10 patriotic and hard-hitting web series to binge-watch on the 73rd Republic Day

New Delhi: As India celebrates 73 years of becoming a republic on Wednesday, the COVID-19 pandemic has once again confined us to a subdued celebration.

So while you celebrate Republic Day at home, we bring you a list of 10 web series you can binge-watch with your friends and family that is sure to arouse the feeling of patriotism in you.

1. ‘Family Man’ Season 1 and 2: One of the most talked-about web series of 2019 and 2021, is the Manoj Bajpayee-starrer ‘The Family Man’. Manoj, as Shrikant Tiwari is a middle-class man secretly working as a senior officer in the Threat Analysis and Surveillance Cell (TASK) and does everything in his strength and might to save his country.

The first season has him dealing with ISI agents trying to gas Delhi to death, while the second one sees him fight against Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who plays a Sri Lankan Tamil Eelam fighter, out to take revenge for the atrocities faced by people.

Both the seasons are edge-of-the-seat thrillers with drama and comedy sprinkled in it, in just the right amount. Sharib Hashmi plays the able sidekick, JK, and his chemistry with Manoj Bajpayee is crackling. The series is available on Amazon Prime.

2. ‘Special Ops’ Season 1: This series stars Kay Kay Menon as Himmat Singh, a RAW agent investigating the prime suspects of the 2001 Parliament terror attack. Vinay Pathak plays the able cop who helps Himmat out at any cost.

The action-packed series has Pathak narrating the incidents and what went into the 2001 attack investigation. The series is available on Disney+ Hotstar.

3. ‘Bhaukaal’ Season 1 and 2: Inspired by true events, the web series ‘Bhaukaal’ is set in Muzaffarnagar in 2003, which was then better known as the crime capital of India, and the series tells the tale of how one courageous officer goes on a clean-up drive to punish criminals, battles local influential personalities and re-establishes the faith of the common man in the law.

The web series stars Mohit Raina in the lead role and is an entertaining and action-packed crime thriller. It is available for free on MX Player.

4. ‘Mumbai Diaries 26/11’: One aspect that everyone forgets when we speak about terror attacks is the impact it has on the hospitals. The first web series to show the reality of what doctors faced during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks is this.

Starring Mohit Raina and Konkona Sen Sharma, this web series shows you what the hospital staff and the doctors did to save lives when they had limited medical supplies and an overwhelming number of patients while facing a terrorist attack. The series is available on Amazon Prime.

5. ‘Grahan’: A hard-hitting web series that is sure to leave any person teary-eyed is the 2021 web series, ‘Grahan’. Based on the Sikh Riots of 1984, the web series revolves around Inspector Amrita Singh (Zoya Hussain), who has been assigned in the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate and reopen the 1984 Sikh Riots in Bokaro, Jharkhand, only to discover that the main accused is her own father, Gursevak Singh, a Sikh himself.

The series has an exceptional cast, including the veteran Pavan Raj Malhotra, Anshumaan Pushkar and Wamiqa Gabbi. The series is based on the novel, ‘Chaurasi’ by Satya Vyas. It is available on Disney+ Hotstar.

6. ‘Regiment Diaries’: ‘Regiment Diaries’ is a tale of the Indian Army – a living chronicle of events – told by the very men who follow the illustrious feats of their predecessors.

The series has the soldiers sharing their stories, often inspiring us and bringing tears in our eyes but surely making us realise how much sacrifice goes into protecting the country so that its people can go on living their life peacefully. It is available on Netflix.

7. ‘The Test Case’: It is one of the very few web series which has a female protagonist essay an army officer. Nimrat Kaur stars as the main lead in this series and her character is that of an only woman in a group of Indian Army officers training to join the Special forces.

She is also the first woman to be undertaking the course making her a “test case” for inducting women into combat-oriented roles in the Indian army. With an IMDb rating of 8.4, this web series is inspiring and gives encouragement and hope for more women to join the Indian Army.

8. ’21 Sarfarosh – Saragarhi 1897′: It is an Indian historical drama television series starring Mohit Raina, Prakhar Shukla and Mukul Dev. The show is based on the Battle of Saragarhi, fought between Sikh soldiers of the British Indian Army and Pashtun Orakzai tribesmen.

This is one of the most underrated web series which got lost amongst the plethora of series available on every streaming service. It is available on Discovery Jeet.

9. ‘The Forgotten Army – Azaadi Ke Liye’: This series is based on the true events of men and women in the Indian National Army (INA) led by Subhash Chandra Bose. The INA, which was born out of Indian soldiers who defected to the Empire of Japan during WWII, had the first women’s infantry regiment since the Russian units of 1917-1918.

The story shows how these soldiers (consisting of both men and women) fought against all odds to gain India its independence but their struggle and story somehow got lost and they became ‘the forgotten army’. The series stars Sunny Kaushal and Sharvari Wagh. It is available on Amazon Prime.

10. ‘Code M’: Last but not the least, Jennifer Winget anchors this thriller drama, as an Army lawyer, Monica Mehra who gets roped in to solve, what seems like an open and shut case, of the death of an army officer and two militant suspects, killed in an encounter, but uncovers many dark and disturbing secrets in the process.

This series is available on ALT Balaji and ZEE5.

Many of these web series show a side that has never been shown before, whether it be a fight for independence, a fight against terrorism, or the consequences of an act of violence.

And that is the beauty of these web series. They add many layers and give context to things which ultimately makes viewers think and analyse things themselves too. We hope that you enjoy your day and these series make your day memorable!