Filmmaker Hansal Mehta says what struck him about Hindi OTT shows in 2025 wasn’t the nostalgia, it was surprise. He says, “Every year, someone solemnly declares that Indian OTT is finished. Saturated. Shrinking. Choked by data, throttled by budgets and starved of stories. We’re told the golden years are behind us – Sacred Games, The Family Man, Mirzapur, Scam were lightning strikes, not weather patterns. Now it’s TV Plus, or micro-dramas for micro-attention spans. Subscriptions are stagnant, budgets are shrinking, risk is verboten and apparently algorithms have replaced imagination.”
Having served on the jury of a major OTT awards platform this year, he says what struck him most wasn’t nostalgia- it was surprise. “Not at volume, but at range. At confidence. At how many shows refused to behave like content and instead insisted on being stories. I’ll limit myself to Hindi language work I’ve actually watched; omissions are more about time than disdain,” he adds.
Black Warrant
The year opened with Black Warrant, a muscular, immersive triumph from Vikramaditya Motwane and Satyanshu Singh. Dark without being dour, gripping without being gimmicky, it was old-fashioned character drama done with modern nerve. Actors Zahan Kapoor, Rahul Bhat, Anurag Thakur were all memorable, along with impeccably brilliant casting by the irrepressible Mukesh Chhabra. Watching Zahan hold frames through silence reminded me why Indian performance still confuses volume for depth. And Vikramaditya’s quiet feat: maintaining tonal and narrative integrity across seven directors, should be studied, not taken for granted.
Paatal Lok Season 2
The impossible sequel that dared and won. Sudip Sharma and Avinash Arun doubled down on texture: linguistic, cultural, moral. For the executives who insist everyone speak Hindi on screen while conducting their own meetings in English, here was proof that authenticity isn’t a liability, it’s a hook. Actor Jaideep Ahlawat went higher still, and would later nearly steal The Family Man Season 3. That season, despite franchise fatigue being the industry’s favourite excuse, largely held its own. Actor Manoj Bajpayee’s security opposite Ahlawat was a masterclass. Perhaps the addition of writer Suman Kumar brought fresh texture. A better ending? Perhaps. But delivering well, year after year, is its own discipline, and the creators Raj and DK have definitely earned their place.
Ba****ds of Bollywood
Yes, the asterisks are part of the fun and marked director Aryan Khan’s assured debut. The show swaggered with irreverence and boasted scene-stealing turns by actors Raghav Juyal, Lakshya Lalwani, Manoj Pahwa, Anya Singh, and, deliciously, Rajat Bedi. Would the show’s audacity: its English, its expletives, its cameos exist without a powerful producer-cum-actor father hovering benignly? Possibly not. Irrelevant anyway. The work stands. The voice is confident. Welcome aboard Aryan.
My show of the year, though, was the one few seem to be shouting about: Khauf
Atmospheric, disciplined, genuinely unnerving, it proved that horror doesn’t need skin or slapstick to land its blows. Created by Smita Singh and directed with chilling restraint by Pankaj Kumar and Surya Balakrishnan, it used shadow, silence and suggestion like grown-up tools. Not my genre of choice, but easily my favourite show this year.
The Hunt
Nagesh Kukunoor’s return to top directorial form, delivered a dense, multilingual procedural on the investigation into former PM Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. Not a false note in casting, tone or craft. Alongside Black Warrant, it reaffirmed Applause Entertainment’s slow, steady contribution to raising the ecosystem’s bar, year after year.
Noted mention:
Then there was Real Kashmir Football Club, a show that arrived without noise and lingered without effort. Sports dramas usually mistake adrenaline for emotion; this one chose dignity, patience, and character. It may never trend. It will endure.
Yes, 2025 also delivered TV Plus and massy fare designed to please everyone and offend no one. Good luck to it. But as a viewer, this was a deeply satisfying year. One we’ll likely mark as part of Indian OTT’s coming-of-age. Data will keep talking. Formulas will keep multiplying. But what always survives are solid stories, assured creators and platforms brave enough to trust them.
