Pictured: Naai Sekar Returns, Kaapa, Mister Mummy
After back-to-back frantic months with dozens of additions to the Indian catalog, we’re starting the new year at a more typical pace. Besides catching up on a bunch of 2022 theatrical releases, Netflix debuted two new Original Indian movies and one new series: the true-life drama Trial By Fire.
Here are all the new Indian movies and series added to Netflix in January 2023.
N = Netflix Original
New Indian Movies on Netflix: January 2023
Naai Sekar Returns (2022)
Language: Tamil
Runtime: 139 Minutes
Director: Suraaj
Cast: Vadivelu, Anandraj, Rao Ramesh
Genre: Comedy | Added to Netflix: January 5
Naai Sekar Returns is a spin-off of the 2006 film Thalai Nagaram, with comic actor Vadivelu reprising his wannabe criminal character Naai Sekar. In the new film, he’s finally become a crook, kidnapping dogs and extorting money from their wealthy owners. When Naai Sekar is wounded while stealing a gangster’s pooch, he gets a lead on his missing enchanted hound.
Mumbai Mafia: Police vs The Underworld (2023) N
Language: English & more
Runtime: 87 Minutes
Director: Francis Longhurst, Raaghav Dar
Genre: Documentary, Crime | Added to Netflix: January 6
With organized crime and terrorism on the rise in India in the 1990s, a police squad of “encounter” specialists was given free rein to assassinate gangsters, no questions asked. Some agents single-handedly killed dozens of suspected mobsters, with little to no oversight from the courts. This documentary explains the rise of those encounter cops. Besides the original English version (which contains some subtitled dialogue), dubbed versions in a dozen languages can be found in the film’s audio menu.
Thai Massage (2022)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 120 Minutes
Director: Mangesh Hadawale
Cast: Gajraj Rao, Divyendu Sharma, Sunny Hinduja
Genre: Comedy | Added to Netflix: January 6
After decades as a widower, 70-year-old Dubey (played by early-50-something Gajraj Rao) decides that he’d like to have sex once more before he dies — but there’s no way he can accomplish his goal with so many nosy neighbors and family members around. A young friend comes up with the perfect solution: a trip to Thailand.
Mister Mummy (2022)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 97 Minutes
Director: Shaad Ali
Cast: Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia D’Souza, Mahesh Manjrekar
Genre: Comedy | Added to Netflix: January 13
Real-life married couple Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza play a married couple who can’t agree on whether to have kids in the comedy Mister Mummy. Their relationship hits a rocky patch when wife Gugloo becomes pregnant, only for husband Amol to discover he’s magically gotten pregnant, too.
Chhota Bheem aur Chand Pari ki Dastaan (2021)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 65 Minutes
Genre: Kids, Animation | Added to Netflix: January 14
Just as the Moon Fairy is about to bestow the gifts of youth, wealth, and immortality on Bheem and his friends, the presents are stolen by a greedy old king. Once again, it’s up to the little superhero and his buddies to save the day.
Varalaru Mukkiyam (2022)
Languages: Tamil & Hindi
Runtime: 145 Minutes
Director: Santhosh Rajan
Cast: Jiiva, Kashmira Pardeshi, Pragya Nagra
Genre: Romantic Comedy | Added to Netflix: January 14
Karthik spends his time chasing fame and women until a gorgeous young lady moves into his neighborhood — but there’s someone else who has her eye on Karthik. A Hindi-dubbed version of Varalaru Mukkiyam is available in the film’s audio menu.
Kaapa (2022)
Language: Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, & Telugu
Runtime: 133 Minutes
Director: Shaji Kailas
Cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Asif Ali, Dileesh Pothan
Genre: Action, Thriller | Added to Netflix: January 19
Shortly after moving to a town with a long history of gang warfare, a trusting husband finds his pregnant wife’s name on a list of wanted criminals. He moves his wife to safety while he tries to clear her name, only to learn that her past is more complicated than she let on. Dubbed versions in Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu can be selected in the movie’s audio menu.
Mission Majnu (2023) N
Language: Hindi, English, Tamil, & Telugu
Runtime: 129 Minutes
Director: Shantanu Bagchi
Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Rashmika Mandanna, Kumud Mishra
Genre: Spy Thriller, Period Piece | Added to Netflix: January 20
In the 1970s, Indian spy Amandeep lives undercover in Pakistan, working as a tailor and expecting a child with his wife, Nasreen. When the Pakistani military starts developing a nuclear weapon, the race is on to expose the operation to the world — but fulfilling his duty to India puts Amandeep’s new family at risk. Mission Majnu has a great setup, but the execution is lackluster. English, Tamil, and Telugu dubbed versions are available in the audio menu.
Dhamaka (2022)
Language: Telugu
Runtime: 136 Minutes
Director: Trinadha Rao Nakkina
Cast: Ravi Teja, Sreeleela, Jayaram
Genre: Action, Comedy | Added to Netflix: January 21
The Telugu film Dhamaka — not to be confused with the 2021 Netflix Original Hindi film of the same name — stars Ravi Teja as a pair of doppelgängers who love the same woman. One man is a street-wise hustler, the other the son of a wealthy CEO. How’s a girl supposed to choose?
Black Sunshine Baby (2022)
Language: English
Runtime: 85 Minutes
Director: Nilesh Maniyar
Genre: Documentary | Added to Netflix: January 23
The life of teenage author and motivational speaker Aisha Chaudhary — who died of pulmonary fibrosis at age 18 — inspired the 2019 Hindi fiction film The Sky Is Pink, currently streaming on Netflix. Black Sunshine Baby is a nonfiction followup that features home video footage provided by Aisha’s family and excerpts from some of her public speaking appearances.
18 Pages (2022)
Language: Telugu
Runtime: 137 Minutes
Director: Palnati Surya Pratap
Cast: Nikhil Siddharth, Anupama Parameswaran, Ajay
Genre: Romantic Drama | Added to Netflix: January 26
A brokenhearted man finds a diary in the road and falls in love with the woman who wrote it. Upon learning that the author is likely deceased, he sets out to finish all the tasks she meant to accomplish in her life.
An Action Hero (2022)
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 128 Minutes
Director: Anirudh Iyer, Neeraj Yadav
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Jaideep Ahlawat, Neeraj Madhav
Genre: Action | Added to Netflix: January 26
Life imitates art when a popular action star accidentally kills a shady politician and is forced to go on the run. Besides providing plenty of thrills, An Action Hero explores the current wave of Bollywood boycotts and the differences between on- and off-screen reality.
Raangi (2022)
Language: Tamil & Telugu
Runtime: 121 Minutes
Director: M. Saravanan
Cast: Trisha Krishnan, Anaswara Rajan
Genre: Action, Thriller | Added to Netflix: January 28
Raangi (“A Headstrong Woman“) stars Trisha Krishnan as Thaiyal, a tenacious reporter who stumbles upon a scoop that falsely connects her teenage niece to terrorists in Tunisia. But getting to the bottom of the story puts Thaiyal and her family in danger. A Telugu-dubbed dialogue track is available in the audio menu.
New Indian Series on Netflix: January 2023
Trial By Fire (2023) N
Language: Hindi & more
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 7
Cast: Abhay Deol, Rajshri Deshpande, Ashish Vidyarthi
Genre: Courtroom Drama | Added to Netflix: January 13
Based on a nonfiction book of the same name, the series Trial By Fire follows two grieving parents on a quest for justice after their teens die in a fire at a movie theater in South Delhi in 1997. Dubbed dialogue options in English, Tamil, Telugu, and more are available in the show’s audio menu.
Which of the newly added Indian movies and series will you be watching? Let us know in the comments below!