Amazon returns ‘Panchayat’ & ‘Paatol Lok’ in largest Indian originals slate to date

Panchayat (Source: Amazon Prime Video)

Amazon streamer Prime Video has unveiled a slate of almost 70 titles for 2024, including 27 new series, five returning shows, eight original movies and a slew of licensed films.

The slate, which is Prime Video’s largest in India to date, and was unveiled at the Prime Video Presents India showcase, attended by execs including Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video & MGM Studios; Kelly Day, VP of Prime Video international; James Farrell, VP of international originals; Sushant Sreeram, country director India; and Aparna Purohit, head of originals for India and South-East Asia.

“For the last several years, outside of the US more people have signed up for Prime in India than anywhere else in the world,” said Hopkins at the event, detailing India’s importance to the global streamer. “In India more people sign up for Prime Video than any other benefit. Last year, India had the highest percentage of Prime members stream Prime Video than any country in the world.”

Among the new original series titles are Hindi-language show Andhera, a horror series from Excel Media & Entertainment, in which a fearless cop and a haunted medical student must take on a living darkness to avert impending doom.

Bandwaale from OML Entertainment follows Mariam, a young poetess, finds herself trapped in a sleepy town where every young girl’s future lies in wedlock. Meanwhile, Citadel: Honey Bunny is the Indian entry in Amazon’s Citadel franchise, produced by D2R Films Production.

Telugu-language series include Arabia Kadali from First Frame Entertainments, a fictional suspense drama series that revolves around a group of fishermen from rival villages who inadvertently trespass into international waters and find themselves imprisoned in a foreign jail.

Tamil titles on the slate include Gangs Kuruthi Punal, a period action drama from May6 Entertainment telling a tale of revenge that fuels a bloody power struggle within the first organised gang of a port city.

Four Hindi series have also been renewed, with romantic drama Bandish Bandits from Leo Collective, crime thriller Mirzapur from Excel Media & Entertainment, investigative drama Paatal Lok from Clean Slate Filmz and political series Panchayat from The Viral Fever, all returning to the streamer. Tamil drama Suzhal – The Vortex, from Wallwatcher Films, is also returning for a second season.

New original movies include Hindi thriller Ae Watan Mere Watan from Dharmatic Entertainment and Telugu crime drama Cheekati Lo from Suresh Production.