Indian Content Surge: Multiple Titles Storm Netflix Global Rankings as Streaming Giants Compete for Viewership

The streaming landscape witnessed a remarkable surge this week as Indian productions dominated Netflix’s international charts. In the week ending November 16, a total of five Indian titles—comprising three Hindi films, one Tamil production, and a hit web series—claimed spots on Netflix’s global top ten non-English content list, underscoring the growing appeal of regional Indian entertainment on the world stage.

The Week’s Top Performers: A Breakdown of India’s Netflix Dominance

The competition among this week’s new releases and returning favorites was fierce. Baramulla, the investigative thriller that debuted just a week prior, surged to the number two position among non-English films globally, logging 4.3 million views and 8.6 million cumulative watch-hours. Only Denmark’s Mango managed to outpace the Hindi drama on the global leaderboard.

Simultaneously, three other Indian releases made their streaming debuts this week following theatrical windows. Jolly LLB 3, the courtroom comedy that concluded its cinema run before transitioning to Netflix on November 14, immediately captured the fourth spot globally for non-English films. Within just 72 hours, it accumulated 2.7 million views and 7 million watch-hours. The Emmy-award-winning crime series Delhi Crime returned for its third installment on November 13, claiming the ninth position among non-English web shows globally with 2.3 million views and 11.1 million watch-hours in its opening week.

Rounding out the quintet were two additional theatrical-to-streaming transitions: the Tamil romantic comedy Dude and the Hindi black comedy thriller Ek Chatur Naar, which secured the fifth and seventh positions respectively among non-English content on the platform.

Regional Powerhouses: Hindi Films Lead the Charge

The Hindi film industry’s footprint extended far beyond the global rankings. Baramulla demonstrated particular strength across geographic markets, ranking among the top ten most-watched films in 16 countries worldwide. The film, helmed by director Aditya Suhas Jambhale (known for Article 370), explores the experiences of Kashmiri Pandits through rare narrative techniques and features Manav Kaul in the lead role as an investigative officer navigating a missing-children case in Kashmir.

Jolly LLB 3, meanwhile, claimed the second-most-watched Indian film globally on Netflix for the week, while also topping the all-language rankings in India and Pakistan combined. Written and directed by Subhash Kapoor, the franchise continuation brought together returning stars Arshad Warsi and Akshay Kumar alongside supporting cast members Saurabh Shukla, Boman Irani, and Amrita Rao. The film’s three-day performance positioned it as the second-most-watched title across all languages on any Indian streaming platform for the week, accumulating 2.2 million domestic views.

The Tamil entry Dude, featuring Mamitha Baiju and Pradeep Ranganathan, carved its own path by reaching the top ten all-language rankings in ten separate countries despite launching just three days prior. Directed by Keerthiswaran and produced by Mythri Movie Makers, the romantic comedy garnered 2.4 million views and 5.4 million watch-hours in that abbreviated window.

Ek Chatur Naar, the Neil Nitin Mukesh and Divya Khosla Kumar vehicle, registered 2 million views and 4.3 million watch-hours to secure its global seventh-place finish. The film, directed by Umesh Shukla and spanning twelve countries’ top-ten lists, represents another successful theatrical-to-digital transition.

Web Series Champion: Delhi Crime Returns with Authority

The return of Delhi Crime marked another significant milestone for Indian streaming content. Spearheaded by returning lead Shefali Shah reprising her role as DCP Vartika Chaturvedi, the third season introduced four franchise newcomers—Mita Vashisht, Huma Qureshi, Anshumaan Pushkar, and Sayani Gupta—while welcoming back Rasika Dugal, Rajesh Tailang, and Denzil Smith. Under showrunner Tanuj Chopra’s stewardship, the crime thriller claimed the most-watched web show position across all languages in ten countries spanning the Indian subcontinent and the Gulf region (India, Maldives, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Oman, Qatar, UAE, Pakistan, and Mauritius).

Domestically, Delhi Crime Season 3 ranked as India’s second-most-watched fictional web series for the week with 3.3 million views, trailing only Maharani 4, which topped India’s web series rankings with 3.5 million domestic views.

Sustained Success: Earlier Releases Maintain Momentum

Beyond this week’s new entrants, several Indian productions continued to command viewer attention. Maharani 4, the Sony LIV political drama created by Subhash Kapoor and now in its fourth season, climbed to the number-one position among web shows across all Indian streaming platforms following its November 7 premiere. The fictional yet topically-inspired narrative surrounding Bihar’s regional politics attracted audiences with an ensemble cast including Vipin Sharma, Amit Sial, Kani Kasruti, and Vineet Kumar.

The Kannada-language action film Kantara Chapter 1, currently available on Prime Video since its October 31 debut, maintained its dominance as India’s most-watched theatrical-to-digital release across all platforms. Rishab Shetty’s directorial captured 3.3 million domestic views for the second consecutive week, reflecting sustained audience appetite for regional-language productions.

The Malayalam superhero comedy Lokah Chapter 1 Chandra, despite sliding from first place in its debut week to the third position by this week’s report, still commanded 2.7 million views across Indian streaming services, signaling the enduring appeal of female-led action narratives in regional cinema.

What This Means for Global Streaming and India’s Content Strategy

The convergence of multiple Indian titles on Netflix’s global rankings represents more than a momentary spike—it reflects a fundamental shift in how regional content resonates internationally. The velocity of audience engagement (particularly films breaking into global top-ten positions within 72 hours of debut) suggests that Netflix’s strategy of rapid theatrical-to-digital transitions for Indian blockbusters is successfully capturing momentum from cinema audiences while simultaneously building international viewership. The breadth of geographic reach across multiple language films—from Hindi to Tamil to Malayalam to Kannada—demonstrates that Indian content’s appeal transcends linguistic boundaries when backed by quality production values and strategic platform placement.