Stream The Top 10 Indian Originals on JioHotstar Now | From fierce matriarchs and OCD detectives to slow-burn thrillers and globe-trotting spies, Manik Sharma compiles your essential desi series binge list from JioHotstar, newly added to the OTTplay Premium vault.
| WITH the recent onboarding of JioHotstar under the OTTplay Premium banner, your streaming universe just got a serious upgrade. The combined catalogue offers access to some of India’s most iconic original shows — across genres, languages, and storytelling styles. Whether you're in the mood for a nail-biting crime procedural, a moody family drama, a slick espionage saga, or a quirky character study, this curated list has something for every kind of viewer. Featuring everything from Aarya and Special Ops to cult gems like Masoom and Ghar Waapsi , these are the 10 standout Indian JioHotstar Originals to stream on OTTplay Premium right now. Some of these titles are brand-new, others quietly compelling, and a few have earned their place as cultural landmarks. Each is worth your weekend. So grab your popcorn (or paratha), and hit play. Stream the latest films and shows with OTTplay Premium's Power Play monthly pack, for only Rs 149. 10. Mistry The adaptation of the popular show Monk is a mixed bag , but what’s delightful is the return of the dependable Ram Kapoor alongside the exceptional — and having a bit of a second coming herself — Mona Singh. Kapoor’s ability to play the weirdo with a gazillion OCDs is charming, and while the cases themselves oscillate between intriguing to cliche, it’s his chemistry with Singh’s Sehmat that drives the show forward. It’s not, beat for beat, a classic but it stays with you for the course of its duration. | 9. Saas Bahu aur Flamingo A women-run drug cartel sounds like the premise of a gritty underdog noir. But beneath its hardcore skin, this dramedy’s tone and execution add an extra serving of commentary and humour. It’s been a few years since the Dimple Kapadia-led show dropped on streaming and even though it flails towards the ends, the series’ provocations remain unique and unmatched. It’s one of the most underrated comedies on streaming, with the peculiar capacity to be political when you least expect it to be. Also, its feminism is a rare asset. 8. Taaza Khabar Bhuvan Bam didn’t need streaming but he has given a fair shot at claiming it for himself anyway. A down-on-his-luck man suddenly gathers the superpower to see the future. In that future, he tries to win the lottery, but at the cost of losing himself along the way. Bam was never going to hit it out of the park with his acting, but there is an messy earthiness to this show that has its moments. Not to mention the curious but promising arrival of the creator-shaped streaming era. 7. Ghar Waapsi One of those shows that quietly sits in the corner of your watchlist. This broody, at-times emotionally resonant series about the universal nature of migration, weeds through a recurring sense of deja vu. What is home? What is the journey that defines its becoming? And what is aspiration without the stalling ingredients of responsibilities, relationships and family? Led by a terrific Vishal Vashishtha this is wholesome viewing — maybe even for the entire household. | 6. Criminal Justice: A Family Matter Now in its fourth season, one of Indian streaming’s longest-running franchises was born out of an adaptation. It always manages to put together the best in acting; this particular season has Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub and the unmissable Surveen Chawla, for example. There is no denying either that this franchise — ebb and flow notwithstanding — continues to charm because of Pankaj Tripathi playing A Pankaj Tripathi Type in the affable lawyer Madhav Mishra. The show’s legs are clearly tiring, but who can really ever have enough of Tripathi being his witty, unassuming self? 5. Lootere Possibly one of the most ambitious shows on Indian streaming, Lootere takes you to the troubled waters of Somalia. Crooked businessmen, intercontinental stakes and a cast that spans continents…this is a visual feast. Besides Vivek Gomber’s excellent performance and Hardik Mehta’s splendid direction, what takes the cake for Lootere is its sheer ambition, scale and the desire to dive headlong into the choppy waters of a global story. A plus plus for effort. 4. Masoom Some shows last because they explode as moments of collective consciousness. Others stay in your memory, because they have an impact so deep, you keep coming back to their uneasy, provocative takeaways. The story of a father’s strained relationship with his daughter, this mini-series led by a startling Boman Irani performance unearths family secrets with the chokehold of a slow-burn crime thriller. Its reveals are merely the meat sticking to the matter of uncomfortable family truths. It’s quiet, restrained, and incredibly effective. | 3. Kerala Crime Files Few shows have made an instant name for themselves in the same way as KCF . The very epitome of a procedural, Kerala Crime Files gets to the heart of police work — its banality, rigour and at times, overwhelming hopelessness. In its recent second season, it goes looking for one of its own, in yet another breathless cross-border investigation that is thrilling (not because it boasts awe-striking stakes and scale, but because it feels breathless and personal). The art of merging a large cast, and sewing through a singular mystery with multiple moving parts is the hardest of arts. But director Ahammed Khabeer and team have found a clinching formula. 2. Special Ops A worldwide espionage operation isn’t exactly a new moat in entertainment. But even the most tired tropes of storytelling can be lifted to a space of enthralling virtue, if the right set of shoulders decide to pick it up. Neeraj Pandey isn’t new to espionage thrillers with a geopolitical edge, but Special Ops would just be Ops were it not for Kay Kay Menon’s resounding, epochal turn as Himmat Singh. Few actors can liven the screen from the back of a table the way Menon does. As the new season arrives, you can bet Singh will oversee an intercontinental mission against the clock, from his armchair, and come out looking like the most thrilling, stationary piece of an otherwise moving vehicle. It’s a one-man show of performing heaven. And Menon delivers from it with eerie ease. 1. Aarya Few shows have broken the clutter on streaming the way Sushmita Sen’s comeback as the most ferocious mother on streaming. Aarya is a cultural moment, a radical shift from TV of the ‘90s without divorcing its close-knit, line-of-sight aesthetic. Aarya is momentous because it changes the landscape without completely escaping its clutches. It’s a bold, transfixing piece of storytelling. Ram Madhvani’s direction, coupled with Sen’s virtuoso performance, make it a cultural specimen for the ages — one that will take some doing to unseat as the marker for excellence. | #MIDMATCHMEMO | IND vs ENG, 2nd TEST, DAY 2 | Gill, Jadeja Put India Ahead, But For How Long? | A 203-run stand set the tone, as England’s predictable bowling let India push ahead, writes Karan Pradhan .
| COMING TOGETHER at the fall of Nitish Kumar Reddy’s wicket on Wednesday, Indian skipper Shubhman Gill and the team’s senior statesman Ravindra Jadeja began their partnership with the score at 211/5. And by the time the latter fell for 89 just before lunch on the second day of the Edgbaston Test, the duo had put together a commanding 203-run partnership. A mammoth first innings total looked to be on the cards as India sought to bat England out of the game. It should be stated that this isn’t the worst strategy considering bowling is probably not the visitors’ strongest suit, particularly in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. The strategy seems to be working so far with Gill at 168 and India at 419/6 at lunch. The start of the day saw both overnight batters begin proceedings with a requisite degree of caution. The last thing they’d want to do is throw away the gains of the previous evening. With the first hour carefully negotiated, it was time to begin piling on the runs. And a well-set Gill began to accelerate with a variety of unorthodox strokes that verged on the audacious and demonstrated a fair bit more of an attacking intent. Jadeja too ramped up the aggression with some full-blooded pull shots and elegant flicks through the leg side. From an England standpoint, the biggest criticism of the bowling on the second morning is that they simply did not ask enough questions of the batters. Compounding the situation was that the bowling overall seemed to lack variety, and began to turn awfully predictable. At times, it began to feel like each member of the English attack was simply going through the motions bowling his stock deliveries. | Like what you read? Get more of what you like. Visit the OTTplay website or download the app to stay up-to-date with news, recommendations and special offers on streaming content. Plus: always get the latest reviews. Sign up for our newsletters. Already a subscriber? Forward this email to a friend, or use the share buttons below. | | | This weekly newsletter compiles a list of the latest (and most important) reviews from OTTplay so you can figure what to watch or ditch over the weekend ahead. | | Each week, our editors pick one long-form, writerly piece that they think it worthy of your attention, and dice it into easily digestible bits for you to mull over. | | In which we invite a scholar of cinema, devotee of the moving image, to write a prose poem dedicated to their poison of choice. Expect to spend an
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