Picture Credit: Netflix
Netflix India’s partnership with YRF Entertainment — the digital content arm of venerable production house Yash Raj Films — has been a prolific one. Since the agreement was announced in 2021, YRF Entertainment has produced the Netflix Original fiction series The Railway Men and Mandala Murders, the Original movies Maharaj and Vijay 69, and the documentary series The Romantics, which chronicles the history of Yash Raj Films.
Now YRF Entertainment returns with the explosive Hindi gangster series Akka, which was first announced at the Next on Netflix India event in 2025 and arrived on the streamer worldwide on October 30, 2026. Netflix confirmed the date with a teaser on October 17, the birthday of its leading lady. Set in a fictional South Indian city in the 1980s, the series centers on a clash between the current leader of a matriarchal community and a rival from the outside.
Casting the main roles was key, so YRF Entertainment chose South Indian superstar Keerthy Suresh (Dorothy) to play the leader. Suresh made her Hindi film debut in Baby John in 2024, and Akka marks her first web series. Her rival is played by Netflix India mainstay Radhika Apte (Raat Akeli Hai), who is so strongly associated with the streamer that they named a meeting room after her at their corporate office in Mumbai.
The title itself is a clue to the show’s themes: “Akka” is the word for “elder sister” in Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu, a nod to the sisterhood at the heart of the story.
Akka is written and directed by debutant Dharmaraj Shetty, who says of the show: “What drew me to Akka was the chance to give the gangster genre a world with its own rules, and to tell a large, entertaining saga through characters and relationships we don’t often see at its centre.” Executive producers include Aditya Chopra, Yogendra Mogre, and Akshaye Widhani.
What is the plot of Akka?
Here’s how Netflix describes the Hindi period drama:
Set in the 1980s matriarchal society of a fictional city of Pernuru, South India, women reign supreme and power has a new name — Akka! Akka is the tale of gangster queens whose matriarchal rule is challenged when an outsider brings an unseen threat, spiraling the all-powerful sisterhood into a chaos storm of violence and survival.
Who is cast in Akka?
Keerthy Suresh stars as Bhavani, the leader of Pernuru. Her progressive Tamil film Dorothy set the industry abuzz with a celebrated debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
Radhika Apte plays Rudra, an outsider. She said of the role in a statement:
Rudra is someone who refuses to be defined by the circumstances she finds herself in. She is fierce, has her own ambitions, and is willing to challenge the established order, which makes her a fascinating character to explore.
Other key cast members include a pair of familiar faces from Netflix India’s film slate:
- Tanvi Azmi (Netflix’s Tribhanga)
- Mahesh Manjrekar (Netflix’s The White Tiger)
- Anshumaan Pushkar (Jamtara)
- Monika Panwar (Choona)
- B. Jayashree
- Nivedita Bhargava
- Poornima Indrajith
- Vishak Nair
What are critics saying about Akka?
Early reviews are mixed and lean negative, with most critics praising the two leads while faulting the script. The Tribune awarded 2.5 stars, crediting YRF’s production values for the atmosphere but finding the writing overly familiar. Free Press Journal gave it 2 stars, and The Federal said the series falls short of its premise, also reporting that the show has been finished since 2024 and went through several reshoots before release. IWM Buzz was the most positive, calling it an engaging and beautifully shot crime drama.
How to watch Akka on Netflix
All five episodes of Akka are now streaming worldwide as of October 30, 2026. The full season runs just over three hours, with episodes ranging from 30 to 46 minutes. The Hindi series has a TV-MA rating in the United States for violence, nudity, language, gore, and smoking.
Here’s the full episode guide:
- The Sisterhood (46 minutes) – After provoking the full fury of Pernuru’s matriarchs, a fearless Rudra seeks out an old acquaintance and sets a plan in motion to take over the clan.
- Wounds and Scars (32 minutes) – A devastating blow drives Bhavani toward revenge while Rudra gathers Pernuru’s outsiders and strengthens her growing challenge to its rulers.
- A Challenge Wrapped in Blood (30 minutes) – As Rudra wins over the local villagers and expands her influence, her foothold unsettles Bhavani’s clan, who begin to uncover her connection to Pernuru.
- A Heart Turned (34 minutes) – While Bhavani claims an early victory, Rudra’s strategy turns the tide, unleashing bloodshed and betrayal that systematically weakens the clan’s power.
- A Queen for All (39 minutes) – As Pernuru’s buried past resurfaces, an explosive clash erupts when Rudra joins forces with rebel men to dismantle Bhavani’s authority and legacy.
The series can be watched in its original Hindi or dubbed into English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Spanish, and Polish, with audio description tracks available in English, Hindi, and Spanish. Subtitles are offered in English, Hindi, Arabic, French, Polish, Ukrainian, and both Simplified and Traditional Chinese. All five episodes are available to download for offline viewing.
You can see more of Netflix’s upcoming TV and movie slate from India scheduled to arrive in 2026 and beyond in the link provided.
Have you watched Akka yet? Let us know what you thought in the comments below!
