Aryan Khan’s directorial debut, The Ba**ds of Bollywood*, has taken Netflix by storm, not just in India but around the world. Within just four days of its release, the show has amassed 2.8 million views globally, according to Tudum, Netflix’s official data platform. The satirical series has quickly climbed into the Top 10 global shows, even outperforming some major English-language titles.
A Global Breakthrough for Aryan Khan
Released on a Thursday, The Ba**ds of Bollywood* had a shorter tracking window than most weekly-ranked shows. Yet, it managed to land at number 4 among all non-English language series worldwide, a feat made more impressive by its limited four-day run during the Netflix weekly charting period.
The series also managed to edge past fan-favourites like Wednesday Season 1 (2.1 million views), placing it within the top 10 overall, including both English and non-English language content.
Short Runtime, Big Numbers
In terms of total watch time, The Ba**ds of Bollywood* clocked in at 14.8 million viewed hours, a slightly lower number compared to its competitors. However, this discrepancy is due to the show’s seven-episode structure, with each episode running approximately 40–50 minutes, making the total content shorter than the standard 8-10 episode seasons of other series.
Even with this limitation, Aryan’s debut sits just behind Bon Appétit, Your Majesty (6.5 million views), Billionaires’ Bunker, and The Dead Girls on the non-English chart—beating other globally recognised titles like Two Graves and Love Is Blind.
Heeramandi Still Holds the Crown
Despite its strong debut, The Ba**ds of Bollywood* hasn’t yet surpassed the benchmark set by Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi. That series pulled in 4.5 million views and 33 million hours watched in its first week, setting a high bar for Indian Netflix originals.
A Star-Studded Satirical Drama
The Ba**ds of Bollywood* follows Aasmaan Singh (Lakshya), an outsider trying to break into the glamorous yet chaotic Hindi film industry. The show offers a biting take on stardom, ambition, and power, with Freddie Sodahwallah (Manish Chaudhari) playing the shrewd producer who offers Aasmaan a dream deal. Alongside his personal and professional struggles, Aasmaan attempts to land a role in a Karan Johar film while falling for his co-star Karishma (Sahher Bambba).
The series boasts an ensemble cast including Bobby Deol, Mona Singh, Anya Singh, Raghav Juyal, and Manoj Pahwa, and features high-profile cameos from Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, SS Rajamouli, and many more.
With this kind of viewership and buzz, The Ba**ds of Bollywood* has not only marked Aryan Khan’s arrival as a filmmaker but also reaffirmed the global appetite for fresh Indian content with a twist.