Netflix announces 40 new films, series, comedy specials and docu-series for 2021

Netflix is going big in 2021. The streaming platform has announced 40 new films, series, comedy specials and docu-series for this year.

The announcement was unveiled in an online event and also by Monika Shergill, vice-president, content, Netflix India.

Netflix India will stream new feature films such as Ajeeb Daastaans, Bulbul Tarang, Haseen Dillruba, Jaadugar, Meel Patthar (Milestone) and Penthouse. These films will join the previously announced Dhamaka, Jagame Thandhiram, Navarasa, Meenakshi Sundareshwar, Pagglait, Sardar Ka Grandson and The Disciple in this year's lineup.

Ajeeb Daastaans, co-produced with Karan Johar's Dharmatic Entertainment, is an anthology directed by Shashank Khaitan, Raj Mehta, Neeraj Ghaywan and Kayoze Irani and features a cast that includes Fatima Sana Shaikh, Jaideep Ahlawat, Konkona Sensharma, Manav Kaul and Aditi Rao Hydari. The anthology will deal with "fractured relationships and unexplored spaces".

Director Shree Narayan Singh's Bulbul Tarang stars Sonakshi Sinha as a young woman who wishes to have her groom ride in his baraat on a horse, but that's not possible in her traditional village. In Jaadugar, Jitendra Kumar stars as a magician who has to win a football match in order to win over his love interest.

With Penthouse, an Abbas Mustan thriller starring Bobby Deol, Arjun Rampal and Mouni Roy, five friends hang out in the spacious, lavish titular space, until one day, when the body of a woman is found there.

The streaming platform has unveiled a whole slate of series including Aranyak, Decoupled, Feels Like Ishq, Finding Anamika, Mai, Ray and Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein. New seasons of acclaimed shows like Delhi Crime and Little Things were also announced. Jamtara, Kota Factory, Masaba Masaba, She and Mismatched will all be getting a second season.

In Aranyak, Raveena Tandon stars as a police officer in a Himalayan town who has to work with a new colleague played by Parambrata Chatterjee. R Madhavan stars as a difficult writer in the comedy Decoupled, directed by Hardik Mehta.

Feels Like Ishq is an anthology of young love stories directed by Ruchi Arun, Tahira Kashyap, Ashima Chhibber, Anand Tiwari, Danish Aslam, Jaydeep Sarkar, and Sachin Kundalkar, which features Radhika Madan, Rohit Saraf, Tanya Maniktala and many others.

Madhuri Dixit Nene stars in the suspense drama Finding Anamika about the disappearance of a global superstar and mother. Co-produced by Johar, the series also stars Sanjay Kapoor, Manav Kaul and Suhasini Mulay.

Produced by Anushka Sharma, Mai stars Sakshi Tanwar as Sheel, a wife and mother, who gets embroiled in the murky world of crime and politics. Vivek Mushran and Seema Pahwa also star in the series, which is co-directed by Anshai Lal and Atul Mongia.

In Ray, directors Srijit Mukherji, Vasan Bala and Abhishek Chaubey come together to bring to life four of filmmaker Satyajit Ray's short stories. The star cast includes Manoj Bajpayee, Gajraj Rao, Ali Fazal, Raghubir Yadav, Kay Kay Menon, Radhika Madan and many others.

Finally, Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein, a dark comical pulpy desi thriller, features a man who has the misfortune of being the object of desire of the daughter of a dreaded man. Tahir Raj Bhasin, Shweta Tripathi Sharma and Saurabh Shukla star in the series by showrunner Siddharth Sengupta.

On the comedy front, Netflix India announced the Comedy Premium League, while comedians such as Kapil Sharma, Sumukhi Suresh, Aakash Gupta, Rahul Dua and Prashasti Singh will have their own specials.

The streaming platform also unveiled four new docu-series — Crime Stories: India Detectives, House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths, Indian Predator, and Searching for Sheela. The reality shows Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives and The Big Day Collection have been renewed for a second season while Social Currency follows the world of online influencers.