Netflix India has set up a solid lineup of films and shows for the new year 2022. While the streaming giant has not officially announced its 2022 lineup, we have compiled the list of the projects it's likely to bring out this year. The list includes eight films, six web series, six returning shows, one docu-series, and a comedy special.
FILMS:
Looop Lapeta
Taapsee Pannu and Tahir Raj Bhasin's experimental thriller Looop Lapeta will be Netflix India's first movie acquisition of 2022. The film is currently in post-production and will premiere in the first quarter of this year. Adaptation of celebrated German cult classic, Run Rola Run, this Aakash Bhatia directorial promises viewers an adventurous ride, as the plot unfolds and the actions of the lovers trigger a series of events, both fortunate and unfortunate. Aakash's distinctive treatment and style married with this layered story, an unconventional plot, and remarkable performances by an ensemble cast, according to Netflix India's Pratiksha Rao, makes this a truly unique film. Loop Lapeta will be Taapsee's fourth film to skip theatrical release after Haseen Dillruba, Annabelle Sethupathi, and Rashmi Rocket which all premiered on OTT platforms last year.
Qala
Netflix is collaborating with Anushka Sharma and Karnesh Ssharma's Clean Slate Filmz again. Qala is a beautiful, heartbreaking story about a daughter who craves her mother's love. It's yet another intricate tale of a woman coming from the Bulbbul director Anvitaa Dutt. Tripti Dimri and Swastika Mukherjee play the lead roles alongside Irrfan Khan's son Babil I. Khan who's making his acting debut with this film.
Khufiya
Vishal Bhardwaj's edgy spy thriller Khufiya stars Tabu, Ali Fazal, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Ashish Vidyarthi in the lead roles. Based on Amar Bhushan's popular espionage novel, "Escape To Nowhere", the film presents the story of Krishna Mehra, an R&AW operative who is assigned to track down the mole selling India’s defence secrets. All along, grappling with her dual identity as a spy and a lover.
Plan A Plan B
Veerey Di Wedding director Shashanka Ghosh's this quirky coming-of-age romantic drama stars Tamannaah Bhatia as a matchmaker who believes marriage is for everyone, except herself, and Riteish Deshmukh in the role of a successful divorce lawyer with a secret. What happens when they cross paths forms the crux of this story that's written by Rajat Arora. The shooting of this film has already been completed and will premiere sometime in the first half of this year.
Monica, O My Darling
Crime, comedy, and drama…all perfectly woven into one story is Vasan Bala's this comedy thriller that stars an incredible ensemble cast including Rajkummar Rao, Huma S Qureshi, Radhika Apte, Sikander Kher, Bagavathi Perumal, Akansha Ranjan Kapoor, Sukant Goel, and Zayn Marie Khan. The Matchbox Pictures production — written by Yogesh Chandekar — revolves around a young man desperately trying to make it big with some unlikely allies and a dastardly diabolical plan to pull off the perfect murder.
Jaadugar
Panchayat and Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan actor Jitendra Kumar — popularly known as Jeetu Bhaiya — returns this year with yet another heartwarming story. Directed by Sameer Saxena and written by Biswapati Sarkari, Jaadugar tells the story of a small-time magician in Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh who has to win a local football tournament to marry the love of his life. There are just two things against him — the girl doesn’t love him back and his team hasn’t won a game in years. Friendships are tested and hearts are mended as love meets magic in this heartwarming sports comedy.
Penthouse
Filmmaker duo Abbas-Mustan's next thriller stars Bobby Deol, Arjun Rampal, Sharman Joshi, Mouni Roy, Cyrus Broacha, Tisca Chopra, and Abrar Zahoor in the lead roles. Produced by Sunir Kheterpal and Gaurav Bose, the film follows five married friends who share a penthouse flat as the perfect solution for their indulgences. But one morning, a body of an unknown woman is found in the penthouse. Friendships are tested, loyalties are questioned, and marriages crumble as the shocking truth unravels in this relentless whodunit.
Freedom
Dibakar Banerjee's Freedom that was originally announced in January 2020 is expected to finally see the light of the day this year. Starring an ensemble cast that includes Naseeruddin Shah, Manisha Koirala, Huma Qureshi, Divya Dutta, Kalki Koechlin, Zoya Hussain, Shashank Arora, and Neeraj Kabi, the film is the story of an Indian family interwoven with the personal, ideological, and sexual history of India and how desire plays a common role in each. The film is likely to release with a different title now.
WEB SERIES:
Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein
Think of the most dreaded villain! What if he has a daughter who truly, deeply, madly falls in love with you? What if you don't love her back? What if you are in love with someone else? How will you say no and get out of the situation? After all, quite like her father, she's not likely to take 'no' for an answer. A romantic simpleton finds himself in the middle of this crossfire in Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein — a dark comical pulpy desi thriller about three things that matter the most in the country- paisa, taqat aur pyaar. Created and directed by Sidharth Sengupta, the series follows a romantic simpleton, Vikrant (played by Tahir Raj Bhasin), who becomes an object of desire for Purva (Shweta Tripathi Sharma), who will go to any lengths to get him. It's the first Hindi series coming out of Netflix this year as it premieres worldwide on 14th January!
Finding Anamika
Madhuri Dixit makes her OTT debut with this suspense family drama series, co-starring Sanjay Kapoor and Manav Kaul. Directed by Sri Rao, Bejoy Nambiar, and Karishma Kohli, the show traces the story of a global superstar, wife, and mom who suddenly vanishes without a trace. As police and loved ones search for answers to her disappearance, her perfectly crafted facade is stripped away, revealing hidden truths and painful lies in the life of an iconic actress.
Mai
One more Netflix offering from Anushka Sharma's Clean Slate Filmz — Mai is a crime drama series created by the acclaimed casting director Atul Mongia. Starring Sakshi Tanwar, Raima Sen, Seema Pahwa, and Wamiqa Gabbi, the series follows a docile, 47 years-old wife-and-mother, who finds herself accidentally entangled in a web of white-collar crime and dirty politics pushing her into a rabbit hole of violence that forever changes her and the world she inhabits.
Choona
Taj Mahal 1989 director Pushpendra Nath Mishra's Choona is a heist comedy-drama series about six men with nothing in common except a desire for revenge, who decide to team against Shukla, the all-powerful politician who has stripped them of their power. Jimmy Sheirgill, Namit Das, and Monika Panwar lead the ensemble cast that also includes Aashim Gulati, Vikram Kochhar, Gyanendra Tripathi, Chandan Roy, Atul Srivastava, and Niharika Lyra Dutt. The show is currently in post-production.
Rana Naidu
Real-life nephew and uncle Rana and Venkatesh Daggubati star as a Mumbai fixer and his ex-con father in this crime drama series directed by Karan Anshuman and Suparn Varma. Rana Naidu is an adaptation of the popular American drama series ‘Ray Donovan' and sees the two Telugu superstars coming together on screen for the first time.
Eternally Confused And Eager For Love
Netflix India is teaming up with Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's Excel Entertainment on multiple projects, and this teen romance drama would be their first collaboration. The series stars Rahul Bose, Suchitra Pillai, Vihaan Samat, and Himanee Bhatia in the lead roles and will premiere soon on Netflix.
Indian Predator (Docu-Series)
Indian Predator is a thrilling and suspenseful docu-series that attempts to decode the minds of some of India's deadliest killers. The series uncovers the never-before-heard details of gruesome killings as individuals who were at the epicenter of these crimes talk about what went down.
RETURNING SHOWS:
Delhi Crime Season 2
Mismatched Season 2
Masaba Masaba Season 2
She Season 2
Jamtara Sabka Number Aayega Season 2
Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives Season 2
Kapil Sharma: I'm Not Done Yet
India's favourite Kapil Sharma will make his Netflix debut with his comedy special.
