12 Web Shows to Watch on India’s MX Player

The MX Player is becoming a popular over-the-top (OTT) streaming service in India, especially with its original web shows.

After moving into the OTT market in February 2019, the online platform has produced many hit web series.

The web shows cater to Hindi, Marathi and Tamil speaking audiences in India and across the globe.

The original programmes made by MX fall under many different genres, including romantic, comedy, history and fantasy.

From Ramya Krishan to Shaadi Ali, many top stars and directors are heading these web shows.

Here are 12 commendable web shows on the MX Player that you should not miss:

I’m Mature (2019)

I’m Mature is a coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama web series about school friends.

The web show reflects the initial adventures in the life of a young man. Sixteen-year-old Dhruv Sharma (Omar Kulkarni) grows up quickly.

He goes out in pursuit of his first crush, Chhavi Upadhyay (Rashmi Agdekar), an energetic, too hot for him class achiever.

Dhruv has the support of his friends, including the aspiring rebellious Kabir Bhuller (Chinamay Chandraunshush) and the not knowing colour blind Master Susu (Visshesh Tiwari).

Exploring beyond their childhood, the three of them, drink for the first time, have their maiden fight and patch up their original broken heart. The web series also comes to a climax with a loving line:

“Pehla Pyaar Saath Rahe Ya Na Rahe, Yaad Hamesha Rehta Hai.” [Whether the first love remains with you not, it always stays with you.]

This web show will take many back to their school and college days. Season one, comprising of five episodes was made available from February 18, 2019.

Aafat (2019)

Aafat is a quirky family comedy bride hunting drama, breaking stereotypes and preconceived ideas.

The series is about Ricky Malhotra (Sidharth Bhardwaj, a young mummy’s boy looking for the “perfect bride.”

Through an arranged marriage and a hilarious scenario, he is introduced to five potential candidates.

His prospects include the unshaven Ayesha Puru (Anshul Chauhan), the bald Anu Chhabra (Neelam Sivia), the rude Faiza Chopra (Chitrashi Rawat), the overweight Aditi Manchanda (Pushtii Shakti) and the divorcee Titli Jain (Nikita Dutta).

Watch the series to find out who ultimately becomes the “perfect bride.” Ranking the web show as one of the best on the MX player, Indian web series portal Pakaoo states:

“The plot is well written with good humour and a great message, very subtly delivered with comic light-heartedness.

“Every actor has given their best to their respective roles.”

Aafat also covers other themes such as body shaming and social hypocrisy. Releasing on February 18, 2019, Aafat is a six-episode Hindi web series. Each episode has a running time between 22-23 minutes.

Hey Prabhu! (2019)

Hey Prabhu! is a comedy-drama web series, primarily focusing on Indian millennials. The web show revolves around the incredible story of Tarun Prabhu (Rajat Barmecha), a common man.

The series also stars Parul Gulati (Arunima), Sheeba Chaddha (Prabhu’s mum), Achint Kaur (Mita) and Rituraj Singh(Prabhu’s father).

The series represents the issues that young people face both from a professional and personal perspective.

Watch this Hindi series to see if Tarun succeeds or buckles under pressure. Speaking about his character and the series, Rajat says:

“Tarun is the antithesis of the quintessential Sharma ji ka ladka.

“On the work front, he excels with the understanding of social media and delivers above expectation but on the personal front, he doesn’t seem able to deal with the mess his life is in.

“He is a millennial who has issues that many may deem unnecessary but are very real to him. I hope the audiences enjoy the series as much as we enjoyed making it.”

The show is helmed by Shashanka Ghosh, the director of Veere Di Wedding (2018). Six episodes of season one premiered via the MX player on February 18, 2019. The Hindi original web show is also watchable in Tamil.

Thinkistan (2019)

Thinkistan is an MX original drama web show, reflecting the 90s period. The series shows how the lives of individuals employed at an advertising agency become complicated while they drive forward and seek power.

The series specifically looks at the comparatively different lives of two copywriters.

The English-speaking Mumbai lad Hema (Shravvan Reddy) is privileged. Whereas the Hindi-speaking Amit (Naveen Kasturia) from Bhopal struggles in life.

Vasuki playing Sneha also has a lead role in this web show. Mandira Bedi portraying the character of Anushka is the big name in this series.

Reviewing for IWM Buzz, Rashmi Paharia sums up the series writing:

“A long hard compelling look at the glitzy ad world, propped by a terrific ensemble cast.”

Padkumar Narasimhamurthy of A Billion Colour Story (2016) fame is the director of the series.

Thinkistan has a mammoth twenty-three episodes as part of season one. Each episode has a running time of approximately twenty-five minutes. This Hindi web show made its way to the MX player on May 23, 2019.

Only For Singles (2019)

Only For Singles is a Mumbai-based comedy-drama web show, targeting the younger generation.

The series focuses on the struggles of six young single individuals who chase their dreams in the Maharashtran capital.

It becomes a rollercoaster ride for all six when they end up sharing a flat together.

The show features Vivaan Shah (Mickey), Pooja Banerjee (Appu), Aman Uppal, (Riyaz) Deepti Sati (Ranjeeta RJ), Shirin Sewani (Rapchik Rani) and Gulshan Nain (Harman).

Samar Iqbal who has worked in the art department for many Bollywood films is the director of the series.

The Digital Mash defines the wow factor when reviewing the millennial world series:

“This is a series with a young vibe and will cater to a young audience. The best thing about the series is that it tackles all the problems that millennials face.

“[This is] right from not getting a house on rent to not being taken seriously by parents – in a simple, light screenplay. The writer, Chirag Mahabal, conjures up a quick story that’s as light as they come.”

The thirteen-part season one of the Hindi web show had an MX player premier on June 27, 2019.

Hello Mini (2019)

Hello Mini is an erotic-thriller drama, with romance, crime and terror being the key themes of it.

The web show revolves around an independent girl, Rivanah Bannerjee (Anuja Joshi) who resides by herself in Mumbai.

Rivanah has a great life, loving parents and a caring beau. However, the life of Rivanah is under threat. Someone is stalking and following every move of Rivanah, wanting to overpower her life.

Initially, Rivanah thinks she has a hidden fan. Watch this series to find out who is the person following her.

Prateek Basotia (Arjun Aneja), Ishita (Priya Banerjee), Aditya Grover (Gaurav Chopra) are the lead characters in this web show.

Describing it as a “Nice thriller”, an IMDb user highlights the mystery element writing:

“It will keep you guessing again and again. Who can be the stalker. But you will be surprised.”

Releasing on September 30, 2019, season one of Hello Mini has fifteen episodes.

Shaadi Fit (2019)

Shaadi Fit is a pre-marriage web talk show, which finishes on marriage. The series is the rollercoaster journey of four young couples to become fit for marriage.

There are many tasks and challenges that the couples undergo through the course of the series.

The main lead anchors of this series include Mandira Bedi and Neeraj Gaba to mention a few.

The series is very educating, particularly to those preparing for their wedding. But it also reinforces the importance of having a successful marriage.

Mandira relates to Shaadi Fit on a personal level, along with sharing her thoughts about the show:

“This show is very close to me, personally. Marriage, of course requires love but family, friends, mental and physical compatibility matter as well.

“‘Shaadi Fit’ not only tests couples’ compatibility but also gives them a reality check for their D day in every way possible.”

The Hindi web show is exciting, emotional and full of surprises. Season one consisting of eleven episodes released on November 14, 2019.

Cheesecake (2019)

Cheesecake is a family rom-com web show about a wonderful gun dog who helps an unsettled couple.

Happiness knocks the door of Neel (Jitendra Kumar) and Sameera (Akanksha Thakur) when a golden retriever accidentally turns up at their house one day.

The flurry stranger of Neel and Sameera then works his magic on their dull marriage.

The unconditional love of the uninvited guest becomes a source of happiness, bringing the couple closer together.

Kumar Varun also has a vital role in the series, playing the character of Shikhar. Mahesh Manjrekar has a small, yet impactful role as Mirza. An IMDb user describes the series as ‘Absolutely Amazing’ and reviews posting:

“This show depicts how much a pet can change the way you see life.”

“The level of happiness and togetherness it brings to our life is truly unbelievable. Great performances and amazing writing makes this show a must watch.”

Cheesecake is a quick watch, with only five episodes in season one. The Hindi web show was released on November 28, 2019.

Cheesecake is a treat for all pet lovers, especially those very close to a dog.

Queen (2019)

Queen is a historical biopic web series exclusively on the MX Player. The web show is an adaptation from the namesake novel by Anita Sivakumaran.

Queen will somewhat remind viewers about the life of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalitha (late).

The web show follows the story and growth of Shakhti Sheshadri (Anikja Surendran/Ramya Krishnan).

The series commences by showing the early days of Shakhti and why she decides to enter the cinematic world.

Besides learning cinema, she also develops a relationship with GMR (Indrajith Sukumaran), leading to her entry into politics. Shakhti does not have a happy ending, despite being fate’s selected child.

Actress and TV host, Simi Garewal was initially offered to play the lead role but refused. Actress Ramya put out a tweet, explaining what attracted her to the main character:

“Some characters compel you to take on the challenge and being Shakthi Seshadri was one of them.

“Be it her discipline, her will to defy the norm or her innocence in the hard world she lived in was something that appealed to me…..”

The eleven-part series of season one came out on December 13, 2019. Whilst the original was in Tamil-English, there are Hindi, Telugu and Bengali dubbed versions.

Pawan & Pooja (2020)

Pawan & Pooja is a romantic drama web series, with plenty of lovely emotions.

The series presents three different love stories, all with the first names of Pawan and Pooja. The show explores a darker side of love, which is conditional, fragile and debatable.

The series has a big cast line up. Mahesh Manjrekar (Pawan Kalra) and Deepti Naval (Pooja Kalra) play the veteran title characters.

Sharman Joshi (Pawan Mehra), Gul Panag (Pooja Mehra), Taaruk Raina (Pawan Shrivastav) and Natasha Bharadwaj (Pooja Maheshwari) are the other experienced stars in this show.

Shaad Ali, famous for films like Saathiya (2002) and Bunty Aur Babli (2005) takes the director’s chair with Ajay Bhuyan.

The writer-producer of the series, Siddharth P Malhotra believes Mahesh and Deepti have fully justified their roles:

“They have understood the emotions and not treated Pawan and Pooja like mere characters in a show. “

“I didn’t have to tell them much about the script or the characters. In fact, my generation will relate to such couples as we have seen the sacrifices our parents made for us.”

This is a must-watch series with your all-important other half on Valentine’s Day. Coming out on February 13, 2020, season one has ten episodes.

Ek Thi Begum (2020)

Ek Thi Begum is a thriller-action and crime drama web show set in the 80s.

The web series takes inspiration from true events, telling the revenge story of Ashraf Bhatkar (Anuja Sathe), also familiar as Sapna.

The attractive Sapna is the adoring wife of Zaheer Bhatkar (Ankit Mohan). Zaheer is the arch-rival to former friend and underworld don Maqsood (Ajay Gehi).

The story develops when Zaheer is killed, after his rivalry with Maqsood intensifies. Following her hubby’s murder, Sapna promises to topple and finish the criminal empire of Maqsood.

She avenges utilising her elegance, sexuality and extreme cleverness. Writer-director Sachin Darekar believes the series is different, with a female protagonist playing the lead:

“Almost all of them [underworld dramas] have masculine or male-dominated content.

“The main difference here is that amidst all the men, a woman takes it upon herself to fight against someone. We rarely come across such stories about the underworld.”

Season one of Ek Thi Begum, containing fourteen episodes made its debut on April 7, 2020. The web show is available to watch in two languages, Marathi and Hindi.

Mastram (2020)

Mastram is an adult comedy fantasy mini web series about an erotic 80s writer, Rajaram (Anshuman Jha).

Rajaram who comes from a small village wishes to publish a book. However, no publisher is willing to assist him with his request.

But after Rajaram meets a press owner, he writes stories full of eroticism, naming them Mastram. The series shows how his life changes, following the release of Mastram.

The cast also includes Tara-Alisha Berry (Madhu), Aakash Dabdhade (Gopal), Rani Chatterjee (Rani) and Jagat Rawat (Mama).

The shooting for this web series has taken place in Manali, Himachal Pradesh. Talking about the vision of the show, debutant producer Prabhleen Kaur Sandu said:

“I wanted to produce a visually appealing show that was miles away from vulgarity.”

“The language used by Mastram was not cheap and sleazy yet it hit the bullseye with the masses.”

Prabhleen and her company Almighty Motion Pictures were fortunate to have the expertise of renowned Canadian intimacy coordinator Amanda Cutting.

Amanda has previously worked on projects like The Good Doctor (2017) and The Magicians (2020). Mastram became available through the MX Player on April 30, 2020.

Love Ok Please (2019), Once A Year (2019), Bhaukaal (2019 and Samantar (2019) are some of the other MX original web shows.

The amazing web shows in our list should keep audiences entertained and engaged when watching them.