Hindi · Netflix
Black Warrant — S1
"A procedural that respects its readers and its dead."
82
By Anwesha Dasgupta
Lead Review · Hindi · SonyLIV
Panchayat S4, Reviewed:
Panchayat S4, Reviewed:
A Perfect 89.
TVF's quiet rural satire returns sharper, sadder and almost certainly the best Indian season of the year. Our senior critic spent a week in Phulera so you don't have to.
89
/100
The Weekly Watchlist · Issue 02
What to stream, in order.
What to stream, in order.
No algorithm involved.
Five ranked picks across SonyLIV, Netflix, JioCinema, Mubi and ZEE5 — scored by our desk, watched in full, settled over chai on Saturday.
-
01
89
Panchayat — Season 4
The best thing on Indian streaming this week. Quiet, exact, almost unfairly rewatchable.
-
02
86
All We Imagine as Light
Payal Kapadia's Cannes Grand Prix winner finally streams. Bring tissues, not expectations.
-
03
78
The Hunt for Veerapan — S2
A rare sequel that earns its existence. Sober, procedural, weirdly moving.
-
04
71
Khel Khel Mein
A dinner-party drama that actually argues with itself. Watch with friends who argue back.
-
05
68
Black Warrant — S1
Tihar, 1983, told with the rigour of a procedural and the patience of a literature adaptation.
Six titles this week scored below 60/100 — told not to bother. See the full Watchlist →
Reviewed this fortnight · Across 9 languages
Critic verdicts, freshly inked.
From a Mumbai legal procedural to a Kochi campus thriller, a Bengali memoir to a Punjabi folk musical — what our 14-person desk scored above 70 this fortnight.
Malayalam · SonyLIV
Kuriyedathu — S1
"A debut that knows exactly what it's about."
79
By Meenakshi S.
Bengali · Hoichoi
Janani'r Golpo
"Patient, political, properly Bengali."
74
By Sagnik Sen
Marathi · ZEE5 · Film
Ashi Hi Tujha Dehi
"A 95-minute poem about a body that refuses to behave."
81
By Aishwarya K.
Telugu · JioCinema
Mrigam — S1
"Hunts, not chases. Worth your evening."
72
By Karthik R.
Assamese · Prag
Xuror Xopoon
"A small, stubborn, perfect thing."
77
By Nilotpal B.
The Annual Ranking · December 2024
The Gunkatta 100.
India's 100 best streaming originals, ranked every December by our full desk and an external jury of working filmmakers. The list now cited by Variety India, Film Companion, The Ken, Mint Lounge and The Hindu Business Line.
This year's edition crossed 1.42 million unique visitors during launch week. Sacred Games fell out of the top ten. Panchayat entered at #4. Kohrra broke the top 20.
A note from the editors
We are 14 critics.
We are 14 critics.
We are not an algorithm.
Gunkatta was started in 2019 in a Bandra flat by two critics tired of being told what to watch by a recommendation engine that had never read a film. We cut through 50+ OTT platforms, 1,200+ weekly releases and ten million social posts so you don't have to — and we refuse paid placement from Netflix, Prime, JioCinema and Hotstar. Every review you read here was watched in full by a human, scored on the Gunkatta rubric, and argued over by at least two editors. If something scored below 60, we'll tell you not to bother. If something scored above 90, we'll tell you to clear your evening.
— Pritam Iyer & Anwesha Dasgupta, Editors & Co-founders