

The best Indian OTT shows of 2025 not only made us spend hours in bed, they also made us realise that sacrificing our weekends and pre-planned dinner dates with friends is sometimes worth it. Spanning multiple genres, this year’s most-loved Indian OTT shows proved that viewers enjoyed watching heartfelt family comedies and steamy romance dramas as much as they gave themselves over to an endless stream of crime thrillers, most of which featured morally grey cops at the centre. Year after year, Indian crime thrillers have upped the ante, and the genre once again made a strong comeback in 2025 with the long-awaited returns of Delhi Crime and Paatal Lok. After all, nothing like the systemic issues of political chaos, law enforcement challenges and rising social tensions that plague us in real life to keep us hooked to our screens as well.
The Ba***ds of Bollywood, Aryan Khan’s satirical take on the Bollywood film industry, was a surprise nepo baby hit this year. 2025 was also a big year for horror, with shows like Khauf and Bhog drawing in viewers with their multi-layered plots that went far beyond jump scares. Our rewind of the best Indian OTT shows of 2025 compiles our top 15 picks for the most viral shows of the year that justified the money we spend on those subscriptions.
Ambitious outsider Aasman Singh navigates Bollywood’s tricky, competitive landscape as he lands his first major role after a promising debut. Cast in a new Karan Johar project opposite rising actress Karishma Talvar, Aasman finds himself growing closer to her—until her father steps in and starts attempting to sabotage Aasman’s career for reasons unknown to the audience until the very end. Packed with star-studded cameos from Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh and Emraan Hashmi, this Aryan Khan–created series is a satirical take on the Indian film industry featuring Bobby Deol, Lakshya Lalwani, Raghav Juyal, Sahher Bambba, Anya Singh, Manoj Pahwa and Mona Singh alongside a reminder that ‘Duniya Haseeno Ka Mela’ will always be a banger.
Streaming on Netflix
Jomnath Thom, founder of the Nagaland Democratic Forum, is murdered in his Delhi hotel room, drawing Inspector Hathi Ram Chaudhary (Jaideep Ahlawat) into a high-profile investigation. The murder leads Chaudhary deep into the remote corners of Northeast India. In unfamiliar territory and navigating complex regional tensions, he must fight for justice while uncovering the truth behind the killing. The new season—released five years after the first, which is the actual crime—also sees Ishwak Singh return as Imran Ansari, alongside new additions to the cast, including Tillotama Shome, Nagesh Kukunoor and Jahnu Barua.
Streaming on Prime Video
Six months after the death of the Maharaja of Morpur, his son, Prince Aviraaj (Ishaan Khatter), has taken charge of the royal estate. As the royal family is going through a financial crisis, Sophia Kanmani Shekhar (Bhumi Pednekar), a girlboss and self-made CEO, is brought in to rescue them by transforming their ancestral palace, Motibagh, into a luxury resort. Sparks fly, conflicts arise and long-buried secrets threaten to upend everything. The ensemble cast also features Zeenat Aman, Sakshi Tanwar, Nora Fatehi, Vihaan Samat, Dino Morea and Milind Soman. The acting often feels stiff, but watch it for Khatter’s abs, if nothing else.
Streaming on Netflix
Madhu (Monika Panwar) moves from Gwalior to Delhi in search of freedom and a better life. Struggling to find a place to live, she eventually secures a room in a rundown working women’s hostel, where she is assigned Room 333. The girls in her wing never leave the hostel and are hostile from the start, warning her to move out while she still can. As unsettling paranormal incidents begin to unfold inside her room, Madhu starts questioning her own sanity. The show—2025’s sleeper hit—also features Rajat Kapoor, Abhishek Chauhan, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Shilpa Shukla and Chum Darang in supporting roles.
Streaming on Prime Video
This Netflix crime drama is based on the 2019 non-fiction book Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailer, written by Sunil Gupta and Sunetra Choudhury, chronicling Gupta’s years as a jailer at Tihar Jail in New Delhi. The series shows Gupta (played by Zahan Kapoor) as a newly-appointed jailer navigating the prison’s harsh realities, attempting to confront the deep-rooted injustice and corruption within the system, and pushing for meaningful reforms. The main cast also stars Rahul Bhat as DSP Rajesh Tomar and Paramvir Cheema as Shivraj Singh Mangat.
Streaming on Netflix
CIB officer Rea Thomas (Vaani Kapoor) and suspended cop Vikram Singh (Vaibhav Raj Gupta) investigate a string of suspicious murders in the fictional town of Charandaspur, Uttar Pradesh. When the murders begin to resemble ritualistic sacrifices, the duo work together to unearth the mystery behind the killings. The journey leads them to the cult of the Aayastis, who seek to resurrect the entity, Yast, using human body parts arranged in a mandala pattern. The narrative also moves back in time, showing the inception of the cult under its founder, Rukmini (Shriya Pilgaonkar).
Streaming on Netflix
This heartwarming comedy family drama is set around the five-member Kataria family in old Ghaziabad. Because of a financial crunch, the patriarch, Sanjay, decides to rent out a room in their house. This forces the elder daughter, Naina, to share her room with her younger brother, Bharat. Tensions arise and resentment grows between the siblings over the small shared space as the new tenant arrives. Starring Rajesh Tailang, Sheeba Chaddha, Tanya Sharma, Aaditya Shukla and Keshav Sadhna, Bakaiti holds a mirror to urban dwellers wrangling over space in cities that feel like they’re continuously shrinking.
Streaming on Zee5
The 2012 Baby Falak case loosely inspired the third season of this acclaimed police crime drama series. After the events of seasons 1 and 2 (which were based on the Nirbhaya case and the Chaddi Banyan Gang case respectively), Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Vartika Chaturvedi (Shefali Shah) gets transferred to Assam as a punishment. The season follows DCP Chaturvedi and her team of officers as they investigate multiple intertwined cases involving international sex trafficking and other organised crime. They uncover a horrific plot linked to the exploitation of young girls from Northeast India and face off against the ruthless ringleader Badi Didi (Huma Qureshi).
Streaming on Netflix
In the Mumbai suburb of Thane, Raji and her house help, Mala, start a dabba service. Everything is going well until Mala is forced to start smuggling drugs through the business for extra cash. Raji and three other women, including Raji’s mother-in-law, Sheela, and corporate housewife Varuna, join in. Things quickly spiral out of hand as their business evolves into a large drug-smuggling operation. The women have to work hard to outsmart the police at every turn, deal with rival gangs and figure out internal conflicts. The series stars Shabana Azmi, Jyothika, Shalini Pandey, Nimisha Sajayan and Anjali Anand as the five women, with Sai Tamhankar and Gajraj Rao in supporting roles.
Streaming on Netflix
The town of Dahadakpur, proudly known as ‘Bihar ka Belgium’, is celebrating its silver jubilee as a crime-free community. But chaos erupts when the motorbike bought by the Jha family to give away as dowry for their daughter Roshni’s wedding is stolen. With the town’s pride and the marriage at stake, a series of hilarious events unfolds as the family, neighbours and local authorities scramble to solve the mystery of the missing two-wheeler.
Streaming on Prime Video
In this Bengali-language supernatural web series, Atin, an art collector, becomes strangely drawn to an idol in his friend Subesh’s antique shop. After bringing it home, he begins experiencing terrifying dreams every night of the deity asking him for offerings. He also meets Damri, a mysterious, homeless widow who soon starts living with his family and eagerly prepares consecrated food for him to offer to the goddess. The series stars Anirban Bhattacharya and Parno Mittra in lead roles and Rajatava Dutta and Sudipa Basu in supporting roles.
Streaming on Hoichoi
An adaptation of Dr Prakash Koyade’s Marathi novel Pratipaścandra, The Secrets of The Shiledars is an adventure thriller that follows the life of history enthusiast Dr Ravi. After a mysterious encounter with a judge draws him into a secret society, Dr Ravi must step up to find and protect a hidden treasure belonging to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj before it falls into the wrong hands. The show stars Sai Tamhankar, Ashish Vidyarthi and Rajeev Khandelwal.
Streaming on JioHotstar
Season 3 of The Family Man follows Srikant Tiwari (Manoj Bajpayee) as he unravels a devious conspiracy in Northeast India occurring under the cover of Covid-19. Driven by a personal mission to avenge an assassination carried out by the villain Rukma (Jaideep Ahlawat), Tiwari must also struggle to save his marriage while protecting his family from growing threats. The season also stars Sharib Hashmi, Priyamani, Ashlesha Thakur, Vedant Sinha, Nimrat Kaur, Gul Panag and Shreya Dhanwanthary.
Streaming on Prime Video
Panchayat Season 4 returns to Phulera, Jaipur, with higher stakes, sharper wit and politics that feel uncomfortably real. As village elections loom, Pradhan ji’s (Raghubir Yadav) chair is no longer secure and alliances turn slippery. Abhishek Tripathi (Jitendra Kumar), still torn between CAT prep and a duty to his home, finds himself deeper in local power games than he ever planned. Manju Devi (Neena Gupta) grows into her authority, Prahlad (Faisal Malik) grapples with grief and purpose, and Vikas (Chandan Roy) remains the emotional glue—loyal, anxious and indispensable. Amidst it all, season 4 of the beloved show asks: what do you do when the phase of your life you saw as temporary becomes the rest of your life?
Streaming on Prime Video
Real Kashmir Football Club is an uplifting sports drama about dreams soaring higher than free kicks in the Valley. Frustrated journalist Sohail Mir (Zeeshan Ayyub) quits his desk job to build Kashmir’s first pro football club, teaming up with reluctant investor-turned-believer Shirish Kemmu (Manav Kaul). Together they cobble up a rag-tag squad of underdogs—from a butcher to a schoolboy—and turn muddy grounds into hope-filled pitches. Through setbacks, heated debates and soiled boots, they push the team towards national competition, proving sports can unite people and rewrite stories. A perfect end to a year that brought us the best in Indian sport.
Streaming on SONY Liv
Source - Vogue