Three Indian Films Rank Among Netflix Global Top 10

A total of three Indian films – two Hindi and one Tamil – have made it to the latest weekly list of most-watched non-English films on Netflix. Ajay Devgn’s Raid 2 ranked on the list for the third consecutive week and Kamal Haasan’s Thug Life made it for the second week in a row. Netflix India original Aap Jaisa Koi made its debut on the list this week.

Netflix Global Top 10: Raid 2, Thug Life, Aap Jaisa Koi rank high

Netflix India original Aap Jaisa Koi released online on July 11 and made its debut on the weekly list in just a matter of days. On the other hand, Raid 2 and Thug Life continue to charm audiences worldwide weeks after their digital premiere.

Netflix Global Top 10: Raid 2

Raid 2 – Justice Has No Expiry Date registered 1.8 million views and 4 million watch-hours in its third week on Netflix. For the week ending July 13, the film ranked at sixth position among most-watched non-English films worldwide on Netflix. It also ranked among the most-watched films on Netflix for the week in eight countries including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Malaysia, Oman, Mauritius. Raid 2 was the most watched movie on Netflix for the week in Pakistan.

For the past two weeks, ever since its digital debut on June 26, Raid 2 was the most-watched non-English film on Netflix. Last week, it was the most-watched film in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In its debut week, the political thriller ranked on top of the list of most-watched movies on Netflix in nine countries including Mauritius, Bangladesh, Bahrain, India, Maldives, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.

Directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, Raid 2 hit theatres on May 1 to positive responses. After retaining the position of most-watched film online in India for two weeks, Raid 2 slid to the second position in its third week. Thug Life toppled Raid 2 this week on the list.

Netflix Global Top 10: Thug Life

Headlined by Kamal Haasan, Thug Life recorded 2 million views and 5.5 million watch-hours in its second week on Netflix, making it as the fifth most-watched non-English film on the platform for the week ending July 13. Directed by Mani Ratnam, the film was also among the top ten most-watched films in ten countries.

In its debut week, Thug Life was the second most-watched non-English film on Netflix worldwide. It had a digital premiere on July 3 and was the third most-watched film online in India that week. In the week ending July 13, the Tamil film is the most-watched movie on any digital platform in India.

Co-written by director Ratnam and lead star Haasan, Thug Life tells the story of a mafia don. Haasan features along with Ali Fazal, Nassar, Trisha, Ashok Selvan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, and Joju George. The film released on June 5 to an underwhelming box office response and mostly mixed reviews.

Netflix Global Top 10: Aap Jaisa Koi

Clocking 3.4 million views and 6.5 million watch hours in just three days, Aap Jaisa Koi is the fourth most-watched non-English film on Netflix worldwide. It is also the top most-watched film in India and Bangladesh. It also ranked among the top 10 most-watched films in ten countries across the world on the platform.

Headlined by R Madhavan and Fatima Sana Shaikh, Aap Jaisa Koi is a Netflix India original which explores a love story between people who are not-so young. The film has been directed by Vivek Soni (Meenakshi Sundareshwar). It is backed by an interesting cast which includes Namit Das, Ayesha Raza, Manish Chaudhari.

The film explores the diverse cultures and backdrops of Jamshedpur and Kolkata – two very different cities in India and how women need to claim their agency even in romantic narratives. Aap Jaisa Koi touches upon several aspects of the patriarchal setup and how it affects the lives of men and women. It also showcases the token progressiveness often seen in rich families. The daughter is ‘allowed’ to study and work a job but is expected to do so while remembering her core strength lies in holding the family together through sacrifices and daily household chores. It is fine for a grown-up man to seek sexual favors outside of traditional setups, but same is not acceptable for a woman.

Aap Jaisa Koi handles the issues that it raises with maturity and sensitivity but does not quite land the warmth and passions of a romantic film. While it is not a film about quintessential college-romance, it still is a love story. Unlike late Indian star Irrfan Khan’s Qarib Qarib Singlle, Aap Jaisa Koi does not offer the gravity and warmth of a mature love story.