Everything You Need to Know About 'Chumbak': Netflix India's New Comedy Series

Picture Credit: Netflix

As Netflix India built its portfolio of Original series, it typically turned to filmmakers to create exclusive shows. Movie directors like Anurag Kashyap (Sacred Games), Vikramaditya Motwane (Sacred Games & Black Warrant), and Imtiaz Ali (She) are recognizable figures across India and abroad, so their names lent prestige to their Original series despite lacking experience in this particular storytelling format.

The new Hindi series Chumbak (“Magnet“) marks a change in direction, as it’s created by a team with decades of experience in India’s television market. Series showrunner Jamnadas Matheja and writer-director Aatish Kapadia are responsible for creating dozens of TV shows via their production company Hats Off Productions, including cult hits like Sarabhai vs Sarabhai and Khichdi.

Though their first Original series is set within an urban neighborhood in India, Matheja and Kapadia believe their lighthearted story about multi-generational families and nosy neighbors will connect with viewers across the globe:

Comedy has always been our way of telling stories about people and relationships, and with Netflix, we found the perfect partner to bring our signature style of family comedy to audiences across the country and around the world. Chumbak is the kind of show that will bring families together, creating moments of shared laughter across generations, and that’s what makes this collaboration with Netflix so special.

What is the plot of Chumbak?

Here’s how Netflix describes the feel-good comedy series:

Set in a contemporary urban Indian neighbourhood, the series follows five families whose lives are so intertwined that neighbours become less like people next door and more like permanent parivaar (family) — and a small problem in one home can quickly become a full-blown colony matter. Here, nobody really lives alone: there is always someone ready with an opinion, unsolicited advice, a helping hand or simply a reason to drop by.

Who is cast in Chumbak?

The series cast features a mix of actors who commonly star in films and streaming originals, as well as some making the leap from TV along with Chumbak‘s creators.

Neena Gupta is familiar to anyone who keeps up with Netflix Indian Originals, having starred in Masaba Masaba, Music Teacher, Sardar Ka Grandson, and Lust Stories 2.

Same for Deven Bhojani, who previously featured in the Originals Scoop and Murder Mubarak.

Some of the new-to-Netflix members of the cast include TV actors Helly Shah (Swaragini) and Arjun Bijlani (Naagin), who play a romantic couple on the show. Bijlani told Variety that television contains a pool of untapped acting talent:

This should have happened a long time ago. Indian shows have always worked on TV even abroad. Give us a chance, we too can surprise you. I have been working on TV for 21 years. I feel this was long due. I wanted to move onto something bigger and Netflix is a great platform.

Other ensemble members include: