Aryan Khan’s debut web series, The Bads of Bollywood, has reached the top of IMDb’s list for the most popular Indian shows of 2025. It sits ahead of major titles like Black Warrant, Paatal Lok Season 2, Panchayat Season 4, Special Ops Season 2 and The Family Man Season 3.
IMDb has placed Aryan’s Netflix project at number one by using global page views from more than 250 million monthly visitors. The list covers Indian releases from January to November that hold a user rating of six or higher.
Viewers pushed Black Warrant, Paatal Lok Season 2, Panchayat Season 4, Mandala Murders and other big releases into lower positions.
The top 10 list for 2025 leans strongly toward crime thrillers. Seven titles come from the genre. It also shows the power of long-running franchises. Six entries are new seasons of hit shows.
Paatal Lok Season 2, starring Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh and Gul Panag, is at No. 3. and TVF’s Panchayat Season 4 is at No. 4. Khauf is at No. 6 while The Family Man Season 3 appears at No. 9. All three OTT releases are streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Three major platforms dominate the chart. Netflix and Prime Video each secure four spots and JioHotstar takes two. Netflix’s Black Warrant, starring Zahan Kapoor, Rahul Bhat and Sidhant Gupta, is placed at No. 2. Mandala Murders is at No. 5 and Khakee: The Bengal Chapter” at No. 8.
JioHotstar has Special Ops Season 2 at No. 7 and Criminal Justice: A Family Matter at No. 10.
Yaminie Patodia, head of IMDb India, has hailed the “boldness and innovation of Indian creators”.
“The diverse range of storytelling, spanning from romance to animation, superhero epics to satire, reflects the industry’s vibrancy. It’s especially exciting to see distinctly Indian stories and cultural narratives resonating with audiences around the world,” Patodia said.
Aryan Khan’s statement
Aryan Khan chose not to follow the footsteps of his father, Shah Rukh Khan. He believes that if he becomes an actor, he will always be compared with SRK, whether he does well or not. He decided to become a director.
Now that his debut OTT show has beaten all big names, he thinks The Bads of Bollywood has captured “the madness, the magic, the mischief, and the raw ambition that fuels this industry.”
“No soft edges, no pretending, we told the story the way it deserved to be told, and audiences across the world showed up for it in a massive way,” Variety quoted Aryan Khan as saying in a statement.
“The memes, the fan edits, the arguments, the obsession — that’s a show becoming part of culture, not just a weekend watch,” Aryan added.
