iWorld
Netflix India ropes in Aashish Singh as director, original film
MUMBAI: Streaming giant Netflix continues to keep its foot on the pedal when it comes to arming its India team with some serious talent. The latest high-profile addition to the streamer’s stable is Aashish Singh, who has been roped in as director, original film. "We can confirm that Aashish Singh has joined Netflix as Director, Original Film," the company told Indiantelevision.com.
The arrival of Aashish seems to be in line with Netflix’s ambitious Original film play in India. The media veteran was CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures in his last gig, where he had joined in September 2018. Prior to that, he spent over 15 years with Yash Raj Films, occupying the position of vice president, production.
Netflix has announced 22 original films in India, with nine out of those already streaming on the service. Serious Men, Bulbul, Upstarts, Cobalt Blue, Ghost Stories, Class of '83, Mrs. Serial Killer, Guilty, Yeh Ballet, House Arrest, Kaali Khuhi, Maska and Freedom are the next big Indian Original films that are slated to be launched soon.
Aashish and Srishti Behl Arya (director, original film), both of whom report to Los Angeles, will play key role in helping the company accomplish its vision as it continues to be the only streaming service investing in original films in India.
As a percentage of overall time spent on Netflix, film viewing in India is the highest in any country. 70 per cent Netflix members in India watch at least one film a week. The number of films watched per month/per member has grown 50 per cent since last year.
In a bid to add further value to its content proposition, Netflix is creating mainstream original series and movies in India apart from adding top quality, big budget licensed content. In an effort to add Indian subscribers, the Reed Hastings-led company is delivering an increasingly high volume of films to position Netflix the destination for finest films.
Having identified India as a key growth market, the company is investing significantly in Indian films and talent. Going forward, this focus is only bound to get more intense.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
