There is something hauntingly beautiful about characters who cannot be idolized. The ones who don’t rise from ashes as victors but instead stumble through them with burned feet. They’re not your usual OTT leads, and maybe that’s why they stay longer. Take Lootere on Disney+ Hotstar. Rajat Kapoor plays a disgraced shipping agent caught in a deadly hijack. He isn’t brave. He’s terrified. And his decisions are constantly wrong. But it’s that fear, that raw panic, that makes the tension so believable. The show doesn’t redeem him. It just lets him exist. And that is rare.
In Gaanth: Chapter 1, now streaming on JioCinema, Manav Vij plays a Delhi cop recovering from a psychological breakdown, assigned to a bizarre murder case involving a mass hanging. He is abrasive, erratic, and emotionally unstable. But the more the series unfolds, the more his flaws become the emotional heartbeat of the narrative. He isn’t chasing redemption. He’s simply trying to function. That’s more human than any bullet dodging hero arc we’re used to.
Then there’s Killer Soup on Netflix. Konkona Sen Sharma’s character, Swathi, doesn’t fit the heroine mold. She’s desperate, manipulative, and reckless in love and crime. And yet, we follow her closely, because for all her wrongdoings, there’s a strange, unfiltered honesty to her hunger. Manoj Bajpayee’s dual role adds to the madness, but it’s Swathi who leaves a lasting imprint.
Another standout this year has been Kaala on Disney+ Hotstar, where Avinash Tiwary plays an intelligence agent grappling with personal loss while investigating reverse money laundering. His character is brutal and brilliant, but his choices are often unethical, selfish, and emotionally clouded. Still, there is a strange empathy that builds toward him because his pain is never dramatised. It’s quietly destructive.
And lastly, in the Malayalam film Aattam, now available on SonyLIV, a seemingly progressive theatre troupe falls apart after a disturbing incident. The protagonist isn’t noble. He’s complicit, scared to take a stand, and constantly battling his own cowardice. But the film doesn’t let him escape. It makes him confront his silence and that confrontation hits harder than any heroic speech could.
These flawed leads don’t wear capes. They wear guilt, fear, shame, and denial. And maybe that’s what makes them unforgettable. Because we don’t always need to watch people win. Sometimes, we just need to watch them try.
If you crave stories that let their characters bleed a little, stumble often, and never wrap things up in neat little bows these are the shows to start with.
Watch them not to feel better, but to feel seen.
Follow Binge Moves on Instagram and Facebook for more such honest recommendations that stay with you long after the credits roll.
