A single-page pitch became a number one film on Netflix's global chart. "Toaster," a Mumbai-set dark comedy about a miserly man whose life spirals into escalating absurdity, topped the platform's Non-English Films chart in the week following its April 15 premiere — a debut for both its director and its production company.
Vivek Das Chaudhary directed the film in his first feature, and it was produced under KAMPA Films, the newly launched banner of actor Rajkummar Rao and his creative partner Patralekhaa. Rao, who also stars in the film, told Variety the project came to him as a one-page concept that was developed over several months before being brought to Netflix. "There's no formula to it," he said. "You'd rather make something that you are really excited about."
Even the title was strategic. Rao said the word "toaster" was chosen because it would be instantly recognizable anywhere in the world — unusual enough to prompt a click, simple enough to cross borders.
"Toaster" arrives as part of a broader wave of Indian titles on the global chart. "Accused," directed by Anubhuti Kashyap in only her second feature, entered the top 10 in 74 countries — the widest reach ever recorded for an Indian title on the platform. "Made in Korea," Netflix's first Tamil-language film shot in South Korea, was in its third consecutive week on the Global Top 10.
The numbers behind the trend are significant. An Indian film or series has appeared in Netflix's Global Top 10 every week throughout 2024 and 2025, and the volume of Indian titles on that list has grown sixfold since the platform began reporting in July 2021. In 2025 alone, Indian content was viewed for more than 3.4 billion hours across 75 countries. Ruchikaa Kapoor Sheikh, Netflix India's director of original films, told Variety the approach has always been rooted in specificity. "The more authentic, the more local they've been, we've actually seen them break out and become far more global."
