An anthology, as you know, is a collection of short stories which can be set in a movie or series format. Each story in an anthology can either be helmed by different directors or sometimes even by a single filmmaker. For this article, we have made a list of the top five Indian anthology films and series that released in the year 2021. Incidentally, all the titles are currently streaming on the Netflix OTT platform.
Ray (Streaming on Netflix)
The Netflix anthology series ‘Ray’ spanning multiple genres is an on-screen adaptation inspired by four short stories by the legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray. The series has been created by Sayantan Mukherjee and directed by Srijit Mukherji, Abhishek Chaubey, and Vasan Bala. We recommend you especially watch the two segments namely ‘Bahrupiya’ starring Kay Kay Menon and ‘Hungama Kyun Hai Barpa’ starring Manoj Bajpayee and Gajraj Rao.
The first one ‘Bahrupiya’ revolves around an under-achieving but gifted makeup artist who uses his unique skills to get even with those who had somehow wronged him with a twist ending. While the second story ‘Hungama Kyun Hai Barpa’ follows the train journey of a famous singer and how it takes an unexpected turn when he learns that his co-passenger is actually a man from his embarrassing past.
Ajeeb Daastaans (Streaming on Netflix)
It’s a romantic drama anthology movie comprising four short stories namely Majnu (by Shashank Khaitan), Khilauna (by Raj Mehta), Geeli Pucchi (by Neeraj Ghaywan), and Ankahi (by Kayoze Irani). The themes of the stories range from a loveless marriage to a housemaid story to female bonding between two factory co-workers to a couple who have a child who is hearing impaired.
Ankahi Kahaniya (Streaming on Netflix)
It’s an anthology film helmed by three gifted directors namely Abhishek Chaubey (Udta Punjab), Saket Chaudhary (Hindi Medium), and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (Bareilly Ki Barfi). The film features Kunal Kapoor, Abhishek Banerjee, Zoya Hussain, Rinku Rajguri, Delzad Hiwale, and Nikhil Dwivedi amongst others.
These unconventional stories of love, loss, and longing range from a timid salesman’s relationship with a female mannequin to a sweet romance amidst the backdrop of a single screen theatre, to a marriage going through a rough phase.
Navarasa (Streaming on Netflix)
The anthology features nine different segments based on the nine ‘rasas’ or emotions of the Indian aesthetic theory namely anger, compassion, courage, disgust, fear, laughter, love, peace, and wonder. These nine films were helmed by nine talented filmmakers – Arvind Swami, Bejoy Nambiar, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Karthick Naren, Karthik Subbaraj, Priyadarshan, Rathindran Prasad, Sarjun, and Vasanth Sai.
The anthology boasts of eminent actors including Vijay Sethupathy, Prakash Raj, Revathy, Nithya Menen, Yogi Babu, Arvind Swami, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Siddharth, Gautham Karthik, and Suriya amongst others.
Feels Like Ishq (Streaming on Netflix)
Feels Like Ishq is a light-hearted anthology series of six sweet standalone shorts and each one of the stories features young adults as they go through a range of emotions and how they find love in places they did not anticipate. The various stories revolve around a runaway bride to a next-door crush, to an office romance, to a life-changing casual date, etc.