May was quiet after April’s Indian content bonanza. Netflix debuted two Original Hindi films this month and one unexpected Original series: a Hindi-dubbed version of Netflix’s game show Floor Is Lava. Here are all of the new Indian movies and TV series added to Netflix in May 2021.
N = Netflix Original
New Indian Movies on Netflix: May 2021
Time to Dance (2021)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 107 Minutes
Director: Stanley Menino D’Costa
Cast: Isabelle Kaif, Sooraj Pancholi, Rajpal Yadav
Genre: Dance, Romantic Drama | Added to Netflix: May 6
Forced out of a competition by injury, Latin dancer Isha is left without a partner. In order to make her comeback and get revenge on the partner who ditched her, Isha must turn talented but untrained street dancer Rishabh into a proper ballroom partner. Time to Dance is the launch vehicle for superstar Katrina Kaif’s younger sister, Isabelle, who plays Isha opposite Sooraj Pancholi’s Rishabh.
Milestone (2020) N
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 98 Minutes
Director: Ivan Ayr
Cast: Suvinder Vicky, Lakshvir Saran, Mohinder Gujral
Genre: Drama | Added to Netflix: May 7
Lonely truck driver Ghalib (Survinder Vicky) defines himself by his job, but the physical toll of decades on the road and a new trainee driver throw his sense of self into doubt. Milestone (also known as “Meel Patthar“) won two awards at the 2020 Singapore International Film Festival and received nominations at other global film fests. This is director Ivan Ayr’s second feature and his second Netflix Original movie, after 2018’s social issue drama Soni.
Nayattu (2021)
Language: Malayalam
Runtime: 124 Minutes
Director: Martin Prakkat
Cast: Kunchacko Boban, Joju George, Nimisha Sajayan
Genre: Political Thriller | Added to Netflix: May 8
A road accident that kills the close friend of a well-connected young man puts three police officers in the middle of a political firestorm. Before they can be made scapegoats during a tense local election season, the trio run for their lives in Nayattu (“The Hunt“).
Cinema Bandi (2021)
Language: Telugu
Runtime: 98 Minutes
Director: Praveen Kandregula
Cast: Vikas Vasistha, Sandeep Varanasi, Rag Mayur
Genre: Comedy | Added to Netflix: May 13
When an expensive movie camera is accidentally left behind in an auto rickshaw in a small town, the driver and his friends try to strike it rich by filming their own low-budget love story. Will the amateur filmmakers be able to complete their picture before the original owner returns to claim her lost camera?
Tottaa Pataaka Item Maal (2019)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 107 Minutes
Director: Aditya Kripalani
Cast: Shalini Vasta, Ahmareen Anjum, Chitrangada Chakraborty
Genre: Social Issue Drama, Thriller | Added to Netflix: May 13
Four Delhi women fed up with living under the constant threat of sexual violence kidnap a man who harasses them, giving him a taste of what it’s like to be afraid of being raped. As you can guess from the description, Tottaa Pataaka Item Maal is intense, with lots of graphic language.
Ahaan (2019)
Language: Hindi/English
Runtime: 81 Minutes
Director: Nikhil Pherawani
Cast: Abuli Mamaji, Arif Zakaria, Niharika Singh
Genre: Drama | Added to Netflix: May 14
25-year-old debutant actor Abuli Mamaji becomes the first person with Down Syndrome to play a lead role in a Hindi film, starring as the title character in Ahaan. Mamaji’s character strikes up an unlikely friendship with his neighbor Ozzy (Arif Zakaria), a middle-aged man whose obsessive-compulsive disorder causes turmoil in his marriage.
Sardar Ka Grandson (2021) N
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 139 Minutes
Director: Kaashvi Nair
Cast: Neena Gupta, Arjun Kapoor, Rakul Preet Singh
Genre: Comedy, Drama | Added to Netflix: May 18
Unable to fulfill his ailing grandmother’s wish to visit her old house in Lahore, Pakistan, Amreek (Arjun Kapoor) concocts an audacious plan to move the house itself across the border to Amritsar. Masaba Masaba‘s Neena Gupta plays grandmother Sardar in the present day scenes, while Aditi Rao Hydari and John Abraham cameo in flashbacks as young Sardar and her husband, Gursher.
Little Singham: Future Mein Satakli (2021)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 46 Minutes
Director: Prakash Satam
Cast: Anamaya Verma, Ganesh Divekar, Jigna Bharadhwaj
Genre: Kids, Animation | Added to Netflix: May 20
It is the year 2050. An evil clown named Junglee Joker rules the world, forbidding kids from laughing or having fun. Who can save the children from such unfair rules? Kid cop Little Singham and his friends, of course!
Taxi No. 9211 (2006)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 116 Minutes
Director: Milan Luthria
Cast: John Abraham, Nana Patekar, Sonali Kulkarni
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Thriller | Added to Netflix: May 20
A taxi driver who lies to his wife about his profession and the spoiled son of a dead business tycoon get into a war of revenge after a fateful cab ride. Taxi No. 9211 is loosely based on the 2002 Hollywood thriller Changing Lanes, starring Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson.
99 Songs (2021)
Languages: Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu
Runtime: 130 Minutes
Director: Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy
Cast: Ehan Bhat, Edilsy Vargas, Manisha Koirala
Genre: Musical | Added to Netflix: May 21
Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman makes his debut as a screenwriter and producer with 99 Songs. Newcomer Ehan Bhat plays a struggling musician challenged to write 100 songs before he can marry the woman he loves. Naturally, Rahman’s background score and soundtrack are the film’s main selling points. 99 Songs is available in its original Hindi as well as dubbed versions in Tamil and Telugu (each version of which has its own team of lyricists for the 14 tunes on the soundtrack).
New Indian TV Series on Netflix: May 2021
Lava Ka Dhaava (2021) N
Language: Hindi
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 10
Cast: Javed Jaffrey, Rutledge Wood
Genre: Reality Competition, Family | Added to Netflix: May 5
Lava Ka Dhaava is the Hindi-dubbed version of the 2020 Netflix Original English-language game show Floor Is Lava. Actor Javed Jaffrey — who narrated the Hindi versions of the Japanese game shows Takeshi’s Castle and Ninja Warrior — adds funny commentary as contestants navigate a dangerous obstacle course, all while trying to avoid falling into the “lava” covering the floor. If you enjoy watching people smash their faces into stuff, this show is for you.
Alma Matters (2021)
Language: Hindi
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 3
Cast: Biswa Kalyan Rath, Shubham Agarwal, Kevin Banker
Genre: Documentary | Added to Netflix: May 14
Over the course of three episodes, Alma Matters: Inside the IIT Dream takes viewers on a tour of life inside one of India’s ultra-competitive engineering colleges. The series touches on mental health, sexism, and the pressures on first-generation students, with commentary by one of the Indian Institute of Technology’s most famous alums, comedian Biswa Kalyan Rath.
Which of the newly added Indian movies will you be watching? Let us know in the comments below!
