The year 2020 has been unprecedented in many ways. People have been literally tethered indoors and have had to turn to their screens, be it their laptops, mobiles, or televisions, for work, shopping, and entertainment. The OTT platform in India has come into its own in terms of offering entertainment options. From Amazon to Disney+Hotstar to Zee5 and Netflix, and others, the platforms were abuzz with activity and entertainment. Here is a list of the top 12 Indian web series of 2020 according to us. Read on to know which are they and why they are in our list of the top web series in India.
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Top 12 Indian Web Series of 2020
The OTT platforms in India have flooded the screens in homes across the country with the entertaining fare. There has been a wide range of genres to cater to different audiences, from crime thrillers like Aarya, Criminal Justice, and others to stories around patriotism like The Forgotten Army and light comedies like PariWar. The OTT platforms have also seen Bollywood movies releasing in 2020. Films like Gulabo Sitabo, Laxmi, Chintu Ka Birthday, Chhalaang, Gunjan Saxena, and many others hit the screens. Here is the list of our top Indian web series of the year.
Our Top 12 Indian Web Series Of The Year You Must Watch
This is a list of the top Indian web series that we have arranged as per their IMDB ratings. But the order is in no way a reflection of their popularity or our own liking.
Scam 1992 ( IMDB Rating 9.5 )
One Indian web series to watch if you have not already done so is Scam 1992- The Harshad Mehta Story on SonyLiv. This is the uncrowned king of the Indian web series that have hit the screens in 2020. With an IMDB rating of 9.5, Scam 1992 has been making waves.
The series is based on the real-life incidents that shook the very foundations of the Indian stock and money markets in the late eighties and the nineties. It is the story of the Big Bull Harshad Mehta who was known as the man with the Midas touch in the stock market. The series tracks the growth and fall of Harshad Mehta and the stock markets in those times.
Scam 1992 is directed by Hansal Mehta and Jai Mehta. It is written by Saurav Dey, Sumit Purohit, Vaibhav Vishal, and Karan Vyas. The series is an adaptation of the book, “The Scam: Who Won, Who Lost, Who Got Away.”, by Sucheta Dalal and Debashish Basu.
The Main cast of Scam 1992 – Top Indian web series
- Pratik Gandhi as Harshad Mehta
- Shreya Dhanwanhary as Sucheta Dalal
- Hemant Kher as Ashwin Mehta ( Harshad’s Brother )
Panchayat ( IMDB Rating 8.7 )
Panchayat is a web series that blows like a whiff of fresh air. Its simplicity has a raw appeal that is endearing and enables the series to hold its own in an arena swamped by crime thrillers with convoluted plots and crazy twists and violence. Panchayat on Amazon Prime is the story of a young urban youth who finds himself in a remote village of Uttar Pradesh, working as a secretary in the Panchayat office. It is another matter that this is a stop-gap arrangement for him as he prepares for his IIM entrance exams. The viewers are treated to the simple and yet complexities of village life through the experiences of the protagonist, Abhishek Tripathi.
This top Indian web series of 2020 is directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra and written by Chandan Kumar.
The Main cast of Panchayat – Top Indian web series
- Jitendra Kumar as Abhishek Tripathi
- Raghubir Yadav as Brij Bhushan Dubey
- Neena Gupta as Manjula Devi
Special Ops ( IMDB Rating 8.5 )
Special Ops is a taut espionage thriller on Disney+Hotstar. The plot is riveting and revolves around a RAW agent named Himmat Singh and his belief that the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in which 5 alleged terrorists were gunned down, involved the presence of a sixth person who was present and masterminded the entire operation.
Himmat Singh is out to unravel a truth that lies hidden beneath the layers of time with his team of dedicated operatives who are in different parts of the world. You would need to watch Special Ops to know if Himmat Singh succeeds in his mission.
Special Ops is directed by Neeraj Pandey and Shivam Nair and is written by Benazir Ali Fida, Deepak Kingrani, and Neeraj Pandey.
The Main cast of Special Ops – Top Indian web series
- Kay Kay Menon as Himmat Singh
- Karan Tacker as Farooq Ali
- Gautami Kapoor as Saroj
- Vinay Pathak as Abbas Shaikh
- Saiyami Kher as Juhi Kashyap
Asur ( IMDB Rating 8.4 )
Asur is a crime thriller that is based on an American series called True Detective on HBO. Asur on Voot is an out and out crime thriller. It revolves around the cat and mouse game between a notorious serial killer and a forensic expert turned teacher and his mentor who is an investigator.
Asur is a creation of Gaurav Shukla and is directed by Oni Sen.
The Main cast of Asur – Top Indian web series
- Arshad Warsi as Dhananjay Rajpoot
- Barun Sobti as Nikhil Nair
- Riddhi Dogra as Nusrat Saeed
- Anupriya Goenka as Naina Nair
The Forgotten Army ( IMDB Rating 8.0 )
The Forgotten Army on Amazon Prime is a very nice web series. It is in all fairness underrated and much better than many of the crime thrillers that are topping the charts. The plot takes viewers back in history to the time when Subhash Chandra Bose created the Indian National Army. One gets a peek into what life must have been for the brave men and women who rallied with Netaji and marched towards India to the cries of ‘Dilli Chalo”.
A romance in the backdrop of this fight for the country’s freedom and the sacrifices make for a riveting watch. The events have been created realistically in the jungles of what was then known as Burma, Singapore, and Thailand. The Forgotten Army tells a story that is lost in the chapters of history.
The Forgotten Army is directed by Kabir Khan and Anil Senior. It is scripted by Kabir Khan, Heeraz Marfatia, and Shubhra Swarup.
The Main cast of The Forgotten Army – Top Indian web series
- Sunny Kaushal as Sodhi
- Sharvari Wagh as Maya
- T.J.Bhanu as Rasama
- Rohit Chaudhary as Arshad
Abhay 2 ( IMDB Rating 8.0 )
Abhay is a web series on Zee5 that has returned with the second season. It is a crime thriller with the protagonist being a police officer named Abhay which is played by Kunal Khemu. Abhay tackles the villains in a trademark style, always thinking a step ahead of his rival.
Abhay is directed by Ken Ghosh and written by Priya Saggi.
The Main cast of Abhay Season 2 – Top Indian web series
- Kunal Khemu as Abhay
- Chunky Pandey as Harsh
- Ram Kapoor as a Kidnapper
- Asha Negi as Sonam Khanna
Aarya ( IMDB Rating 7.9 )
Aarya on Disney+Hotstar is a crime thriller and tells the story of the drug Mafia and the families involved. The series is based on a Dutch television series named Penoza. The first season of Aarya ends with the promise of being back with more excitement with season 2.
Aarya is a creation of Ram Madhvani of Neerja fame who has written and directed the series along with Sandeep Modi. Vinod Rawat too has been credited for direction.
The Main cast of Aarya – Top Indian web series
- Sushmita Sen as Aarya Sareen
- Chandrachur Singh as Tej Sareen
- Jayant Kripalani as Zorawar
- Sikander Kher as Daulat
Paatal Lok ( IMDB Rating 7.8 )
Paatal Lok is a crime thriller on Amazon Prime that is set in contemporary times. Its story consists of intricate plots and sub-plots that run parallel to each other, but are intertwined too. The story seems to echo all too familiar incidents that we read about and see on our televisions every day. It is fast-paced and has the attention of the viewer riveted.
Paatal Lok is produced by Anushka Sharma and directed by Avinash Arun and Prosit Roy. The concept and creation is by Sudip Sharma.
The Main cast of Paatal Lok – Top Indian web series
- Jaideep Ahlawat as Hathi Ram Chaudhary
- Neeraj Kabi as Sanjeev Mehra
- Abhishek Bannerjee as Vishal Tyagi
- Gul Panag as Renu
- Anup Jalota as Balkishan Bajpayee
Aashram ( IMDB Rating 7.4 )
Aashram is a web series with almost back to back two seasons on MXPlayer and its third season will release in 2021. The plot is all too familiar to the Indian audiences who have had their share of self-styled Godmen and their scams. There are so many, from Osho to more contemporary figures whose activities have remained shrouded in controversy.
Aashram too explores the evil doings beneath the veneer of goodness and spirituality that goes on in an Aashram presided over by Kaashipur Waale Baba. The nexus between the Aashram, the police, and politicians is showcased in the series. Aashram is directed by Prakash Jha.
The Main cast of Aashram – Top Indian web series
- Bobby Deol as Kaashipur Waale Baba Nirala
- Chandan Roy Sanyal as Bhopa Swami
- Aditi Sudhir Pohankar as Pammi
- Darshan Kumar as Ujaagar Singh
- Anupriya Goenka as Dr. Natasha
- Tushar Pandey as Satti
Mirzapur-2 ( IMDB Rating 7.3 )
Mirzapur, the crime thriller on Amazon Prime returned in 2020 with Season 2. Mirzapur Season 2, however, was not as riveting as Mirzapur Season 1. The series is all about the ruthless fight for being the uncrowned king of the underworld in the town of Mirzapur.
The incumbent is Akhandanand Tripathi who ostensibly runs a carpet business which is a front for illegal arms manufacture and dealing. In the first season two brothers, sons of a lawyer join him and become his trusted lieutenants. This raises the ire of his own son and a bloody carnage ensues which leaves one of the brothers dead and the other limping. Season 2 pick off from there and once again the fight continues and unleashes a bloody and violent war. Season 2 also shows the political and police nexus with the underworld.
The series is directed by Mihir Desai and Gurmeet Singh and is written by Puneet Krishna and Vineet Krishna.
The Main cast of Mirzapur Season 2 – Top Indian web series
- Pankaj Tripathi as Akhandanand Tripathi
- Ali Fazal as Guddu
- Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Satyanand Tripathi
- Rasika Dugal as Beena Tripathi
- Divyendu Sharma as Munna
- Shwetha Tripathi as Gajagamini Gupta, “Golu”
A Simple Murder ( IMDB Rating 6.8 )
A Simple Murder, on SonyLiv, is in a different mould from the other crime series on OTT platforms. It has its share of crime and murders. But what sets it apart is the current of humour that runs through the plot and lifts it from being predictable. At the centre of the plot is a jackpot of 5 crore Rs., after which everyone is running. The chase leaves a trail of murders, some pre-meditated and others accidental. The story races crazily towards its climax.
The series is directed by Sachin Pathak and written by Akhilesh Jaiswal and Prateek Payodhi.
The Main cast of A Simple Murder – Top Indian web series
- Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Manish
- Sushant Singh as Himmat
- Amit Sial as Santosh
- Priya Anand as Richa
- Yashpal Sharma as Pandit
PariWar ( IMDB Rating 6.8 )
PariWar on Disney+Hotstar is another Indian web series that comes as a whiff of fresh air amongst the dark crime thrillers that are ruling the screens. It is a light family entertainer and devoid of the foul language, sex, violence, and gore that is today the hallmark of most of the Indian web series. However, the series could have been much better than what it turns out to be.
It tells the story of an old man living alone in his ancestral home in Allahabad (Prayagraj) with a trusted man Friday. His children are out in the world pursuing their own fortunes. He engineers a scheme to get them all back with the age-old ruse of being seriously ill and in hospital. What follows is a series of misunderstandings and conflicts between the family members, and hence the name PariWar!
The series is directed by Sagar Ballary and written by Shantanu Anam and Gaganjeet Singh.
The Main cast of PariWar – Top Indian web series
- Gajraj Rao as Kashi Narayan
- Vijay Raaz as Gangaram
- Yashpal Sharma as Badke
- Ranvir Shorey as Chutke
- Sadiya Siddique as Anju
- Anurita Jha as Manju
- Abhishek Bannerjee as Munna
- Nidhi Singh as Guddan
So which was your favourite, top Indian web series 2020? Which will be your favourite Indian web series to watch in 2021? We hope you liked our selection of the top 12 Indian web series of 2020. Do let us know your thoughts through the comments section and do not forget to subscribe to our blog. Also, connect with us through our social media channels.
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I’ve watched only few from the list. Want to watch pataal lok and Abhay from these webseries very soon
That’s so amazing collections of webseries. Definitely include in my watchlist. Great thoughts.
This is so helpful post who are seeking best webseries. Very well presented with pocs, videos and text.
Thats such a great list. I already watched all of them except PariWar.. All of these are amazing, will watch Pariwar asap