Netflix had us doing double takes this month, with two films from directors Jeethu Joseph and Sooraj R. Barjatya made available for streaming, plus two movies starring Tabu and three starring Mohnish Bahl. Here are all the new Indian movies and TV series added to Netflix in February 2020.
N = Netflix Original
New Indian Movies Added to Netflix in February 2020
Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 193 Minutes
Director: Sooraj R. Barjatya
Cast: Madhuri Dixit, Salman Khan, Mohnish Bahl
Genre: Romance, Drama | Added to Netflix: February 1
Hum Aapke Hain Koun was a massive blockbuster when it released in 1994, and it remains one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of all time when adjusted for inflation. The melodramatic story — two brothers fall in love with two sisters, and then tragedy strikes — ushered in a wave of family-oriented romantic dramas that pulled audiences into the theater.
Hum Saath-Saath Hain (1999)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 176 Minutes
Director: Sooraj R. Barjatya
Cast: Salman Khan, Karishma Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Mohnish Bahl, Tabu
Genre: Romance, Drama | Added to Netflix: February 1
Director Sooraj R. Barjatya’s follow-up to Hum Aapke Hain Koun tracks another set of siblings and their romantic partners, with Salman Khan and Mohnish Bahl playing brothers once again. This time, family harmony is threatened by a fight over an inheritance stoked by a meddling stepmother.
Thambi (2019)
Language: Tamil
Runtime: 147 Minutes
Director: Jeethu Joseph
Cast: Karthi, Jyothika, Sathyaraj
Genre: Action, Thriller | Added to Netflix: February 3
Thriller specialist Jeethu Joseph began his career directing Malayalam movies but has since branched out into Tamil and Hindi cinema. His Tamil film Thambi concerns a conman who impersonates a politician’s long-lost son. The deception turns deadly when the conman discovers the secret behind the man he’s pretending to be.
Jada (2019)
Language: Tamil
Runtime: 124 Minutes
Director: Kumaran
Cast: Kathir, Kishore Kumar G., Roshini
Genre: Sports, Thriller | Added to Netflix: February 6
A promising young athlete revives a tournament in which a dangerous form of soccer is played. (I assume Sergio Ramos must be involved…) Only there’s something creepy going on in town that spooks the jock and his teammates.
Thottappan (2019)
Language: Malayalam
Runtime: 138 Minutes
Director: Shanavas K. Bavakutty
Cast: Priyamvada Krishnan, Vinayakan, Roshan Mathew
Genre: Drama | Added to Netflix: February 8
Based on a short story by Francis Noronha, Thottappan chronicles the misadventures of a small-time crook and his adopted daughter. Their bond is put to the test when a handsome outsider of ill-repute falls for the young woman.
Panipat (2019)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 170 Minutes
Director: Ashutosh Gowariker
Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Sanjay Dutt, Mohnish Bahl
Genre: Historical Drama | Added to Netflix: February 14
In 2001, Ashutosh Gowariker directed the last Indian movie to be nominated for an Oscar: Lagaan. He followed that up with the excellent films Swades and Jodhaa Akbar. All three must-watch movies are on Netflix. Gowariker’s latest film is the disappointing, convoluted, and dull historical epic Panipat. Mohnish Bahl plays an 18th-Century Indian ruler whose kingdom is threatened by an invading army from Afghanistan.
The Body (2019)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 100 Minutes
Director: Jeethu Joseph
Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Rishi Kapoor, Sobhita Dhulipala
Genre: Mystery, Thriller | Added to Netflix: February 21
The 2012 Spanish mystery The Body (El Cuerpo) has been remade in a number of languages in multiple countries, with an English-language version in the works as well. The Hindi version of The Body — by Thambi director Jeethu Joseph — stars Emraan Hashmi as a professor whose wife’s corpse goes missing from the morgue, while Rishi Kapoor plays the investigating officer.
Yeh Ballet (2020) N
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 117 Minutes
Director: Sooni Taraporevala
Cast: Achintya Bose, Manish Chauhan, Julian Sands, Jim Sarbh
Genre: Dance, Drama | Added to Netflix: February 21
Netflix adapted director Sooni Taraporevala’s 2017 well-regarded documentary short Yeh Ballet into a feature-length film. Newcomers Achintya Bose and Manish Chauhan play a pair of young Mumbai dancers who endure hardships to chase their ballet dreams, with the help of an eccentric European dance instructor played by Julian Sands.
Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020)
Language: Telugu
Runtime: 161 Minutes
Director: Trivikram Srinivas
Cast: Allu Arjun, Pooja Hegde, Tabu, Murali Sharma
Genre: Action, Drama | Added to Netflix: February 27
Telugu-film hero Allu Arjun stars in this tale of class conflict, surprise engagements, violent misunderstandings, and babies switched at birth. The cast includes a number of actors who work across various language industries, including Tabu, Pooja Hegde, and Murali Sharma.
Amit Tandon: Family Tandoncies (2019) N
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 72 Minutes
Cast: Amit Tandon
Genre: Comedy | Added to Netflix: February 28
Amit Tandon’s Family Tandoncies is Netflix’s first Original Hindi standup special. As the title suggests, Tandon’s material centers on his family and features ingenious parenting tips like joining Instagram just so your phone-obsessed teens don’t forget what you look like.
New Indian TV Series added to Netflix in February 2020
Taj Mahal 1989 (2020) N
Language: Hindi
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 7
Cast: Neeraj Kabi, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Danish Husain, Sheeba Chaddha
Genre: Romance | Added to Netflix: February 14
The romance series Taj Mahal 1989 takes a look at romance through the experiences of four disparate Lucknow couples, some newly-formed and others married for decades. The trailer makes 1989 sound as far in the past as the Dark Ages — though, to be fair, it might seem that way to young people who never knew a world without the Internet.
Which of the newly added Indian movies and TV series will you be watching? Let us know in the comments below!
