Tag Archives: Indian Documentaries on Netflix

Streaming Video News: January 23, 2025

I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with today’s premiere of the Telugu series Sivarapalli, a remake of the Hindi show Panchayat. Prime also announced a February 7 release date for Boman Irani’s debut directorial The Mehta Boys, which I am very excited about.

Today’s new Hindi film premiere is R. Madhavan’s Hisaab Barabar, which launched on ZEE5.

The Hindi romantic comedy Sweet Dreams debuted on Disney+ Hotstar in India today, but it hasn’t shown up on Hulu in the United States yet. I’ll update my list of Bollywood movies on Hulu if it does.

Nothing new on Netflix this week, but the short documentary film Anuja — which is coming to Netflix soon — was nominated for an Oscar today. I’ll update my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix when it gets a release date. In the meantime, check out my preview of the Valentine’s Day romcom Dhoom Dhaam, starring Yami Gautam and Pratik Gandhi.

[Disclaimer: my Amazon links include an affiliate tag, and I may earn a commission on purchases made via those links. Thanks for helping to support this website!]

Streaming Video News: December 20, 2024

I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with today’s debut of the Original music documentary Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous. Netflix also announced the first two Original premiere dates for 2025. Vikramaditya Motwane’s drama series Black Warrant comes out on January 10, and the celebrity docu-series The Roshans releases on January 17. I wrote a preview of Black Warrant for What’s on Netflix.

In other Netflix news, I was recently a guest on an episode of the Bollywood Drafts podcast where we ranked the Top 10 Netflix Original Hindi Films. I had so much fun talking with Suchin and Cris about their favorites — including some intriguing movies that I Whathaven’t seen — and I appreciate host Manish for having my back on a controversial pick. 🙂 Without spoiling the final rankings, here was the Top 10 list I assembled before the recording (title links go to the Netflix entry, star links go to my review):

  1. Bulbbul (2020) — ★★★★
  2. Amar Singh Chamkila (2024) — ★★★★
  3. Jaane Jaan (2023) — ★★★★
  4. AK vs AK (2020) — ★★★½
  5. CTRL (2024) — ★★★½
  6. Brahman Naman (2016) — ★★★½
  7. Ludo (2020) — ★★★½
  8. Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (2023) — ★★★½
  9. Sector 36 (2024) — ★★★½
  10. Monica, O My Darling (2022) — ★★★½

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Hulu with the addition of the Marathi series Lagnanantar Hoilach Prem.

I’m going to take most of the rest of 2024 off for the holidays. It’s a good time, too, since things look very quiet on the streamers for the next two weeks. I expect to see Singham Again debut on Amazon Prime on the afternoon of Thursday, December 26. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 should come out on Netflix on the same day, which is also when the Tamil film Sorgavaasal is scheduled to debut.

After the new year starts, it’s time to review some final movies before making my Best and Worst of 2024 lists. I’m considering box office blockbusters like Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, plus Fighter, Bad Newz, and Baby John (though that likely won’t stream until late February). I’m also interested in theatrical releases Jigra and Madgaon Express and OTT exclusives Sikander Ka Muqaddar and Despatch. Which titles should I prioritize? Anything I’ve left off of your must-watch list?

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thanks for another great year at Access Bollywood! — Kathy

[Disclaimer: my Amazon links include an affiliate tag, and I may earn a commission on purchases made via those links. Thanks for helping to support this website!]

Streaming Video News: July 18, 2024

I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with today’s addition of the Malayalam film Aadujeevitham:The Goat Life (also available in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu) and the debut of the new series Tribhuvan Mishra: CA Topper. If you want a little more info on the show before diving in, check out my Tribhuvan Mishra preview for What’s on Netflix.

Big expiration date news at Netflix! Both Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion will leave Netflix on August 7, just five days after the premiere of the documentary Modern Masters: S.S. Rajamouli. It won’t surprise me if Netflix renews their license to screen the Baahubali films, but it might not happen right away. Or the films might move to a new streaming service. Or maybe they won’t.

Given that the streaming availability of movies is never a sure thing, what are your options if you want to own it in physical form? From what I’ve been able to find on Amazon, individual DVDs of Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion formatted for North American DVD players sell for $49.99 each. If you are the ultimate collector, there’s a 2-DVD set of both Baahubali films for $375. [All three Amazon links include an affiliate code that earns me a commission on purchases made after following a link.]

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Hulu with the premiere of the Malayalam series Nagendran’s Honeymoons (also available in Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu).

Streaming Video News: March 7, 2024

I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with a couple of newly added 2024 theatrical releases: the Malayalam film Anweshippin Kandethum and Katrina Kaif’s Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas was filmed simultaneously in Hindi and Tamil, and there are separate catalog entries for the Hindi version and the Tamil version.

Director Nisha Pahuja’s feature documentary To Kill a Tiger — a nominee for the 96th Academy Awards for Best Documentary — debuts on Netflix on March 10, the day of the Oscars.

Three Indian series are set to expire from Netflix on March 14: Dharmakshetra, Raja Rasoi Aur Anya Kahaniyan, and Stories by Rabindranath Tagore. Those are the last three Indian series available in the United States that Netflix licensed from other companies. When they’re gone, every remaining Indian series will be a Netflix Original production. Netflix has built quite a library since its first Indian Original Series Sacred Games premiered on July 6, 2018!

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Hulu with today’s debuts of the Tamil series Heart Beat and Emraan Hashmi’s new Hindi series Showtime (also available in Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu).

Finally, I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with the Hindi-dubbed version of Captain Miller, which joins the original Tamil version already streaming on Prime.

[Disclaimer: my Amazon links include an affiliate tag, and I may earn a commission on purchases made via those links. Thanks for helping to support this website!]

Streaming Video News: August 11, 2022

I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with today’s addition of the Taapsee Pannu sports biopic Shabaash Mithu. Yesterday marked the debut of Indian Matchmaking Season 2 and the return of Season 1 villain Aparna. A new season of Never Have I Ever drops on Friday, followed by the Hindi action movie Nikamma on Saturday.

Netflix India announced the details on their slate of non-fiction content set to debut before the end of 2022, including release dates for two of the titles. Season 2 of The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives launches on September 2, and the second entry in the Indian Predator series — The Diary of a Serial Killer — comes out September 7.  Other titles mentioned in the reveal video (embedded below) include the previously announced series Social Currency, the new series IRL: In Real Love, and two new documentaries — Mumbai Mafia: Police vs The Underworld and Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with today’s debut of Mind the Malhotras Season 2. Other new additions this week include Malayankunju (Malayalam) and Thank You (Telugu).

Finally, I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Hulu with today’s premiere of the Tamil film Cadaver (also available in Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, and Telugu). Another new addition to Hulu this week is the Telugu movie The Warriorr.

Bonus: Aditya Roy Kapur’s action flick Rashtra Kavach Om is now streaming on Zee5.

[Disclaimer: my Amazon links include an affiliate tag, and I may earn a commission on purchases made via those links. Thanks for helping to support this website!]

Streaming Video News: November 20, 2019

I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with the addition of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, which is available in the following languages: Kannada/4K UHD, Malayalam/4K UHD, Tamil/4K UHD, and Telugu/4K UHD. The Hindi version should become available next week. Other recently added 2019 releases include Doorbeen (Punjabi), Mafi Dona (Malayalam), and the Hindi-dubbed version of the Malayalam movie Mikhael. [Disclaimer: All of my Amazon links include an affiliate tag that may earn me commissions on purchases.]

In other Amazon Prime news, most of the Excel Entertainment back catalog is set to expire by the end of this month. Unlike the recent departures of movies from Yash Raj Films and Dharma Productions, I’m not sure that this exodus is permanent. Excel has new seasons of Inside Edge and Mirzapur coming to Amazon in the next few months, and I haven’t found any news stories about them striking a deal with another streamer. Still, if you have any of their titles in your Watchlist, you might want to watch them in the next week. Excel’s fantastic debut production, Dil Chahta Hai, expires on November 27, followed by these other titles on November 28:

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with the additions of the 2019 Telugu releases Dorasaani and Mallesham and the documentary Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator.

Streaming Video News: November 15, 2019

I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with dozens of Indian films added in the last week. Notable additions in the last day include Sanjay Dutt’s September theatrical release Prassthanam and the Amazon original series One Mic Stand, in which celebrities like Taapsee Pannu and Richa Chadha are coached in the art of standup comedy. Other recently added 2019 releases include:

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with the additions of the Telugu film Guna 369, the Naseeruddin Shah-narrated nature documentary SunGanges, and the Netflix original comedy House Arrest, starring Ali Fazal and Jim Sarbh.

Streaming Video News: October 4, 2019

I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with one documentary — Limitless — and four Hindi-language TV shows added on October 1st: College Romance, Engineering Girls, Girls Hostel, and Inmates.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with dozens of Indian films added in the last week, including the Pakistani TV shows Hiddat and Noor Jahan and the following 2019 releases:

October got off to a slow start on these two streaming video services, and there’s little on the horizon for the rest of the month. According to Bollywood Buff, Batla House comes to Prime in India on October 11, although that date may not apply to the United States and Canada. The only new Hindi release on the docket for Netflix is their straight-to-streaming film Upstarts, starring Bhavesh Joshi Superhero‘s Priyanshu Painyuli. Upstarts debuts on Netflix October 18.

Streaming Video News: February 25, 2019

I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with the addition of the 2018 Hindi indie Life of an Outcast. One of last night’s most inspiring Oscar wins went to the Netflix Original documentary short film Period. End of Sentence., about a group of women in Hapur, India working to improve local access to menstrual hygiene products. Check out the winners’ speech:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PCt_WE6mqI

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with the exciting new additions of two 2019 releases: the Telugu film Vinaya Vidheya Rama (also in 4K Ultra HD) and the Tamil picture Viswasam (also in 4K UHD). Here are the other Indian flicks added in the last few days:

 

Streaming Video News: December 24, 2018

I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with another 22 Hindi and Telugu films added in the last two days. Here are all the newly added Bollywood titles:

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix because Omi Vaidya’s documentary Big in Bollywood expires from the service on December 31.

Merry Christmas, everybody!