Undoubtedly,Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story has emerged as the top Indian web series of 2020 according to IMDb ratings. The list was released this week.
© SonyLIV
The year 2020 has definitely changed the game for OTT platforms in a massive way. Also if we look closely, crime-drama was the flavour of the season, but this time around, we also saw different genres being explored in the OTT space, giving the audiences a dynamic range of shows to binge-watch.
Scam 1992, the most popular of all as per the ratings, is followed by Panchayat, Special OPS, Bandish Bandits, Mirzapur, Asur: Welcome To Your Dark Side, Paatal Lok, High, Abhay and Aarya. The year-end list is determined by IMDb user ratings, which is determined by users who rate films and TV shows on a 10-point scale.
Among the Indian web series streaming in 2020, these 10 shows had the highest IMDb user ratings, utilizing the same criteria as the popular IMDb Top Rated charts (as of December 1, 2020).
For the unversed, IMDb ratings are determined by users who rank movies and TV shows on a 10-point scale. To rate a title, users can click the 'Rate This' star on any movie or TV show title page on IMDb. IMDb users can add these and other titles to their IMDb Watchlist.
As 2020 has almost come to a close, here’s looking back at the top 10 Indian web series that kept us sane this year:
Table of Contents
Scam 1992 (SonyLIV)
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta's series Scam 1992 narrates the story of one of the biggest financial scams in the Indian stock market. The financial thriller is based on Debashis Basu and Sucheta Dalal's book The Scam: Who Won, Who Lost, Who Got Away. Pratik Gandhi is seen in the role of Harshad Mehta, the scam-tainted broker who was known as the Big Bull. A must-watch show.
Panchayat (Amazon Prime Video)
This TVF series starring Jeetendra Kumar has a simple premise, and its simplicity turned out to be its USP. The show’s uncomplicated nature introduced us to characters who were extremely likeable. The best part about Panchayat was its strong casting supported by Raghubir Yadav, Neena Gupta and Chandan Roy. The show was released during the lockdown and its content left the audience feeling a little warm and fuzzy. Your thoughts?
Special Ops (Disney+ Hotstar)
Created by Neeraj Pandey, Special Ops started in a promising manner and largely stuck to the promise. Kay Kay Menon fit right into Himmat’s part and was easily the show-stealer here (no second thoughts).
Bandish Bandits (Amazon Prime Video)
Even though this season’s flavour was crime-drama, Bandish Bandits took the audience by utter surprise. It only took a couple of episodes to get enthralled by the world of classical music that this series created. While the music was a significant pillar of this show, Bandish Bandits stood strong on the shoulders of its story. Sheeba Chadha, Rajesh Tailang, Atul Kulkarni and Naseeruddin Shah were a treat to watch in this Amritpal Singh Bindra and Anand Tiwari series. Not only that, but Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s out-of-the-world music added the much-needed essence to the show.
Mirzapur Season 2
As expected, the world of Mirzapur in season 2 was bloodier than season 1. The raw, intense and gritty show became the most-watched show in India within just 7 days of the release. The Prime Video crime series set in Uttar Pradesh stars Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Divyenndu Sharma , Shweta Tripathi, Rasika Dugal, and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. Besides, Vijay Varma, Isha Talwar, Amit Sial, and Anjum Sharma also were a treat to watch.
Asur (Voot)
Asur, which combined the genres of mythological fiction and thriller, revelled in its larger-than-life theories, but its grandness wasn’t communicated well enough. Asur also faltered when it came to tying up loose ends by the end of the season.
Paatal Lok (Amazon Prime Video)
This Jaideep Ahlawat-led series is another crime drama on the list. Paatal Lok definitely deserves a spot here. Loosely based on Tarun Tejpal's 2010 novel The Story of My Assassins, the series is about a disillusioned cop who lands the case of an assassination attempt gone wrong.
High (MX Original Series)
In this edge-of-the-seat drama, Shiv Mathur is an addict and eventually finds himself in a rehab facility. The rehab is run by people who are working on a mysterious compound. This magical pill seems to have an edge above all; but is this miracle drug worth dying for?
Abhay (ZEE5)
Based on real life crime stories, ZEE5 Original Abhay marks the digital debut of actor Kunal Kemmu. In this crime thriller, he plays the role of an investigative officer who juggles between dealing with his own personal life demons and solving puzzling murder mysteries.
Aarya (Disney+ Hotstar)
This Sushmita Sen-led series definitely stood out this year. Soon after the first episode began, it was obvious that Aarya was going to be a binge-worthy ride and it proved to be so with every episode that rolled out after. Sushmita Sen’s captivating screen presence definitely added to the popularity of the show.
"Worldwide interest in Indian streaming series hit an all-time high this year," said Col Needham, IMDb Founder and CEO. "In fact, our #1 user-rated Indian web series of this year, Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, has been so popular that it landed a top spot on the IMDb list of the Top 250 TV Series of all-time," Needham added.
Which was your favourite show this year?
(With inputs from IANS)
