“Hunkkaar” Breaks the Algorithm, Challenging Indian Audiences Within the Limits of Procedural TV—and Their Own Beliefs

Welcome to Global Breakouts, the Deadline column that every two weeks spotlights TV series and films breaking out in their home territories. The industry is more globalized than ever, but major hits still emerge from pockets around the world, and sustaining them can be difficult […]

Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline's series where, every two weeks, we spotlight the TV shows and movies that are killing it in their local territories. The industry is as global as it's ever been, but the hits always appear in pockets of the world and it can be hard to keep track... So, we do the hard work for you.

This week, we're back in India, where audiences are digesting the meaning of Hunkkaar (locally known as Hunkkaar: The Roar), a miniseries about a teenage girl who accuses a powerful spiritual leader of rape, setting off a chain reaction that becomes a national story. Produced by Priyanka Chopra, the show explores the balance between power, faith, truth and justice in contemporary India. Related News: How 'Traitors', 'Lock Up' and 'Etihad' are being pushed in Hindi formats.

Name: Hunkkaar Country: India Broadcaster: JioHotstar Producers: Applause Entertainment, Birla Studios, Purple Pebble Pictures, Mangata Films Distributor: Applause Entertainment (Right Holder) For Fans: Mindhunter, Spotlight, David Fincher Movies Watch on Deadline

Hunkkaar is a very modern Indian mini-series. While the country's Bollywood machine moves on and prefers melodramatic stories, this JioHotstar program has challenged its audience - and the wider society - to really think about nature. Life in the country

Karan D. "We were very intentional about taking a non-melodramatic approach to trauma," says co-creator Kapadia. "I love the Bollywood melodrama genre, but we wanted to look at trauma in a fundamental way."

The blow he refers to is the underpinning of the story. It tells the story of a 17-year-old girl, Meenu Rawat (Anit Pada), who accuses Baapji (Sunil Chakosi), a powerful "divine" (Indian spiritual leaders whose followers can venerate them as demigods) of rape. Backed by a small group of police officers, defense attorneys, and TV journalists, the case becomes national news as he is publicly shamed and tried by the media.

The idea of this show started years ago. "We came across a powerful article about a godman who had created an industrial-scale system for sexual harassment," says Kapadia. He had created a world where his devotees believed that what he was doing to them was not wrong.

"This was the starting point. This led us to deeper questions about how we perceive women and the fact that rape is a major social issue in India that needs to be addressed. From there, we developed the theme of David and Goliath: a 17-year-old from Gen Z taking on a system. The man at the center of the story ultimately represents a level of power comparable to that of the government. "We also wanted to explore the difficult path of justice."

As Kapadia and co-creator Nitya Mehra developed the resulting six-episode series, Mehra says it became clear that Chakosi's godman character represented not only a religious leader, but corrupt power itself, a cult created as a mirror to the power structures in society.

"Though the story deals with rape, which is one of the biggest social issues that has plagued India for decades, Godman became something bigger than the spiritual leader we first imagined," he adds.

The project was initially in development through Kapadia's Mangata Films label, but he got a big hit when Scam and Black Warrant producer Applause Entertainment came on board to produce and distribute the finished show.

Aditya Birla's group's encouragement is noted for always producing scripted TV before selling the final product to a broadcaster – effectively ensuring that production will continue. Another company in Applause's wide circle, Ananya Birla's new company Birla Studios, has also roped in actor-producer Priyanka Chopra's White Tiger and Bajirao Mastani fame, who have roped in Mehra since they worked together on the Hindi picture Don in 2006.

Mehra simply calls Chopra "a powerhouse" and recalls how he and his team jumped into the project immediately after seeing a tape.

Chopra says, “I always gravitate towards stories that have depth and meaning, and Hunkkaar: The Roar is one such story. "It captures a deeply sensitive subject and tells the story with honesty and conviction. I have so much respect for Nitya and Karan, the cheers and the whole team, for the thought and care they put into this project."

Kapadia and Mehra praise Nair, who stepped down in April after nearly a decade as CEO, as "the key person behind the process" of producing without an executive staff. As such, Kapadia says the resulting program has "the potential to travel internationally," adding, "Without Samir, we wouldn't be here. He was a rock for us. He championed the show, strengthened our vision, and gave us the space to become the filmmakers we are today."

Applause producer Deepak Segal said, “The success of Hunkkaar: The Roar is a testament to the power of stories that are deeply rooted yet universally felt. We believe the future of Indian storytelling lies in stories that emerge from our local realities, from the ambitions of our young nation, and travel far beyond them. The brilliant response to Hankkar shows us that when a story speaks to something deeply human and can capture the heart of an audience, its horizons can be limitless.

Filming was slated to wrap up by the end of 2024, and local reports suggested the series was delayed because it didn't start work right away. This was partly due to Kapadia's "perfectionism" in editing, but also due to a misunderstanding of Applause's production-then-sales model, Mehra laughs.

"We wanted to take our time, find the right house and make sure it was mounted on the right platform the way we wanted it to be," Kapadia says. "It's not really a delay in this. We had the traditional feel of the show in the bag. The question was how to release it with the kind of marketing and positioning that we felt it deserved. Having the time to set something up properly is a luxury, and the answer shows that this approach has worked."

Finally, JioHotstar entered the series and with the service launching in regions like Canada and the UK as a September 25 debut, Mehra says the timing was fantastic.

Structurally, what's remarkable about Hankar is that it manages to be both a legal procedural following a high-profile case and a human story about shame, justice, and power. Both Mehra and Kapadia, during an interview for this article, noted that given the themes, the number of people JioHotstar binged on the series was unexpected. However, it wasn't all just a happy accident.

"We made a conscious decision in the writers' room to be aware of the issue and the fact that it could become a routine," says Mehra. "Structurally, we wanted to connect it in a way that was immersive."

Kapadia – known for producing works like Jolly LLB 3, Blank and Durgamati: The Myth – says the approach has worked. “Indian audiences are looking for content that challenges them, moves them and inspires them,” he argues. “When there's a good story, it works.

The emotional intelligence of audiences is expanding, in part because technology is moving so quickly and with hundreds of millions of people on the move having smartphones, the amount of data and content people are exposed to is exponential. Many viewers have told us, "Thank you for trusting us to read between the lines and not push it all over our heads. Thank you for taking the time to express your pain."

Kapadia and Mehra cite David Fincher's meticulous approach to filmmaking as a reference point for telling a complex story, while Netflix's serial killer Joe Penhall's Mind Hunter series assures them that "you can keep audiences engrossed and let them sit comfortably in a moment."

Mehra - director of the 2016 film Baar Baar Dekho and creator of the Prime Video series Girls Don't Cry - says that while Indian audiences are currently under siege from films and TV content, where Hankaar crosses over is its subject matter.

One of Karan's and I's triumphs is getting messages from people who say they feel seen and represented on screen. We did our previous show about an all-girls boarding school, and girls from small-town India told us they'd never seen themselves represented before.

"With Hunkar, young Indians are finding their voice. The world is on fire and people are speaking out. I think this show represents that voice."

For India's market-leading broadcaster, JioHotstar, the show represents where domestic TV production is headed in the broadcast era. At JioHotstar, we want to support fresh and distinctive voices Malok Jain, Head of Hindi & English Entertainment for Streaming, TV and Studios at Reliance and Disney-backed JioHotstar says: Indian stories that spark conversations and help shape society.

"What attracted us the most was the heart of it - an ordinary girl who finds extraordinary courage. Mino is 17 years old who walks into a police station and accuses a man who her whole town worships. She is not an ordinary hero and that is what makes her so powerful. It is also why others find the courage to stand by her."

Jain praises Mehra and Kapadia for "handling a difficult subject matter with precision and without emotion", noting that Pada "brings a fearless presence to Meenu", while "Priyanka Chopra, Jonas, Birla Studios and Applause Studios fully supported the vision."

He points to the audience response as evidence – although broadcasters, as usual, don't provide specific ratings details.

"Hunkkaar is one of our most engaging Indian specials this year, with viewers jumping straight from one episode to the next. As JioHotstar expands into new markets, it's encouraging to see the show trending not only in India, but also in Singapore, UK and Canada. That's the kind of storytelling we want to invest in globally."

There are signs of US distribution, so the buzz around Hunkkaar could turn into a roar in the not too distant future.

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