Just over two months after the premiere of his directorial debut, the Netflix series The Bads of Bollywood, Aryan Khan has achieved a significant milestone by being ranked the second most popular Indian director of 2025 by IMDb.
This is an especially impressive feat for a debutant, as the IMDb rankings are based on the actual page views of over 250 million monthly global visitors. Notably, Aryan Khan is the youngest filmmaker and the only web series director to feature on the 2025 list. The No. 1 spot was secured by Mohit Suri.
Success of The Bads of Bollywood*
The satirical action-comedy series, which premiered on Netflix on September 18, 2025, has been a massive hit with both audiences and the industry. Produced by Gauri Khan under Red Chillies Entertainment, the show is a sharp, meta-take on the glitzy and chaotic world of the Hindi film industry.
- The series features a stellar ensemble cast including Lakshya Lalwani, Bobby Deol, Mona Singh, Raghav Juyal, and Sahher Bambba, and includes cameo appearances by several major stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan.
- It trended at No. 1 on Netflix India for several weeks and made it into the Global Top 10 for non-English shows.
Aryan Khan’s Reaction
Reflecting on the whirlwind success of his directorial debut, Aryan Khan expressed his gratitude and unwavering faith in the project:
“I’m extremely grateful,” he told GQ. “As a creator, the biggest reward is people enjoying what you’ve poured your heart into. I did expect it to do well, and I’m not saying this out of arrogance, but belief. If I don’t believe in the project as the director, who will?”
The success of the series and the IMDb ranking mark a powerful start to Aryan Khan’s journey behind the camera, establishing him as a prominent new voice in Indian filmmaking.