Indian theatre streaming is still small. There is no Indian National Theatre Live the way the British National Theatre puts up its productions worldwide. But if you know where to look, there is plenty of stage-rooted work available on Netflix, Prime Video, and a few specialist platforms. Here is a working watchlist.
What Indian theatre is available to stream right now?
Indian theatre on streaming platforms falls into four broad categories. First, films directly adapted from major Indian plays, like Court (Marathi) or Court adaptations of Vijay Tendulkar plays. Second, filmed theatre productions and recordings, such as the NSD Repertory archive, Naseeruddin Shah’s Motley productions, and theatre filmed by Tata Sky Theatre. Third, theatre-rooted documentaries about Indian theatre forms, artists, and traditions. Fourth, Hindi and regional films heavily influenced by stage techniques and ensemble theatre traditions, like the Hindi films of Anand Mahendroo and Tigmanshu Dhulia.
The watchlist
1. Court (Marathi, 2014). Where to watch: Prime Video, Netflix in some regions
Chaitanya Tamhane’s debut feature is technically a film, but every theatre lover should watch it. The protagonist is an aging Marathi protest poet and theatre performer accused of inciting a sewer worker’s suicide. The film is a quiet, devastating study of how the Indian legal system grinds against artists. It won the Best Film award at the National Film Awards and the Venice Film Festival.
2. The Disciple (Marathi, 2020). Where to watch: Netflix
Tamhane’s follow-up film about a young Hindustani classical music student. Not theatre in the strict sense, but the slow-burn discipline of classical Indian performance is the central subject. A masterclass in patience.
3. Pinjar (Hindi, 2003). Where to watch: ZEE5, Prime Video
Adapted from Amrita Pritam’s classic Partition novella. Director Chandraprakash Dwivedi was a theatre director before he became a filmmaker, and the staging and ensemble work in Pinjar is unmistakably theatrical.
4. Manto (Hindi, 2018). Where to watch: Netflix
Nandita Das’s film on Saadat Hasan Manto stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui (an NSD alumnus) and folds in Manto’s stories in the form of vignettes. Several sequences are essentially staged theatre captured by camera.
5. Saans (Hindi, 1981). Where to watch: YouTube, occasional revival screenings
Mahesh Bhatt’s early work, deeply theatrical in tone and structure.
6. Naseeruddin Shah’s Motley productions
Motley has released several filmed versions of its productions, including Manto Ismat Hazir Hain, Ismat Apa Ke Naam, and other adaptations. These have been screened on various platforms and at occasional Naseeruddin Shah retrospectives. Some are available through Naseeruddin Shah’s own YouTube circle and through curated streaming on platforms like Aadyam Theatre.
7. Aakhri Sangharsh (Documentary, 2010s). Where to watch: streaming on various Indian platforms occasionally
A documentary on Habib Tanvir and his Naya Theatre. If you can find it, watch it. It captures one of India’s greatest theatre directors at work with his Chhattisgarhi village ensemble.
8. Theatre India series. Where to watch: occasional YouTube uploads, Doordarshan archives
Doordarshan’s archival theatre programming captured many important productions in the 1980s and 90s. Some of these have been uploaded to YouTube by the Doordarshan archive channel and by enthusiast accounts.
9. Tatasky Theatre / Tata Play Theatre. Where to watch: Tata Play subscribers
If you have a Tata Play satellite TV subscription, the Tata Play Theatre service has run live theatre programming. Catalogues have varied over time, but the platform is worth checking.
10. Aadyam Digital Stage and Mahindra’s archive
Mahindra-owned Aadyam Theatre has filmed and released several stage productions in recent years. These are released through Aadyam’s digital channels and select platforms. Worth tracking via their newsletter.
11. Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow series and ITV Gold
Channels serving the Indian diaspora have occasionally aired theatre productions, especially Hindi and Marathi work. Niche but real.
12. SonyLIV’s bilingual theatre filmed pieces
SonyLIV has released a few filmed theatre productions in its catalogue, especially Marathi and Hindi work commissioned for the platform.
13. India’s Lost Years series and other theatre documentaries
Search documentary catalogues on MUBI India, Sony LIV, and YouTube for documentaries on Indian theatre forms: Kathakali, Yakshagana, Theyyam, Manipuri theatre, Habib Tanvir, Vijay Tendulkar, and Girish Karnad have all been the subject of strong documentary films.
Why is the catalogue still thin?
Three reasons.
Rights are complicated. Many Indian theatre productions involve multiple rights holders (playwright, director, performers, music composers). Clearing all of them for streaming is slow.
Production costs are real. Filming a stage production well requires multiple cameras, professional audio, and editing. Most independent companies cannot afford it.
Discovery is fragmented. Theatre tends to live on niche platforms, while mainstream streamers focus on films and series. Without a dedicated Indian theatre streaming platform of meaningful scale, audiences struggle to find work even when it exists.
What would actually change the picture?
A few things would meaningfully improve Indian theatre streaming.
- A national initiative similar to the British National Theatre Live for India, with serious institutional backing
- A dedicated Indian theatre OTT platform funded by a major patron or public-private partnership
- Better rights clearance support for independent companies
- Curation by trusted critics and theatre institutions to help audiences discover work
The short version
Indian theatre on Netflix and Prime is still a thin catalogue, but there is more out there than most people realise if you know where to look. Court, Manto, NSD archive productions, Motley filmed plays, Doordarshan theatre, and a growing body of documentaries are all worth your evening. Start there, and the wider Indian theatre ecosystem opens up.
For more, read about how COVID and streaming reshaped Indian theatre, and our piece on how Bollywood affected traditional Indian theatre.