Summary- Check out this list of international TV shows that have received a Hindi makeover on Netflix. These adaptations keep the original story but add a unique twist. Continue reading to discover which series inspired these Hindi versions.
Remakes rule in a time when viewers want new stories yet enjoy old-fashioned ones. While all remakes aren’t born equal, and many are of dubious quality, the best attempt to translate the language but go as far as changing entire universes to have a local sense of culture, characters, and context. Streaming titans like Netflix have jumped onto this, funding Hindi translations of hit global shows. And what has emerged? Some downright riveting programming that has that homegrown feel, even if its origin lies elsewhere. The following are five global shows remade in Hindi that can be watched currently on Netflix—each reborn with its Indian identity.
5. Class
Three scholarship students from Delhi’s working-class neighbourhoods enter a posh private school. After joining, what follows is a storm of secrets, sex, betrayal, and class conflict. Class borrows its base story from the Spanish hit Elite, but it adds layers of Indian socio-political tension. Where Elite highlighted European teen excess, Class infuses the series with gritty real-world concerns such as caste, corruption, and privilege. The show eschews no themes or graphic content, thereby emerging as one of Netflix India’s most audacious teen dramas. The reference? Elite is sleek and stylised, but Class hits closer to home in an Indian environment. It’s brash, pertinent, and a very real animal unto itself.
4. Call My Agent: Bollywood
This is one of those hindi shows on Netflix, where drama and comedy go hand in hand, keeping you addicted from start to finish. Based on the French hit Call My Agent!, The series follows a talent agency in Mumbai, juggling with temperamental stars, chaotic customers and the daily madness of Showbiz. While the original focused on Parisian glamor, the Hindi version trims things with local mood, Bollywood-style eccentricities and exclusive Indian office politics. It is witty and offers a lot of behind-the-scenes fun that makes it appear familiar and fresh to Indian viewers.
3. Rana Naidu
Rana Naidu is the man whom politicians and celebrities call when they’re in trouble. He’s a fixer of other people’s problems, no matter how strange it might be. But when his estranged father comes out of prison, the true tension begins. Unlike its US parent Ray Donovan, which was based in Los Angeles, the Hindi adaptation transports us into the Mumbai underworld. The show holds nothing back when it comes to exploring different themes. This series is a bold reimagining that hits even harder in an Indian setting. Well-received by the Indian audience, this is easily one of the best hindi shows on netflix. Its success is not merely based on the plot, but it is a combination of good acting, the right direction, and all the exceptional performances.
2. The Archies
Zoya Akhtar‘s The Archies reinvents the legendary American comic-book characters. Set in the era of 1960s India. The film tracks Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Jughead Jones, and Reggie Mantle as they go through friendship, first love, rebellion, and activism. As opposed to the dark, contemporary Riverdale series in the U.S, which incidentally is an adaptation of the comic titled Archie., The Archies opt for a gentler, nostalgic approach. With its Anglo-Indian retro look, vinyl records, and old-style cafes, the film is less a gritty adaptation and more of a cultural mashup of the comics.
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1. Guns & Gulaabs
These series are not directly related, but Guns and Gulaabs shares a very close vibe to the American series Fargo, created by Noah Hawley. Both the series consist of dark comedy and crime thriller. What makes both the stories related is the plot, how the story revolves around a character and then chaos fills the entire narration. The hit American show won many awards and was nominated for nearly 70 times. The Indian version brings the same energy on the screen but with a more familiar sense of humour. The actors in this series have done a commendable job which contributed majorly for its success.
Final thoughts
What is remarkable about these hindi shows on netflix is the way they localise the core without losing the soul. The Indian audience needs its humour with a grain of extra drama, which these series deliver. Whenever a show is adapted for an audience for a particular region, the creators heavily focus on the localization, which makes the show more interesting. Surely, one can watch the dubbed version on the internet, but the desi feeling will only be there when the audience can truly resonate with the actor who is delivering the acting. So, if you are surfing on Netflix for Hindi dubbed movies for the top international series, skip those for once and go for these hindi shows on netflix instead. You might just discover that the Indian adaptation packs a punch.
Written by Kenbi Riba
