Netflix debuted two comedy-focused Indian Originals in April, including Kanan Gill’s first stand-up special for Netflix and a dark comedy series about a comedian who bombs onstage unless he kills someone first. The bulk of the new Indian movies added this month are Bollywood hits from the last four decades, courtesy of Karan Johar’s production house, Dharma Productions. Here are all the new Indian movies and TV series added to Netflix in April 2020.
N = Netflix Original
New Indian Movies on Netflix: April 2020
Agneepath (1990)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 174 Minutes
Director: Mukul Anand
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborthy, Danny Denzongpa
Genre: Action, Drama | Added to Netflix: April 1
The explosive revenge drama Agneepath (“Path of Fire“) is Bollywood’s answer to Hollywood gangster dramas. The plot draws its inspiration from Scarface, while star Amitabh Bachchan based his dialogue delivery off of Marlon Brando’s performance in The Godfather. Though it was considered a box office flop at the time of its release, Agneepath has since become a cult classic.
Brothers (2015)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 155 Minutes
Director: Karan Malhotra
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sidharth Malhotra, Jackie Shroff
Genre: Sports, Drama | Added to Netflix April 1
Brothers is an official adaptation of director Gavin O’Connor’s 2011 film Warrior. The remake pales in comparison to the original tale of two estranged brothers who take their feud to the boxing ring, with lackluster performances from actors capable of much better.
Chhota Bheem and the Curse of Damyaan (2012)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 86 Minutes
Director: Rajiv Chilaka
Cast: Kaustav Ghosh, Jigna Bhardwaj, Chutki, Rajesh Kava
Genre: Animation, Adventure | Added to Netflix April 1
This was the first film in the Chhota Bheem series to release in theaters. When an imprisoned demon tricks the king into freeing him, little Bheem uses his wits and super-strength to defeat the immortal creature — with some help from Bheem’s magically enhanced buddies as well.
Dostana/Friendship (1980)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 161 Minutes
Director: Raj Khosla
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Zeenat Aman
Genre: Action, Drama | Added to Netflix April 1
This is the first film created by famed Indian production house Dharma Productions. Two lifelong best friends — one a cop and one a lawyer — fall in love with the same woman. A clever criminal uses that information to pit the pals against each other, with dangerous consequences. Netflix also lists Dostana under the English translation of its title: “Friendship“.
Dostana (2008)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: Minutes
Director:
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham
Genre: Comedy, Romance | Added to Netflix April 1
Although it shares the same name and production house as the movie above, 2008’s Dostana is not a remake. In this Dostana, a pair of womanizing buddies in Miami pretend to be gay in order to rent rooms in a tony apartment leased by a single woman — only to both fall for their beautiful roommate. The film’s catchy song “Desi Girl” became a huge hit.
Duniya (1984)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 169 Minutes
Director: Ramesh Talwar
Cast: Dilip Kumar, Rishi Kapoor, Pran
Genre: Drama, Action | Added to Netflix April 1
Freed from jail after decades, a wrongfully imprisoned widower seeks revenge on the three smugglers who framed him, reuniting with his long-lost son and the daughter of the man whose murder he was jailed for in the process.
Duplicate (1998)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 164 Minutes
Director: Mahesh Bhatt
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Sonali Bendre
Genre: Comedy | Added to Netflix April 1
Duplicate is a remake of the 1935 film The Whole Town’s Talking, starring Edward G. Robinson. The Bollywood version of this comedy about mistaken identities stars Shah Rukh Khan as both a goofy chef and his lookalike, who happens to be a ruthless criminal.
Gori Tere Pyaar Mein (2013)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 143 Minutes
Director: Punit Malhotra
Cast: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Imran Khan, Nizhalgal Ravi
Genre: Romantic Comedy | Added to Netflix April 1
A spoiled rich guy falls in love with a social activist and struggles to embrace a moral philosophy that puts the needs of others before his own materialistic desires. It’s a hard movie to love, despite two talented actors in the leading roles.
Gumrah (1993)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 149 Minutes
Director: Mahesh Bhatt
Cast: Sridevi, Sanjay Dutt, Anupam Kher
Genre: Crime, Drama| Added to Netflix April 1
Gumrah is based on the 1989 Australian mini-series Bangkok Hilton. Sridevi plays the daughter of a wealthy family who is jailed in Mauritius and sentenced to death for drug possession. Her only hope for escape is a petty crook whose love she rejected.
Hasee Toh Phasee (2014)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 134 Minutes
Director: Vinil Mathew
Cast: Parineeti Chopra, Sidharth Malhotra, Adah Sharma
Genre: Romantic Comedy | Added to Netflix April 1
A groom-to-be is tasked with keeping his fiancee’s oddball sister away from their wedding preparations, only to find himself a better match for the sister than his bride-to-be. Refreshingly, the tomboy sister doesn’t have to undergo a glamorous makeover in order to win the handsome leading man’s love.
Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 130 Minutes
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Cast: Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Ashutosh Rana
Genre: Romantic Comedy | Added to Netflix April 1
Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania is a cute, sweet romcom with fun dance numbers. College slacker Humpty falls in love with his dream girl, but she’s engaged to a guy who’s basically perfect. How can Humpty possibly convince her parents that he’s the right man for her?
Kaal (2005)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 125 Minutes
Director: Soham Shah
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Vivek Oberoi, John Abraham, Lara Dutta
Genre: Horror | Added to Netflix April 1
A group of journalists and hunters enter the forest to investigate a series of fatal tiger attacks. As the members of the group begin to die under suspicious circumstances, they’re forced to question who poses the greater danger: the tigers or their mysterious guide, Kaali.
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 191 Minutes
Director: Karan Johar
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Amitabh Bachchan
Genre: Romantic Drama | Added to Netflix April 1
Two unhappy New Yorkers find comfort in each other outside of their respective marriages, exposing the flaws in their current relationships. This melancholy exploration of infidelity features a memorable soundtrack and an all-star cast, with legend Amitabh Bachchan playing father to his real-life son, Abhishek.
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 209 Minutes
Director: Karan Johar
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan
Genre: Drama | Added to Netflix April 1
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham… — popularly referred to as K3G — is about as much movie as you can possibly pack into a single film. It’s got joy, romance, heartbreak, tears, lavish sets, gigantic dance numbers, and outrageous early 2000s fashion. The beloved eldest son of a wealthy family is disowned when he falls in love with a working class woman. Years later, his younger brother goes to university abroad in the hopes of finding the big brother he once adored and reuniting the family. As the tagline states: “It’s all about loving your parents.”
Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 186 Minutes
Director: Nikkhil Advani
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan, Jaya Bachchan
Genre: Romantic Comedy-Drama | Added to Netflix April 1
A stuffy MBA student falls in love with her neighbor, a man with a penchant for problem solving. Fearing that he won’t be able to take care of her, he tries to steer her into the arms of a fellow student who’s already in love with her. The film features a memorable reboot of Roy Orbison’s song, “Oh, Pretty Woman.”
Kapoor & Sons (2016)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 137 Minutes
Director: Shakun Batra
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Sidharth Malhotra, Fawad Khan, Alia Bhatt
Genre: Drama | Added to Netflix April 1
When two estranged brothers reunite at their family home to tend to their ailing grandfather, long-simmering tensions between them boil over, and fractures in their parents’ marriage become full-blown cracks. This is a wonderful, warm, thoughtful, and often very funny story of one highly dysfunctional family.
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 185 Minutes
Director: Karan Johar
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji
Genre: Romantic Drama | Added to Netflix April 1
Karan Johar’s directorial debut features many of the hallmarks that define his films: major stars, glamorous international locations, and lots of tearful drama. Rahul’s wife Tina dies in childbirth, regretting that she may have come between her husband and his college sweetheart. Eight years later, Rahul & Tina’s daughter tries to fulfill her mother’s dying wish by finding the woman who once loved her father.
Mighty Raju Rio Calling (2014)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 96 Minutes
Directors: Rajiv Chilaka, Anirban Majumder
Genre: Animation | Added to Netflix April 1
Mighty Raju is a spin-off of the Chhota Bheem animated series, which is well-represented on Netflix. Raju — a little boy with superpowers — heads to Rio in a film timed to capitalized on interest in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Muqaddar Ka Faisla (1987)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 171 Minutes
Director: Prakash Mehra
Cast: Raaj Kumar, Rakhee Gulzar, Raj Babbar
Genre: Drama | Added to Netflix April 1
Every movie that Dharma Productions made from 1984-1993 is about a protagonist who is framed and/or wrongly imprisoned who seeks revenge. In Muqaddar Ka Faisla, that main character is a priest played by Raaj Kumar.
Sethum Aayiram Pon (2020)
Language: Tamil
Runtime: 102 Minutes
Director: Anand Ravichandran
Cast: Nivedhithaa Sathish, Srilekha Rajendran, Avinash Raghudevan
Genre: Family Drama | Added to Netflix April 1
A makeup artist from the city visits her grandmother’s village, and the two headstrong women fall into a familiar pattern of bickering. The exploration of family bonds is set against a backdrop of ancient mourning rituals.
Shaandaar/Magnificent (2015)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 142 Minutes
Director: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Pankaj Kapur
Genre: Romantic Comedy | Added to Netflix April 1
Shaandaar is a Kapoor family affair, with Shahid Kapoor acting opposite his father Pankaj and sister Sanah. Shahid plays a wedding planner trying to win the heart of the bride’s younger sister in this fun but sort of problematic romantic comedy. Netflix lists Shaandaar by the English translation of its title – “Magnificent” – as well.
Ungli (2014)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 113 Minutes
Director: Renzil D’Silva
Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Randeep Hooda, Kangana Ranaut
Genre: Crime, Thriller | Added to Netflix April 1
A group of vigilantes expose police corruption in order to avenge their injured CrossFit instructor. You’d expect a better movie from a cast this talented.
Vikrithi/Mischief (2019)
Language: Malayalam
Runtime: 119 Minutes
Director: Emcy Joseph
Cast: Suraj Venjaramoodu, Soubin Shahir, Surabhi Lakshmi
Genre: Comedy, Drama | Added to Netflix April 15
Alternatively spelled Vikruthi, Vikrithi (“Mischief“) is based on a real-life incident. A careless man shares a photo of a passenger sleeping on a train on social media, labeling him a drunkard, and it upends the life of the mute man whose image is unfairly tarnished.
World Famous Lover (2020)
Language: Telugu
Runtime: 147 Minutes
Director: Kranthi Madhav
Cast: Vijay Deverakonda, Raashi Khanna, Aishwarya Rajesh
Genre: Romantic Drama | Added to Netflix April 15
A lazy wannabe writer finally finds inspiration when his frustrated girlfriend leaves him. In the hopes of winning her back, he writes tales of sacrifice made in the name of love.
Varane Avashyamund (2020)
Language: Malayalam
Runtime: 144 Minutes
Director: Anoop Sathyan
Cast: Shobana, Suresh Gopi, Dulquer Salmaan
Genre: Romantic Comedy | Added to Netflix April 20
A divorced mother and her single daughter learn about their differing approaches to love when a retired army officer and a dashing young man move into their apartment building.
Kolaiyuthir Kaalam (2019)
Language: Tamil
Runtime: 107 Minutes
Director: Chakri Toleti
Cast: Nayanthara, Bhoomika Chawla, Prem Kathir
Genre: Slasher, Horror | Added to Netflix April 24
Kolaiyuthir Kaalam is a remake of the 2016 slasher film Hush (also on Netflix). Nayanthara plays a deaf-mute woman who is stalked by a killer in the London mansion she’s set to inherit.
Yours Sincerely, Kanan Gill (2020) N
Language: English
Runtime: 72 Minutes
Director: Neville Shah
Cast: Kanan Gill
Genre: Stand-Up Comedy | Added to Netflix April 24
Comedian Kanan Gill mines a letter of life goals he wrote when he was 15 for material for his first Netflix Original stand-up special. When your goals start with the qualifying phrase “If possible…”, you’re off to a bad start.
Bheeshma (2020)
Language: Telugu
Runtime: 138 Minutes
Director: Venky Kudumula
Cast: Nitin Reddy (aka Nithiin), Rashmika Mandanna, Sampath Raj
Genre: Action, Comedy, Romance | Added to Netflix April 25
A carefree ladies man is forced to get serious when he’s caught up in a fight between an organic farming business and a chemical company.
Love Aaj Kal (2020)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 139 Minutes
Director: Imtiaz Ali
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Sara Ali Khan, Randeep Hooda
Genre: Romance | Added to Netflix April 27
Eleven years after director Imtiaz Ali’s Love Aaj Kal became a super hit at the box office, he remade the film. The reboot — which stars Kartik Aaryan as the romantic lead in two love stories separated by the span of thirty years — wasn’t as well received.
The Lift Boy (2020)
Language: English
Runtime: 106 Minutes
Director: Jonathan Augustin
Cast: Moin Khan, Nyla Masood, Saagar Kale
Genre: Comedy, Drama | Added to Netflix April 27
Floundering college student Raju’s life heads in a new direction when he takes over his father’s position as elevator operator in a fancy Mumbai apartment building.
New Indian TV Series on Netflix: April 2020
Hasmukh (2020) N
Language: Hindi
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 10
Cast: Vir Das, Ranvir Shorey, Manoj Pahwa
Genre: Dark Comedy | Added to Netflix April 17
A standup comedian finds he can only deliver a killer set after he’s actually killed someone. As his career takes off, he and his sketchy manager have to choose candidates who deserve to die for the sake of comedy.
Which of the newly added Indian movies and TV series will you be watching? Let us know in the comments below!
