I know (almost) nothing about India, never been there, yet. I am clearly not an audience for Bollywood. However, I was intrigued by then attracted to some good Indian series, listed below. Usually, the action takes place in India, but it can be about Indian immigrant in the US, too.
As a total stranger, and an European myself, what I see through the mirror of series is a country where modernity and tradition coexist, with the latter still very much alive. The triumphant individualism of Western countries does not yet seem to have fully taken hold in India. The notion of the collective, and in particular the family unit, plays a decisive role here, and it’s abnormal to break away from it by choice or constraint. Whether within the family or in the professional world, hierarchy is respected as a primordial rule. This doesn’t necessarily prevent people from developing freely, but they usually do so while respecting their elders, their bosses and their traditions.
You will find below the series available on three platforms : Amazon, Disney+ and Netflix. I liked them all very much !
- Citadel, Honey Bunny / Amazon / a prequel to Citadel, about Nadia’s parents, two agents of an Indian spies’ agency.
- The Indian detective / Netflix / A constable in the Canadian Police flies to India, his family’s country, and becomes a true detective there
- Made in heaven / Amazon / Two friends, wedding planers in Delhi, fix the little and big problems occuring before the big day
- Never have I ever / Netflix / Devi is a nerdy Indian girl in a californian high-school. A fresh, very funny, moral booster series !