'Farzi', 'Bawaal' and 'Citadel' top most-watched streaming lists: survey

Mumbai: Shahid Kapoor's debut OTT show "Farzi" and Varun Dhawan's "Bawaal" have topped the lists of the most watched series and films in 2023, media consulting firm ‘Ormax Media’ said in its new report.

In its 'Streaming Originals in India: The 2023 Story' report, the company compiled the list of top original shows and films in Hindi and international languages from 2023 on three parameters - viewership, marketing buzz and content strength.

On the basis of viewership, the firm has come out with five 'Most-Watched' lists - ‘Hindi Web-series’, ‘Indian Unscripted Shows’, ‘Hindi Films’, ‘International Shows’ and ‘International Films’.

"Farzi", directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, was viewed by 37 million people, followed by "The Night Manager" (28.6 million), "Taaza Khabar" (23.5 million), "Asur" season two (21 million) and Sushmita Sen's "Taali" (17.8 million).

According to the report, "Farzi" was the only show to cross the 30 million viewership mark in 2023. It is now the most-watched SVOD (subscription video on demand) series in India.

‘Ormax’ said the viewership was estimated using primary research conducted among audiences across India at a weekly level, taking into account the number of people who watched a show (at least one full episode) or a film (at least 30 minutes).

Nitesh Tiwari-directed "Bawaal", starring Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor, was critically panned and courted controversy for Holocaust-related references following its release on ‘Prime Video’. The film, however, was viewed by 21.2 million people, making it the most watched Hindi film on OTT in 2023.

It was followed by Shahid Kapoor's "Bloody Daddy" (17 million), Manoj Bajpayee's "Gulmohar" (16.3 million), "Tumse Na Ho Payega" (14.3 million) and Tara Sutaria's "Apurva" (12.6 million).

The list of ‘Most-Watched Indian Unscripted Shows’ is topped by "Bigg Boss OTT" season two, which was viewed by 19.5 million people. It was followed by "Koffee With Karan" season eight (15.4 million), "Temptation Island India" (13.5 million), "Dance+ Pro" (8.8 million) and "MasterChef India" (7.3 million).

Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden's "Citadel" was the ‘Most-Watched International Show’ in 2023. The show, which received mixed reviews, was viewed by 17 million people.

The second place went to "The Mandalorian" season three (11.3 million), followed by "Sex Education" season four (10.2 million), "I Am Groot" season two (9.9 million) and "The Last Of Us" (9.5 million).

The ‘Most-Watched International Films’ list was dominated by Chris Hemsworth-starrer "Extraction 2", which was viewed by 9.8 million people. The other four most watched movies were Alia Bhatt's "Heart Of Stone" (8.5 million), "BTS Yet To Come" (7.7 million), Ben Affleck and Matt Damon-starrer "Air" (6.7 million) and "Merry Little Batman" (6.6 million).