chapter. Now, they are coming up with Khakee: The Bengal Chapter, which features the who’s who of Bengali cinema. Jeet plays the strict police officer who is up against Prosenjit Chatterjee, who seems to be playing a suave politician at loggerheads with the no-nonsense cop. The series also features Chitrangada Singh, Parambrata Chatterjee, Ritwik Bhowmik, Aadil Zafar Khan, Saswata Chatterjee, Aakanksha Singh, Pooja Chopra, and Mimoh Chakraborty in pivotal roles.
Then, it was time for the Tamil entry into Netflix’s slate, the much-awaited directorial debut of producer Sashikanth of YNot Pictures. Titled Test, the film stars Siddharth, Madhavan, Nayanthara, and Meera Jasmine. The teaser promises a gritty relationship drama built on the backdrop of cricket. Intense emotions seem to be the name of the game in this film, which was inititally supposed to be a theatrical release, but has circumvented the route to become a direct-to-OTT release.
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This was followed by the rather funny and ‘super awkward’ life and times of Super Subbu. Netflix’s Telugu original, created by Mallik Ram, stars a brilliant cast, including names like Mithila Palkar, Murli Sharma, Sampoornesh Babu, and the legendary Brahmanandam. Desperate for a job to ensure every other obstacle in his life disappears, Subbu has to double up as someone who has to teach about sex education and family planning in Makhipur, a place that prides on producing children like it is nobody else’s business.
This marks the streamer’s debut into the Telugu series space, and hopefully is the first of many for the streaming giant.
Pratik Gandhi, who can rightfully be called as one of the superstars of the digital space, is bringing to life the story of the untold and unknown… the spies… in Saare Jahan Se Accha. The series delves into the importance of ‘information’ in a world where it not just holds the highest value, but constantly makes one think if the value is worth one’s own life. The espionage thriller, set in the 70s, promises to be quite the intense tale of various nameless people who understand that someone has to do the Mission: Impossible, even if the stories told of them aren’t half as flashy as their reality.
Only one Indian standup comedy special was announced as part of the Netflix slate, and no points for guessing whose show would be in the limelight. Vir Das is bringing to Netflix his special show, Full Volume. The teaser offers a glimpse into a sold-out show where Vir mixes stinging satire brimming with political overtones, and the right amount of sarcasm brewing underneath it all with the hope that tomorrow’s India is always better than today’s.
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Netflix also announced the show Dining With The Kapoors. The official synopsis reads, “Step into the world of Bollywood’s most iconic family, where food, fun, legacy and film come together in a heartfelt and intimate showcase.”
It was also announced that Kapil Sharma’s The Great Indian Kapil Show will return with Season 3 this year.
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And Netflix reserved the best for the last as it officially announced Aryan Khan’s much-awaited directorial debut, The Ba***ds of Bollywood. While it was speculated to be titled Stardom, there is no doubt that the cheekiness of the title reveal teaser was matched by the title itself. The teaser was a riot with Shah Rukh Khan taking centrestage in a way only he can, and the hilarious exchange between him and his director, Aryan, was tongue-in-cheek, and it would do a world of good if the irreverence is reflected in the series too.
