The first week of the new year zipped past as swiftly as all our hyped up New Year’s resolutions did. However, one thing that remained consistent was India’s obsession with movies. The first week of January – 1st to 7th – sees six new entrants in the top 10 most watched movies on Netflix.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the ones that set the trend at the start of the year:
10. Beast (English) – New Entrant
9. Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video (Hindi) – 3rd Week in the Top 10
8. Exodus: Gods and Kings (English) – New Entrant
7. Conjuring Kannapan (Tamil) – New Entrant
6. Hi Papa (Hindi) – New Entrant
5. Shastry Virudh Shastry
Paresh Rawal stars in this family drama centred around a battle between family and career. It’s Netflix debut puts it straight into the Top 5 in the first week.
Summary: 7-year-old Yaman Shastry lives in his grandparents’ care with his parents visiting him on weekends. An emotional legal battle over his guardianship ensues between Yaman’s grandfather and father when the latter gets a chance to settle in the US.
Duration: 2 hours 19 minutes
Genre: Drama
Language: Hindi
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
Cast: Paresh Rawal, Nina Kulkarni, Shiv Panditt
4. Three of Us
Avinash Arun’s second solo directorial movie (first since 2014) enters the Top 5 in the first week itself.
Summary: A delicately balanced movie that dabbles between love, loss, healing, and liberation. Shefali Shah plays the protagonist, a woman with early-onset dementia, who visits her hometown with her husband and encounters a former love which reignites past memories and sets her on an unexpected path.
Duration: 1 hour 39 minutes
Genre: Drama
Language: Hindi
IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
Cast: Shefali Shah, Jaideep Ahlawat, Swanand Kirkire
3. Curry & Cyanide – The Jolly Joseph Case
This true-crime documentary enters its third week in the third position, highlighting the love it is receiving from the audience.
Summary: The real life case of Jolly Joseph, a lady suspected of planning the cyanide poisoning of six family members over more than ten years, including a two-year-old kid.
Duration: 1 hour 35 minutes
Genre: Documentary
Language: Malayalam
IMDb Rating: 6.7/10
Cast: B.A. Aloor, C.S. Chandrika, Nikhila Henry
2. Kho Gaye Hum Kahan
Second week running in the Top 3 for this refreshing original from Netflix.
Summary: A story between three best friends in their 20s that struggle with adulting and their personal lives in this addictive social media age. Ananya Pandey as Ahana puts her best foot forward in this digital release, which would be very relatable for every youngster out there.
Duration: 2 hours 15 minutes
Genre: Drama
Language: Hindi
IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
Cast: Adarsh Gourav, Ananya Panday, Siddhant Chaturvedi
1. Hi Nanna
The Telugu movie debuts at the top in its first week with the Hindi version (Hi Papa) at the 10th spot.
Summary: A 6-year-old with cystic fibrosis recruits the help of an enigmatic new friend to convince her single dad to tell her about her mother.
Duration: 2 hours 35 minutes
Genre: Drama
Language: Hindi
IMDb Rating: 8.3/10
Cast: Nani, Mrunal Thakur, Kiara Khanna