4 Indian Web Series That Will Keep you on the Edge of Your Seats

The Web Series Industry in India is growing on a fast pace. With a lot of content belonging to various genres being created, you may get confused what to watch. If you’d like some top-notch mystery and thrilling web series to watch on this weekend, we present you this list of web series created in India that are surely going to keep you on the edge of your seats. Have a look:

1 – Sacred Games:

Sacred Games was released just this month by Netflix, on 6th July, 2018, with all the eight episodes coming out at once. It is based on the novel by Vikram Chandra, having the same name. The story is about a police officer, Sartaj Singh, who was suspended recently, and is fed up with the corruption and politics happening in the police force. He gets a tip about the location of Ganesh Gaitonde, a dangerous crime lord who was missing since the past 16 years.

When the characters come face to face with each other, it leads to a race against time for Sartaj to save Mumbai when Ganesh warns him about the danger looming over the city of Mumbai that is going to destroy Mumbai in the next 25 days. With politics, police, intelligence agencies, and religion into the mix, it sure is going to keep you glued to the screen.
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte, Surveen Chawla.
Directors: Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane.

2 – Damaged:
Damaged is a psychological thriller crime drama series by Hungama Digital Media & Entertainment that revolves around the lives of two main characters – Lavina, a seductress and serial killer who has already heartlessly murdered a number of young men in cold blood, and Abhay, a ruthless, and angry cop. The police have not been able to find the killer.

When led by Abhay, the police team starts to investigate the murder of a famous painter, they realize that this is just the tip of the iceberg and there is a lot waiting in store for them. Dive into the mind of a serial killer who is trying to justify why she turned to murder.
Cast: Amruta Khanvillkar, Amit Sial, Shreya Ulfat.
Director: Aarambhh Mohan Singh.

3 – Rain:
Rain is a thrilling web series by Vikram Bhatt that revolves around a girl, Barkha, who is suffering from some mental issues and is paranoid. She gets trapped in her house along with a group of four people who are somehow connected to her past. The chilling factor is that one of them wants to see Barkha dead. Things start escalating and we start seeing different shades of these characters.
Cast: Priya Banerjee, Sid Makkar.
Director: Anupam Santosh Saroj.

4 – Zero KMS:
Zero KMS is a web series by Zee5 that revolves around Arjun, someone who was wrongly accused for a murder which he did not commit and was convicted for it. He had to spend ten years in the jail for that. Inside the Jail, Arjun is taught martial arts by a guru.

After he is released from jail, Arjun comes face to face with a number of issues plaguing his life, and goes on a journey to resolve these issues with his brother as well as his old lover. Most importantly, he has to resolve the murder for which he was wrongly accused of and bring the actual criminal to justice. He has to put his newly gained martial arts skills to use and set on a journey, where he gets stuck in another major problem.
Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Tanmay Dhanania, Satyadeep Mishra, Vaibhavi Upadhayay, Rupali Bhosale.
Director: Qaushik Mukherjee.

These are some of the web series that are perfect for a thrilling binge-watch session.

Web Series for those who are Bored of Subscriptions

There are chances where people might get bored to subscribe to one specific platform for example Netflix and all can watch excellent web series online that is on YouTube. There are few web series that are on YouTube that are listed here and definitely the audience will like them and relate it to the content and characters in the web series. Audience demands free and without subscription entertainment and therefore it is likely to have more audience and viewers on YouTube than any other platform unless there are lot of loyal viewers on them.

1.The Trip

Source: Youtube.com

Four girls head for a bachelorette road trip and have a million adventures on it. The four of them are dealing with their own problems and all they can count on are the female friendships that have always supported them. If you’re looking for something that’s light and doesn’t demand too much attention, this series is for you.

2. Little Things

This web series is about a couple who experience sweet little moments together in their day to day life. The story of Little Things revolves around their mid-twenties, who are unmarried but are living in together. Set in Mumbai, they expect pretty good things to happen but are living a life full of little things in which they are happy. Dhruv, a Math PHD researcher and Kavya, a sales representative, are seen sharing a remarkable bond in the series. Their story is not about the start or end of a relationship but about everyday moments that they feel are the core to their happy relationship.

3.What the Folks

What The Folks shows the family struggles of Nikhil, a young man who id forced to live alone with his in-laws for a few weeks. Nikhil’s bitter and sweet interactions with his in-laws provide for humorous situations that will be highly relatable to many young men. What the folks is a journey of how modern families are breaking stereotypes, overcoming generation gaps. Directed by national award winner, Ruchir Arun, the show has been written by Anand Bharadwaj and Ayesh Nair.

3 Must-Watch Shows To Stream On Netflix India, Hotstar and Amazon Prime

We can see that people are now getting attracted to the digital space that is to the web series and feature stories and short films. There are a lot of platforms where you can watch these. The web is slowly, but surely taking over as the most happening platform as far as the world of entertainment is concerned. There is no denying that at present some of the best web series are being produced by web giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime. After a roller-coaster ride in 2017, this year too has started on a brilliant note for the netizens with some great content that has been released recently.

1. Breathe

Breathe is directed by Mayank Sharma, it is an eight-part original series produced by Amazon Prime. Breathe is a rough psychological thriller that focuses on the lives of ordinary people in unexpected circumstances. The series stars R. Madhavan and Amit Sadh in the lead roles. While the former plays a father desperate to find a lung donor for his dying son, the latter plays a maverick cop with questionable methods. Breathe raises some serious questions about morality and fate and brings our attention to issues which we usually tend to overlook. If you like thrillers then Breathe will certainly not disappoint you.

2. McMafia
McMafia is inspired by Misha Glenny’s 2008 non-fiction book McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld, currently streaming on Amazon Prime in India. The eight-part series is created by Hossein Amini and James Watkins. While its premise has some similarities to The Godfather (1972), McMafia’s realistic characters make it quite unique. They also are known for contemporary setup. While the series essentially deals with the Russian Mafia, it is nothing like Eastern Promises (2007).But what makes it interesting is how it focuses more on businessmen, bankers, money launders and pimps rather than on gangsters. The USP of the series as far as the Indian audiences are concerned is Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s menacing portrayal of Dilly Mahmood—the greedy Indian handler of an Israeli shipping tycoon.

3. Sacred Games

Police officer Sartaj Singh receives an anonymous tip about the whereabouts of criminal overlord Ganesh Gaitonde amidst the chaos, trappings of the corrupt underworld are revealed. Sacred Games is based on the 2006 thriller novel by Vikram Chandra of the same name. The story is set in Mumbai in the 80s and tells the story of Sartaj Singh (played by Saif Ali Khan), a police officer seeking respect in the police force yet despising the corruption within at the same time. Her receives a tip regarding the location of Ganesh Gaitonde (played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui), a vicious crime lord who was missing since 16 years. Ganesh warns Sartaj about a threat that will destroy Mumbai in 25 days, and that is the crux of the story.

Top 3 Original Web Series by Voot

Voot is the digital video-on-demand platform of Viacom18. It provides free streaming of shows from channels like MTV, Nick, Colors, as well as Voot Original Shows.
Offering over 40,000 hours of content, Voot is available only in India, and shows can be watched from the website, from the mobile site, or through the Android or iPhone apps.
Here are some of the best Voot Original series that you can watch absolutely free:

1 – Shaadi Boys:

Source: Youtube.com

Shaadi Boys is a web series about three guys, named Neil, Nitin, and Mukesh (yes, they are three different characters), who are Bollywood fans and have taken the decision to start a wedding filming and choreography business ‘Shaadi Boys.’ The show follows their hilarious journey full of comic moments, when, at their very first gig at a high profile Delhi wedding (which is a perfect opportunity for them to kick-start their business), the bride-to-be gets attracted to and falls in love with one of the guys.
Cast: Akash Ahuja, Rishabh Chaddha, Abhinav Verma and Parul Joshi.
Director: Shashant Shah.

2 – It’s Not That Simple:

It’s Not That Simple is a story of a married young woman, Meera, busy with her housewife duties and the daughter. The four major characters, Meera, Jayesh, Sameer, and Rajiv, who were living normal lives by now, attend the seemingly harmless school reunion and things take a turn for the worse and their relationships are brought to a test.
Cast: Swara Bhaskar, Vivan Bhatena, Karanveer Mehra, Akshay Oberoi.
Director: Danish Aslam.

3 – Untag:
Untag, released by Voot in partnership with Moto Z, is a web series about a group of people working in an advertising agency. It is about their struggles, their dreams, their aspirations, and their frustrations. It is a series that celebrates uniqueness, friendships, relationships, love, and a journey of these people as they try to lose the tags given to them and prove their potential by showing the world that they are much more than what the tags imply and are not ashamed of who they are.
Cast: Meiyang Chang, Dipannita Sharma, Shiv Pandit, Naveen Polishetty, Anjali Anand, VJ Andy.
Director: Ashima Chibber.

These are some amazing Voot web series that are available for free, with interesting storylines and relatable characters.

Web Series you Must Watch if you Loved Sacred Games

Sacred Games is the first Indian Netflix original released on 6th July 2018, having eight episodes in this first season. Based on the novel of the same name by Vikram Chandra, Sacred Games is a story is about Sartaj Singh, a suspended police officer, fed up with the rampant corruption in the police force, aggravated by political interference. Sartaj gets a tip from someone about the location of a dangerous gangster who has been missing for the past 16 years, Ganesh Gaitonde.

When both of these characters collide with each other, it results in an extremely dangerous race for Sartaj as he goes on the mission to save the city of Mumbai after Ganesh warns him about the looming threat that will destroy Mumbai in 25 days
Sacred Games has an ensemble cast with actors like Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Radhika Apte, playing lead roles, and the big name Bollywood directors like Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, working on the series.
Sacred Games has gained acclaim from the audience as well as critics and has become one of the most popular Indian web series, with high ratings, and positive reviews.
If you loved watching Sacred Games, here are some of the Web Series that you should absolutely watch:

#1 – Damaged (by Hungama Digital Media & Entertainment):
Damaged is a psychological thriller crime drama, directed by Aarambhh Mohan Singh, and starring Amruta Khanvilkar and Amit Sial in the lead roles as Lovina and Abhay respectively.

The story revolves around Lovina, a seductress and a brutal serial killer who has no remorse for her crimes. She has killed several young men in cold blood, and the police have not been able to solve the case. Abhay is a ruthless, trigger-happy police officer.
Led by Abhay, the police team begin investigating the murder of a famous artist, and they come to a realization that this is just the beginning and there is a lot waiting to be unveiled. The show leads you into the world of the behavior and motives of two different flawed characters with multiple shades to their personality. When the lives of these two collide, it creates an intense confrontation.

#2 – Zero KMS (by Zee5):
Zero KMS is a thrilling web series revolving around a man, Arjun, who was wrongly accused of a murder which he did not commit and was convicted for it, having to spend 10 years in the prison for that. Inside the prison, he met a guru who taught martial to him.

Once released, Arjun has to come face to face with the prospect of solving the numerous issues that are still plaguing his life – his brother, his old lover, and of course, the murder for which he was wrongly accused. Putting his new martial arts skills to use, he goes on a journey to resolve these issues, while finding himself amidst another problem – a flesh trafficking racket.

Zero KMS is directed by Qaushik Mukherjee, and stars Naseeruddin Shah, Tanmay Dhanania, Satyadeep Mishra, Vaibhavi Upadhayay, Rupali Bhosale, and others playing major or minor roles in the series.
These are some of the best thriller web series that you should not miss at all if you are a fan of Sacred Games.

3 Short Films you Might Not Know of 2018

1. Dum Dum Dumroo
Director: Akash Goila
The dark comedy is the story of a peon Dumroo who tries to act weird in front of a female doctor (who is a pediatrician) on the first day at the hospital, however, the course of incidents that unfold leave the Doctor shocked and gutted, on discovering the trough behind the peon’s antics.

Source: youtube.com

In just 11 minutes 15 seconds the movie manages to make the right impact. The film had its premiere in Dubai recently where Sanaya Irani was present with husband Mohit Saigal.

2. Amoli
Directors: Avinash Roy, Jasmine KaurRoy
A documentary film on the shocking truths about the lesser known business of child sex trade in India. The short film shows spine-chilling situations and personal accounts of survivors of the trade, the film explores the inner workings of the business that has come to engulf every village and city of our nation.

15-year-old Amoli went missing suddenly from her home one day in the tea gardens of West Bengal, India. Like Amoli many children go missing every day. ‘Amoli’ is the story of the children trafficking. The short film takes a look into the workings of the dark world and narrates the stories of some brave survivors who have been through hell and have been through hell.

3. Binnu Ka Sapna
Director: Kanu Bhel
Binnu has always seen his mother’s slap or rather we can say that he has grown up hearing about his mother’s first slap 25 years ago and hit by his father merely for emerging from the same room as her brother-in-law. Many years later, he leaves his home. He once sleeps with his boss’s daughter at party thinking he’s fallen in love. And he gets rejected the next day. He gets into deep depression and roams on the streets alone. He gets into another romance. But something is not right. Slowly a strange insanity begins to disturb him. Binnu Ka Sapna delves deep into a malignant mindset trying to bare the ticking time bombs around us.

Tips to Promote your Web Series

There is a lot of work required to create a web series – Writing, Casting, Production, Uploading, and Marketing. Marketing is a function that requires a lot of concentration. You can create a web series but for it to be successful, it is necessary to market and promote it.
Here are some tips you can use to promote your web series:

1 – Find your Audience:

Ask yourself this question: Who should watch this web series? What kind of an audience will like it? This needs to be done right from the beginning and will go on till the end. Locate your audience – people who might be interesting in watching your web series. Identify communities interested in the genre of your work.
There are groups and pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and communities on Reddit, etc. dedicated to different genres and interests. Use them as a platform to promote your web series.

2 – Use Social Media:
Social Media is perfect to reach a larger audience and connect with people. Target your audience through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Use hashtags, follow trends, post constant updates, interact with your fans and followers. Encourage people to share your posts. Hold competitions. Try to get the same username for your social media (for easier branding).

3 – Promotional Images, Teasers, and Trailer:
Take Photos on-set. Use them to promote your web series and create more buzz about it among the fans. It can serve as exclusive behind the scenes photos which people absolutely love watching and using it for speculating about the storyline.
Create a Teaser. It can give a small sneak peek to your audience about the show, raising curiosity, interest, and excitement. Use it to provide a tiny glimpse but don’t reveal too much. Reserve something for the trailer.

Once enough interest is created by the teaser, release the trailer. A proper gap between a teaser and trailer is one or two weeks. Don’t make the trailer long and keep certain surprises hidden. Grab attention and use it for promotion and marketing.

4 – Press Releases:
Use Press Releases as a marketing tool. This will make people write about you. Craft a professional press release. Include contact information. Include links to your social media and trailer. Explain why your project is worth publishing about.

5 – Build a Network with Filmmakers:

Reach out to other filmmakers and interact with them. Be the one to initiate conversation. Don’t think of them as competitors. Think of them as your community. Build contacts and create a network. Have mutually beneficial relationships with each other. Use these relationships to cross-promote each other’s content.

5 Indian Web Series you Probably Didn’t Know of

There is no doubt that there are many Indian web series that are creative as well as entertaining to its viewers. No wonder the Internet at present is flooding with a massive selection of popular web series to catch up with. And, we’re certain that you’ve heard and caught a few episodes of the extremely popular shows like – TVF’s Permanent Roommates and Pitchers, Scoopwhoop’s Baked, and the others. Here’s our list of the awesome side of the Internet you probably would love.

1.  Hip-hop Homeland

Hip Hop Homeland is a thorough look at the Indian underground hip-hop scene. The web series follows a docu-style for its web series. From rap to visual art and of course dance, the series brushes one over various forms of self-expression, educating its evolution, growth and future plans.

2. All about section 377

The series basically revolves around the major issue that is yet beyond social acceptance. The story shows a gay couple in the series highlighting LGBT community acceptance in the society. The series is an effort to understand the daily struggles of people from the LGBT community in India. The show follows the story of a struggling actor who moves in with his cousin and his boyfriend.

3. A.I.S.H.A. –My virtual girlfriend

The story is about a socially awkward genius app developer who works on an artificial intelligence app in secret, which slowly begins to get sensitive and develops emotions. The series is actually a brainchild of Raghu Ram of the Roadies fame.

4. Star boyz

Kenny Sebastian, one of India’s best stand-up comedian is a part of this project web series. He sets on a journey to spoof Star. With an extremely catchy opening theme song, the team’s space journey begins with the hunt for a pack of smokes. As they endeavor into the farthest corners of our universe. The series has a couple cameos from Rajinikant and Kamal Hassan as a Jedi, all of this topped with a south Indian accent.

5. I don’t watch TV

I Don’t Watch TV is a web series that is a satire on the life of TV actors. They portray the struggles of a TV actor who has to go through a lot while shooting for a show. It examines the lives of television stars and their cruel industry with exhaustingly long working hours, stars with egos, bad pays, less breaks, competition, fake friends, etc. The show features familiar faces like Rithvik Dhanjani, Karan Patel, Drashti Dhami, Kritika Kamra, Nakuul Mehta, etc.

Best 3 Websites For Web Series

Web series is a new trend in online media wherein ‘n’ number of topics are incorporated for various objectives like to spread awareness, to tell people about an certain importance, to give advice or suggestions in their way of relatable content or just for random entertainment. Some of them are hotstar, VB on the web, ALT Balaji, Zee5, Youtube, etc.

VB on the Web-

VB on the web stands for the initials itself, V for Vikram and B for Bhatt. Vikram Bhatt is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. VBOnTheWeb is available on the Play store for Android users and on the App Store for iOS users. A year after the launch of his YouTube channel, VBOnTheWeb he put a step further and made it available as an app where you can binge these shows for free. Some of their web series is Twisted, Maaya-Maaya2, Zindabaad, Alive, etc

You can now download VBOnTheWeb App for free. The App will also showcase both Free and Premium Content. The theatre is on your phone! It is one of the best app as well as a site for web series.

ALT Balaji-

Source: televisionpost.com

ALB Balaji is also an online platform which is subscription based and is owned by none other than a subsidiary of Balaji Telefilms. It is launched on 16 April 2017. It is easy to watch series on this platform as ALT Balaji has made this site available on all platforms and devices. Ekta Kapoor is the founder of ALT Balaji. he stories range from drama, comedy, and romance, to thriller, crime, and mystery. It is also a great platform for watching web series.

The web series is Kapoor sisters, Gandi baat, Haq se, Kehne ko humsafar hai, etc

Zee5
ZEE5 known to be Ozee previously is a video website run by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited. It was launched in India on February 14, 2018. It came up with content in 12 languages. The website also has an app, ZEE5 App. It is launched in English, Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Bhojpuri, Gujarati and Punjabi. Also, it is one of the best websites with these rest. Some of the web originals of ZEE5 are Babbar Ka Tabbar, The Story, Life Sahi Hai, etc.

Best Romantic Web Series to Binge-Watch on Weekends

It is that time of the year when the weather is perfect and it feels like love is in the air. Monsoon is the season where all the lovebirds feel more in love than ever and everything is just beautiful. This is also the time of the year when everybody’s romantic side is in a flourishing mood.

The weather is perfect and so is the mood. This is the perfect time to get your special one, some hot chocolate, a cozy bed and these four web series that are just perfect to binge-watch during this amazing weather, on a lazy weekend.

#LoveBytes
Cast: Kushal Punjabi, Sukhmani Sadana
Plot: LoveBytes is the first ever show that was made exclusively for the digital platforms. This show covers almost every aspect of an urban relationship that faces its daily trials and tribulations but stays strong through it all.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2S0BdoQPZ0

Little Things
Cast: Mithila Palkar, Dhruv Sehgal
Plot: Little Things is the perfect show to describe that love doesn’t always need to be in grand gestures. The series shows the perfect couple quarrel in a totally adorable manner, just like any other urban couple.

Permanent Roommates
Cast: Sumeet Vyas, Nidhi Singh
Plot: This is a series about a couple who is in a long-distance relationship for 3 years and is faced with the prospect of marriage. This is a story about an urban couple trying to figure their way and wrap their head around the concept of marriage.

A.I.S.H.A “My Virtual Girlfriend”
Cast: Harman Singha, Nimisha Mehta, Raghu Ram
Plot: This show has a unique concept as compared to all the other love stories. This is a relationship between a man and a woman, where the woman is the first-of-its-kind Artificial Intelligence Simulated Humanoid Assistant (A.I.SHA), who is created by Sam, the protagonist. couples