Over a virtual press conference earlier today, Netflix India has announced its massive 2021 slate. The diverse mix of original films, new and returning series, reality shows and comedy specials are listed below, although release dates are yet to be specified. These titles join the streaming giant's recent string of big announcements of upcoming movies such as Kartik Aaryan-starrer Dhamaka, Sanya Malhotra-starrer Pagglait, the Arjun Kapoor and Rakul Preet Singh-led Sardar Ka Grandson and long-awaited Dhanush-Kartik Subbaraj collaboration Jagame Thandhiram. The full list of titles is below:
Karan Johar's digital-focused Dharmatic Entertainment presents the latest streaming anthology. From directors Shashank Khaitan (Badrinath Ki Dulhania), Raj Mehta (Good Newwz), Neeraj Ghaywan (Masaan) and actor-turned-filmmaker Kayoze Irani, each story delves into 'fractured relationships and unexplored spaces'. One of the most exciting things about anthologies is the casting and this one is certainly no different with names including, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Jaideep Ahlawat, Nushrratt Bharuccha, Abhishek Banerjee, Konkona Sen Sharma, Aditi Rao Hydari, Shefali Shah and Manav Kaul.
Sonakshi Sinha and Tahir Raj Bhasin star in a film about a chirpy young girl who has one simple dream of wanting her groom to make a grand entrance at his baraat atop a horse. That is until she realises that her harmless hopes are met with resistance from the locals in her village. The film comes from director Shree Narayan Singh and writer Arshad Sayeed.
Filmmaker Vinil Mathew (Hasee Toh Phasee) teams up with Aanand L Rai's Colour Yellow Productions and writer Kanika Dhillon in a thriller about a woman who finds herself entangled in the murder of her own husband. With a cast made up of Taapsee Pannu, Vikrant Massey and Harshvardhan Rane, this one certainly has our attention.
While it's unclear as to whether this one's been produced by TVF – it's got TVF talent all over it with director Sameer Saxena and writer Biswapati Sarkar. Not to mention leads Jitendra Kumar and Arushi Sharma in a story about a small-time magician in Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh who has to win a local football tournament in order to
marry the love of his life. A most intriguing one-liner.
Another one from Dharmatic Entertainment is director Vivek Soni's film starring Abhimanyu Dassani and Sanya Malhotra as a young couple who enter into a long-distance arranged marriage and endure all the struggles that come with it.
Soni-director Ivan Ayr's next once again took the festival world by storm opening at the Venice Film Festival last year. Milestone follows the story of a recently bereaved, middle-aged truck driver who is coping with a
personal tragedy while facing the existential threat of losing his job to a young recruit.
'9 Films, 9 Emotions, 9 Notable Directors, 1 Noble Cause' is the one-line description for this hotly-anticipated Mani Ratnam-produced anthology. While the directors haven't been announced, the cast has, and what a cast it is. Revathy, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Anjali, Aditi Balan, Vijay Sethupathy, Arvind Swamy, Siddarth, Prakashraj, Yogi Babu, Bobby Simha, Gautham Menon and more. We are so there.
Yup, Netflix India has commissioned a movie from Abbas-Mustan. Netflix is clearly dedicated to its mission of making something for everyone. The thriller stars Bobby Deol, Arjun Rampal and Sharman Joshi among others and follows the murder of an unknown woman whose body is discovered during a seemingly harmless reunion among friends.
Chaitanya Tamhane's highly-anticipated sophomore feature finally finds its way to the audience after premiering at the Venice Film Festival and garnering glowing reviews from the global festival circuit. The film, which has Alfonso Cuaron serving as Executive Producer, follows the story of a man who has devoted his life to becoming an Indian classical music vocalist. But as the years go by he starts to wonder whether it's really possible to achieve the excellence he's striving for.
Shakun Batra and Dharmatic Entertainment bring you a documentary about Osho's controversial ex-secretary, Ma Anand Sheela as she returns to India after 34 years of exile. Having re-shot to fame since the mega reception to the Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country, Searching for Sheela promises to be an intimate look into her journey across India, observing the rebranding of her as a pop-culture icon.
Rohan Sippy serves as showrunner for this thriller about a foreign tourist who disappears in a misty Himalayan town, leading to a harried local cop (Raveena Tandon) joining hands with her city-bred replacement for a big-ticket case that digs up skeletons and revives a forgotten Himalayan myth of a bloodthirsty, serial killing entity in the forest.
Showrunner Manu Joseph and director Hardik Mehta come together for a curious comedy series about a man (R. Madhavan) who suffers from chronic objectivity, which gets him in trouble with people wherever he goes. While this costs him his marriage, he persuades his estranged wife (Surveen Chawla) to continue living with him.
Another streaming anthology, this time in a series format, Feels like Ishq offers seven stories about the kindling of young love. The directors? Ruchir Arun, Tahira Kashyap Khurrana, Ashima Chibber, Anand Tiwari, Danish Aslam, Jaydeep Sarkar and Sachin Kundalkar. The cast? Radhika Madan, Amol Parashar, Simran Jehani, Rohit Saraf, Tanya Maniktala, Neeraj Madhav and many others.
Yet another Dharmatic entry, this time a series led by showrunner Sri Rao along with directors Karishma Kohli and Bejoy Nambiar about a global superstar, wife, and mom (Madhuri Dixit Nene) who suddenly vanishes without a trace. As police and loved ones search for answers to her disappearance, her perfectly crafted façade is stripped away, revealing hidden truths and painful lies in the life of an iconic actress.
Anushka Sharma's Clean Slate Films, responsible for some of last year's best stories on streaming (Bulbbul, Paatal Lok), join hands with Atul Mongia (making his showrunning debut) along with writers Amita Vyas and Tamal Kumar Sen. Mai stars Sakshi Tanwar as a 47-yearold wife-and-mother who, after a personal tragedy, finds herself accidentally entangled in a web of white-collar crime and dirty politics.
Among his countless achievements, revolutionary film maker Satyajit Ray is also remembered for his excellent short stories, which serve as the base for yet another anthology series. Ray comes from Directors Srijit Mukherji, Vasan Bala, Abhishek Chaubey and writers Niren Bhatt and Siraj Ahmed with a exciting cast including Manoj Bajpayee, Gajraj Rao, Kay Kay Menon, Ali Fazal and Harshvardhan Kapoor among many others.
What if the daughter of the world's most dreaded fell madly falls in love with you, except you didn't love her back? A romantic simpleton finds himself in the middle of just that in this dark comedy starring Tahir Raj Bhasin, Shweta Tripathi, Saurabh Shukla, Brijendra Kala and Arunoday Singh.
With unprecedented access to the Bengaluru City Police, this docu-series follows major criminal investigations from
the moment the crime is reported through to the capture of the suspects. From murder to kidnap to extortion, each film tracks shocking and compelling cases in the heart of India's Silicon Valley.
Filmmaker Leena Yadav serves as showrunner of this docu-series which explores the intricate, complex and sometimes hidden workings of a traditional Indian family. The three part series takes an exploratory look at a case that shook up the whole nation – the infamous Burari case, where 11 members of a 'happy' family, spanning three generations, were found dead inside their house in Delhi.
This VICE Media produced docu-series attempts to decode the minds of some of India's deadliest
killers. The series uncovers the never-before-heard details of gruesome killings as individuals who were at the epicenter of these crimes talk about what went down.
In a world where reality shows and social media influencers dominate the realm of guilty pleasure viewing, why not make a reality series about influencers? Social Currency follows eight popular social media influencers whose "influence" is put to test in the real world without their super power – their blue tick verified, and highly followed accounts.
These join the ranks of the returning series coming back for new seasons, listed below.
Highlights include the new season of Delhi Crime which sees Shefali Shah's Vartika Chaturvedi and her team return to solve a new heinous crime, with showrunner Tanuj Chopra taking over from creator Richie Mehta. What's more the new season of TVF's critically acclaimed Kota Factory has been acquired by Netflix, much like how it acquired Dice Media's Little Things.
On the stand-up comedy front, there's new comedy specials from Sumukhi Suresh, Aakash Gupta, Rahul Dua, Prashasti Singh and Kapil Sharma. Also on the list is a show called Comedy Premium League which sounds like another Comicstaan-style competitive stand-up reality show.