11 Best Netflix Indian Original Movies You Shouldn’t Skip

Is the Netflix Indian original content worth watching?

Indeed, they are. Not all of them, but there are a few that you shouldn’t skip watching.

If you have a Netflix subscription, you probably have watched the Netflix Indian original movies. Over time, Netflix India is trying hard to create more Indian original content.

There are a few best Netflix Indian original series that are quite popular and worth watching, like Sacred Games, Ghoul, and Delhi Crimes.

Likewise, Netflix India is streaming several Indian original movies featuring more Indian actors. With so many movies and TV series coming up every month, it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

In this blog post, I will list out the best Netflix Indian Original Movies that you should at least watch once.

Best Netflix Indian Original Movies

Music Teacher

Director: Sarthak Das Gupta

Screenplay: Sarthak Das Gupta

Cast: Manav Kau, Divya Dutt, Amrita Bagchi, and Neena Gupta

‘Music Teacher,’ which is streaming on Netflix, is a beautiful and simple tale of a music teacher Beni Madhav who fails to fulfill his musical dreams that result in life-long disappointment.

Not only that, but the movie also focuses on his refusal to accept his former student Jyotsna, who has become a reputed singer living her dreams in Mumbai. His regret for not having Jyotsna in his life.

In a nutshell, it is a simple story of unrequited love, regrets of unfulfilling dreams, and a ray of hope.

As the movie is set in Shimla, visually, the films look appealing. The lofty mountains, deep valleys, drizzling, and narrow lanes give the movie a subtlety.  

You can watch ‘Music Teacher’ at the weekend in the evening, sipping a cup of tea amidst the lockdown.

15^th August

Director: Swapnaneel Jaykar

Produced by Madhuri Dixit

15^th August is a Netflix original Marathi film that celebrates the communal love in a Mumbai chawl. The movie has a complete character-driven plot with diverse personalities that tells stories uniquely.

There are two parallel narratives, Ninad (Aaryan Menghji), whose soft little hand got stuck in a hole in the courtyard, which is supposed to be used as a flagpole.

The other narrative is the tale of a young couple, a struggling artist Raju and Jui of the same chawl.

The film focuses on the familiar issues of the Mumbai Chawl, where privacy is a lame word. The film has simplistically portrayed the socio-cultural concept. The people of Gandhi Chawl are preparing themselves for the flag hoisting ceremony.

Despite having a familiar story and not so great narrative, the film brings fresh air.  All the supporting characters have complemented each other so well in bringing the movie together in one-piece.

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Choked

Director: Anurag Kashyap

Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Choked: Paisa Bolta Hai’ is the latest addition to the Netflix Indian Original film.

As the story gets started, we see a family that consists of a bank employee Sarita (Saiyami Kher), her unemployed husband Sushant, and their son.

They live in a cramped one-bedroom apartment housing complex in the suburb Mumbai where your business is everybody’s business. Sushant being unemployed stays at home but roams around the complex plays carrom and neglect his responsibilities.

We see dialogues that represent the turmoil of their marriage relationship. Like, when Sushant complains about too much potato for dinner and why can’t she cook paneer, in replies, ‘if you want to eat paneer, be like paneer.’

So, here, we get a glimpse of their disturbed marital life. Sarita has a pattern, she switched off the light, lie down in the bed along with her husband and son, she keeps starring at the ceiling fan and hit by flashbacks.

The storyline has a smooth transition from reality to the flashback, where she finds herself choked in the spotlight of a reality show finale.

Every night she dreams of getting choked, a situation where she finds herself hanging between subconscious and reality.

When she regrets her existence amidst an unhappy married life and chaos, a plumbing problem becomes her silver lining.

Love Per Square Foot

Director: Anand Tiwari

Written by Anand Tiwari & Sumeet Vyas

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Angira Dhar, Ratna Pathak Shah, Supriya Pathak, Raghuvir Yadav, Gajraj Rao

The desire to own a piece of land or an apartment in Mumbai is a common dream of every Mumbaikers. The city might give work and shelter to everyone but doesn’t promise to give a permanent shelter at a reasonable price.

I live in Pune, and hence I know how much it costs to buy a decent apartment in the heart of the city. Sanjay Chaturvedi (Vicky Kaushal) spent his life staying in the railway quarters allotted to his father because of his government job.

Sanjay aspires to buy a house of his own, a dream shared by his catholic colleague Karina.  

Rest of the film settles on how and what both the characters do for securing the house in Mumbai.

I felt there is confusion in the plot. As an audience, not clear to me that is the couple in love, or they just want the house.

Overall, a good one-time watchable film that focuses on an extremely relatable issue of owning and securing a house in Mumbai for a middle-class individual.

Apart from both the lead young actors, it is the supporting cast that makes the film watchable.

Rajma Chawal

Director: Leena Yadav

Music Director: Sunidhi Chauhan

Cast: Aniruddh Tanwar, Amyra Dastur, Late Rishi Kapoor

Netflix Original movie ‘Rajma Chawal’ is a bittersweet father-son drama film set in the Old Delhi. For many filmmakers, Old Delhi is a great place to shoot if the story is a north Indian middle-class family-based.

The story revolves around Raj Mathur (Rishi Kapoor) and his equation with his son Kabir. They have moved their residence from New Delhi to Old Delhi after the demise of Kabir’s mother.

The parts of Delhi where Raj Mathur grew up, and during his olden days, he wants to be around of his childhood friends.

The relationship between the father and the grieving son worsens as the relocation led him part away from his band. The story continues with Seher’s entry into Kabir’s life.

How the father and son’s relationship get better? Well, the story is quite endearing to watch.

Rishi Kapoor’s performance as an old father is relatable, and as he is getting older, his performances are worth appreciable.

Amyra Dastur, an underrated actor, emerges as a surprise factor in this film. The industry should give her a chance to act.

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Yeh ballet

Director: Sooni Taraporevala

Screenplay: Sooni Taraporevala

Cast: Achintya Bose, Manish Chauhan, and Julian Sands

Netflix’s original Yeh Ballet is a 2020 movie about two struggling ballet dancers.

The film revolves around two exceptionally Mumbai working-class young boys who found their strength in ballet dancing. They struggled against the odds of the society; their life transformed when they took guidance under Saul, their mentor.

Though both the boys didn’t have the onscreen charisma but performed well on whatever role they were given. A ‘true story inspires the story’.

In the latter half of the movie, the scene where both the boys performed a duet, adds up flamboyance and delight in the scene.

The cinematography in the scene felt real that frames Nishu’s isolation. When he ran away from his home, he took shelter in the dance academy’s basement. His struggle, unlike Asif’s, will touch you more.

Indeed, one of the best Netflix Indian original movies you should watch.

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Upstarts

Director: Uday Singh Pawar

Cast: Priyanshu Painyuli, Shadab Kamal, Chandrachoor Rai

Netflix film ‘Upstarts, is an ode to the millions of Indian startup ventures. Today, in the digital world, every app, product or e-commerce portals, etc were all once just an idea.

There were men or women behind all the successful startup ventures. Think of Flipkart, Facebook, Zomato, Swiggy, BigBasket, Ola, all these have become a part of our urban life now.

Upstarts follow a similar story of three friends Yash, Kapil, and Vinay who enter into the world of startup quitting their 9-5 job and executing their ideas on bigger platforms for funding.

It looks like problems keep on coming up that impact the friendship of the three young lads.

Upstarts have a greatly relatable story that you might find interesting.

Maska

Director: Neeraj Udhwani

Cast: Monisha Koirala, Jaaved Jaaferi, Perit Kamani, Shirley Setia, Nikita Dutta

Netflix’s Indian original movie ‘Maska’ is a feel-good movie that two brilliant senior actors Monisha Koirala and Jaaved Jaferi, helps to lift the essence of the movie. Maska is a mother that tells a wonderful story of a mother-son relationship.

Monisha Koirala effortlessly plays the role of a widow who is trying to keep the family’s generation-old Irani café running. She wants her only son Rumi to run the café and take forward her husband Rustoms’ legacy.

Rumi aspires to become an actor, and he cares less about his legacy. He feels nothing extraordinary about the Irani café. So, he moves forward to achieve his dream, but in his journey, he disappoints her mama over the café issue.

Maska is a nostalgia. At any metropolitan city, you could see old cafes and restaurants are being demolished, and something new is taking its place.

People these days care less about their family legacy. The movie is a tale of restoring family legacy, love, and togetherness in simplicity.

I would recommend you watching Maska on Netflix.

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Guilty

Director: Ruchi Narain

Cast: Kiara Advani, Taher Shabbir, Kunal Vijaykar

The story follows Nanki Dutta (Kiara Advani), who finds herself in a dilemma when a college new student Tanu accuses her boyfriend of having raped her.

The “MeToo’ angle has been used in the plot. The movie has quite a solid storyline, but in some places, some gaps disconnect us from the movie.

The storyline of the movie is strong in terms of a social cause that focuses on society’s take on the issue of rape.

Neither of the supporting cast has delivered their best performances. The only person who held the movie together is the surprisingly good performance of Kiara Advani as Nanki.

Her character has complexities and layers of emotions. ‘Guilty’ feels genuinely authentic and relatable to the current situation of the society.

Firebrand

Director: Aruna Raje

Screenplay: Aruna Raje

Producer: Priyanka Chopra

Cast: Usha Jadhav, Girish Kulkarni, Sachin Khedekar, Rajeshwari Sachdev

‘Firebrand’ is Netflix’s first Marathi Original film, which is about a rape survivor who seeks to help other women. Usha Jadhav plays a lawyer who fights for justice to other women facing violence.

The film, in many ways, showcases the life of women and neglects the perception that sexual and domestic violence has nothing to do with financial status. It is the sick mindset of men who considers women as a mere object.

The movie’s much-admired performance of Sunanda is an emotionally strong character. The film is important to watch because of its subject and storyline.

Indeed, one of the best Netflix Indian original movies that you shouldn’t skip.  

Soni

Director: Ivan Ayr

Screenplay: Ivan Ayr

Cast: Geetika Vidya Ohlyan, Saloni Batra

The movie explores a variety of issues like gender inequality, police brutality, and violence against women in India. Director Ayr has also shone a light on how the police station works on a ground level.

Soni is a sub-inspector who works in operation for keeping streets women safe in Delhi. In India, Delhi is considered one of the most unsafe cities for women. In case you haven’t watched Indian TV series ‘Delhi Crime’ you wouldn’t think twice to say how well-crafted the web series is.

Soni is the quintessential epitome of Angry Young Woman. There is another character Kalpana, whom Soni reports to, represents the opposite of Soni.

Both women represent a world that is hostile towards women. Women are being mistreated for centuries; they fought for years to gain and earn their position respectfully in society.

Even though in the 21^st-century women are par excellent in every aspect of life, still the society continued to suppress them at workplaces, at home and outside.

Director Ivan Ayr tried to balance women’s lives by showing the differences.

Soni displays a strong message, and without a doubt, it is the best Netflix Indian original movie.

Bulbbul

Director: Anvita Dutt Guptan

Screenplay: Anvita Dutt Guptan

Cast: Tripti Dimri, Paoli Dam, Rahul Bose, Avinash Tiwary

Anvita Dutt’s Netflix original movie “Bulbbul” is a story set in the late 19^th century Bengal where a child named Bulbbul at a very tender age is getting married to Indranil played by Rahul Bose, a Zamindar Thakur.

The story moves 20 years ahead when Bulbbul (Tripti Dimri) is a young woman now and find solace in the companion of Satya (Avinash Tiwary). After Indranil sends Satya away from Bulbbul, the main story begins.

The movie is ambitious and trying to explore the prevalent women issues in our society.

‘Bulbbul’ is a combination of superstitions, mythology, fantasy, and a story-driven movie that narrates a tale of mistreatment over women by men for centuries.

The most impressive quality of the movie is its cinematography. It has given an artistic touch in the frames and gives the audience to judge between the reality and superficial world of fantasy.

‘Bulbbul’ is a must-watch Netflix original movie for the performances, screenplay, and cinematography.