This was the year of watching stuff at home, and these 10 shows made it to the binge-worthy list. In descending order, they are: :
10. Masaba Masaba (Netflix)
Featuring Masaba, mom Neena Gupta and a healthy dose of pop-psychology, Masaba Masaba was quite enjoyable. And a little frivolous. Watch it for the lovely, confident Masaba who lives and does as she sees fit, even though the real-world and nosy society do get in the way!
9. Special Ops (Hotstar)
This espionage thriller is directed by Neeraj Pandey (he directed “A Wednesday” and Special 26), and stars KayKay Menon as Himmat Singh of the Indian Research and Analysis Wing. Singh and his team analyze patterns of various terrorist attacks in an attempt to catch the perpetrators.
Pandey does this genre particularly well, and Special Ops is no different. And KayKay Menon’s fantastic performance sure helps!
8. Scam 1992 (Sony LIV)
Harshad’s Mehta’s cautionary tale of tampering with the stock market, this has Pratik Gandhi playing the aggressively upwardly-mobile Mehta. The details out Mehta’s sudden rise and fall, and attempts to explain the intricacies of his crime in simple terms.
7. Indian Matchmaking (Netflix)
This reality show features an intrepid, jet-setting matchmaker Sima Taparia and her many clients across the world. The show is so interesting because it features different personalities jiving and clashing with one another as they meet and weigh one another up from the marriage angle.
6. A Suitable Boy (AcornTV in the US, Netflix in India)
Vikram Seth’s doorstopper about the search for a suitable boy for the 20 year old Lata Mehra, who’d rather not marry but is hounded to do so, has been turned into a 6 episode series by the BBC. It is directed by Mira Nair (who also directed The Namesake) and has a humongous cast, with Tanya Maniktala debuting as Lata. Other worthies include Tabu, Ishaan Khattar, Ram Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shourey, Randeep Hooda, Shahana Goswami, Rasika Duggal, Vijay Raaz and Vijay Verma.
The series is primarily in English which is a little jarring, and methinks 6 episodes is too short to take in the richness and detail of the book, but it is what it is – which is enjoyable!
5. Jamtara (Netflix)
A group of young men, including brothers Rocky and Sunny, run phishing scams from a small town in Jharkhand, India. Tensions rise when a local politician wants his cut and the local, seemingly fearless policewoman is out to get them.
Gritty, intense, beautifully acted and directed, Jamtara is a must watch!
4. Mirzapur 2 (Amazon Prime Video)
Season 2 picks after Season 1 which left brothers Guddu and Bablu in a precarious situation. Guddu and Golu must run for their lives after the slaughter, and now plan their revenge against evil, powerful Kaleen Bhaiya (played by Pankaj Tripathi) and his son Munna. The second season is much, much better that the 1st and loses the “wannabe” status. It is just as violent, grisly and riddled with profanity, but is a superbly engrossing watch!
3. Taj Mahal 1989 (Netflix)
Pushpendra Nath Mishra’s quirky look at love is a treat! He weaves in different storylines which almost intersect, and through them presents different situations and viewpoints. Throw in some lovely music, poetry, philosophy, and some fabulous acting and tight scripting and you have Taj Mahal 1989!
2. Panchayat (Amazon Prime Video)
The feel-good show of 2020, Panchayat follows Abhishek Tripathi (played by the very talented Jitendra Kumar who was also in Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhaan), newly minted grad who’s saddled with an undesirable job in a village. This gorgeous show is clean, wholesome and humorous and suitable for family-viewing.
1. Paatal Lok (Amazon Prime Video)
You’d think that we’d get tired of the honest cop trope, but it never does get old. In Paatal Lok we have Hathi Ram Chaudhry, an old-school stickler for the books, mired in a thankless job, career having stagnated in an Outer Jamuna Par police station or as he calls it – “Paatal Lok” (the netherworld).
A plum case falls in his lap, quite by chance, and Hathi Ram (played superbly by Jaideep Ahlawat) is determined to prove his mettle and get that promotion, even when the powers that be want him to let go. Acting, direction and impressive story-telling make Paatal Lok the Best Show of 2020!
