Indian mythology has always lived in grand temples, dusty old books, and bedtime tales told by fading candlelight. But in the past few years, it’s found an unexpected home — your laptop screen. From twisted retellings to dark metaphors, creators are no longer treating mythology as something sacred. They’re treating it as a living, breathing narrative — one that still has things to say about today’s world. Here are five Indian web series that don’t just revisit mythology — they repurpose it, rebel against it, and, in some cases, expose its most uncomfortable shadows.
1. Asur – The Monster Within
Streaming on: JioCinema Imagine a crime show that isn’t chasing a killer, but chasing the concept of evil itself. That’s Asur. Set against the chaotic backdrop of Varanasi, the story follows a forensic expert pulled into a chilling cat-and-mouse game with a serial killer who believes he’s the reincarnation of an asura. But this isn’t about fantasy. It’s about the very real idea that darkness isn’t supernatural — it’s human. What makes Asur stand out isn’t the chase, but the unsettling question it leaves you with: Is evil inherited, or invited?
2. Leila – When Rituals Become Regimes
Streaming on: Netflix. In a dystopian future ruled by purity laws and rigid belief systems, one mother fights to find her daughter. But Leila isn’t a rescue story. It’s a mirror. The show doesn’t scream mythology, but it hums with its influence. You see it in the iron-fisted rituals, the caste-coded cities, the obsession with cleanliness — all twisted echoes of our ancient texts. Rather than retelling a myth, Leila questions what happens when blind reverence replaces reason. It’s haunting not because it’s unthinkable, but because it feels one step away from reality.
3. Paatal Lok – Crime Beneath the Cosmos
Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video Paatal Lok begins like any gritty cop drama — a failed inspector, a mysterious attack, a high-profile journalist. But very quickly, it rips open a deeper layer. The title refers to the underworld in Hindu cosmology. But here, it’s not filled with demons — it’s filled with the poor, the voiceless, the ignored. The show’s structure cleverly maps mythology onto the Indian class system: Swarg Lok (heaven) is where the elite live, Dharti Lok (earth) is where the common man struggles, and Paatal Lok is where justice rarely reaches. This isn’t myth used for spectacle — it’s myth used to explain injustice.
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4. Betaal – The Ghosts We Buried
Streaming on: Netflix Take an abandoned tunnel, a cursed battalion of undead British soldiers, and a reckless government operation — what do you get? A warzone where horror meets folklore. Betaal borrows its name from Indian folk tales, but this isn’t your grandmother’s bedtime story. The show uses the idea of the restless dead to talk about more than just scares — colonialism, greed, and the consequences of disturbing what should have been left alone. At its core, Betaal feels like a warning disguised as a zombie thriller.
5. Dahan – Between Reason and Ritual
Streaming on: Disney+ Hotstar. When a mining project threatens to uproot an ancient site believed to house a demonic force, things unravel quickly in a remote village clinging to superstition. Dahan doesn’t take sides. It doesn’t mock belief, nor does it blindly endorse it. Instead, it plants you in the middle, between the bureaucrat trying to “rationalise” the fear and the villagers who refuse to forget what they’ve been taught for generations. It’s a story that understands one simple truth: Faith, even when unproven, can be dangerously powerful.
Bonus Pick: Tumbbad – The Curse of Wanting More
Though technically a film, no list of myth-infused Indian stories is complete without Tumbbad. It’s a slow-burning, visually hypnotic tale about greed, personified as a forgotten god named Hastar. Set during colonial India, the movie drips with atmosphere and dread. But it’s not just a horror film. It’s a fable. Every generation in the story grows closer to the treasure and further from humanity. It leaves you with the kind of silence that mythology often does — heavy, haunting, and strangely truthful.
Why These Shows Matter
These aren’t just clever uses of myth. They’re reinterpretations. They ask: What happens when we put ancient truths in modern hands? When gods become metaphors, and demons wear human faces? Whether it’s a dystopia run by rituals, a crime story rooted in karma, or a horror tale wrapped in forgotten folklore, these series prove that mythology isn’t outdated. It’s evolving. And perhaps more relevant now than ever.
Writer – Subham Choudhary