{ "id": "epzxgarn14", "slug": "kaafir", "title": "Kaafir", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.indian_southasian_webseries", "label": "Indian and South Asian web series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.indian_southasian_webseries" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "India · 2001 to 2020: Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "path": [ { "id": "geo.ind", "label": "India", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001", "label": "India · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Kaafir (काफ़िर) is a 2019 ZEE5 Hindi web series, 8 episodes, directed by Sonam Nair, written by Bhavani Iyer, starring Dia Mirza as imprisoned Pakistani woman Kainaaz Akhtar and Mohit Raina as her lawyer; distinct from a 2011 Pakistani series of the same name.", "snippet": "Kaafir (काफ़िर) is a 2019 ZEE5 Hindi web series, 8 episodes, directed by Sonam Nair, written by Bhavani Iyer, starring Dia Mirza as imprisoned Pakistani woman Kainaaz Akhtar and Mohit Raina as her lawyer; distinct from a 2011 Pakistani series of the same name.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.indian_southasian_webseries", "markdown": "# Kaafir\n\n**Kaafir** (काफ़िर) is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language web series released as a ZEE5 original, directed by Sonam Nair and written by Bhavani Iyer, starring [Dia Mirza](https://www.edgepedia.org/dia-mirza) and [Mohit Raina](https://www.edgepedia.org/mohit-raina). Its story follows Kainaaz Akhtar, a young Pakistani woman who accidentally crosses the [India–Pakistan border](https://www.edgepedia.org/india-pakistan-border), is imprisoned in India for years as a suspected militant, and gives birth to a daughter in jail, until a lawyer-turned-journalist takes up her fight for justice.[1](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/kaafir-web-series-131506) • [2](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/51761/kaafir) The word *kaafir* is Arabic for infidel or disbeliever.[3](https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/hot-on-web/zee-5-kaafir-dia-mirza-mohit-raina)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | ZEE5 original web series, 1 season of 8 episodes, roughly 42–45 minutes each[1](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/kaafir-web-series-131506) • [4](https://www.justwatch.com/in/tv-show/kaafir) |\n| Release | 15 June 2019, in Hindi; dubbed in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada[1](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/kaafir-web-series-131506) |\n| Lead cast | Dia Mirza as Kainaaz Akhtar; Mohit Raina as Vedant Rathod; Dishita Jain as Seher[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10365978/fullcredits/) |\n| Crew | Director Sonam Nair; writer Bhavani Iyer; producer Siddharth P. Malhotra; production Alchemy Films[1](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/kaafir-web-series-131506) |\n| Reception | IMDb rating 8.0/10 from about 1.9K votes[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10365978/ratings/) |\n| Later release | Re-edited and re-released as a feature film on ZEE5 in April 2025[7](https://www.ottplay.com/news/kaafir-on-ott-watch-dia-mirza-mohit-raina-series-re-edited-as-film-zee5/d7b96351b0751) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise and story\n\nThe series is set against the border conflict between India and Pakistan. Kainaaz Akhtar, a 22-year-old Pakistani woman, is found near the Poonch river on the Indian side of the border; because her body is discovered next to two militants, she is presumed to be one of them and is imprisoned for seven years. During her imprisonment she gives birth to a daughter, Sehar.[3](https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/hot-on-web/zee-5-kaafir-dia-mirza-mohit-raina) • [2](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/51761/kaafir) Scroll.in's review gives the figure as eight years behind bars, while The Quint states seven; the series itself is set in 2005.[8](https://scroll.in/reel/927551/scroll_in) • [3](https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/hot-on-web/zee-5-kaafir-dia-mirza-mohit-raina)\n\nVedant Rathod, a lawyer-turned-journalist played by Mohit Raina, is asked by his editor for a human-interest story and discovers footage of Sehar growing up in a Kashmir prison. Through successive jail interviews he concludes that Kainaaz is a victim of mistaken identity rather than a militant. When no lawyer will take her controversial case, Vedant returns to law and argues it himself in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.[3](https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/hot-on-web/zee-5-kaafir-dia-mirza-mohit-raina) • [9](https://www.zee5.com/zee5news/kaafir-review-a-simple-depiction-of-how-fate-can-become-the-beauty-or-the-beast-of-life/)\n\n## Production\n\n**Origins.** Bhavani Iyer, co-writer of the 2018 film *Raazi*, wrote the story; according to the makers, she wrote it 13 years before the series aired, and it was originally intended as a feature film before producer [Siddharth P. Malhotra](https://www.edgepedia.org/siddharth-p-malhotra) decided to tell it as a web series.[10](https://www.zee5.com/zee5news/kaafir-director-sonam-nair-mukul-dev-talk-about-the-web-medium-its-exciting-and-freeing/) • [11](https://www.dailypioneer.com/uploads/2019/epaper/june/dehradun-english-edition-2019-06-15.pdf) Director Sonam Nair said the web format freed the team from a two-hour limit, letting the series run as long as the story deserved.[10](https://www.zee5.com/zee5news/kaafir-director-sonam-nair-mukul-dev-talk-about-the-web-medium-its-exciting-and-freeing/)\n\n**Basis and filming.** The series is based on a true story. The OTTplay report identifies the real-life inspiration as Shehnaz Parveen, a Kashmiri woman living in Pakistani-administered territory who was detained in India for eight years after inadvertently crossing the [Line of Control](https://www.edgepedia.org/line-of-control).[7](https://www.ottplay.com/news/kaafir-on-ott-watch-dia-mirza-mohit-raina-series-re-edited-as-film-zee5/d7b96351b0751) Although the plot is set in Kashmir, the series was shot in [Himachal Pradesh](https://www.edgepedia.org/himachal-pradesh), around Manali, and in Mumbai, with cinematographer [Pratik Shah](https://www.edgepedia.org/pratik-shah) making the locations stand in for the valley.[9](https://www.zee5.com/zee5news/kaafir-review-a-simple-depiction-of-how-fate-can-become-the-beauty-or-the-beast-of-life/) • [12](https://www.peepingmoon.com/webcast-news/news/31407/Kaafir-Review-An-imprisoned-Dia-Mirza-and-her-guilt-stricken-lawyer-Mohit-Raina-shine-in-Zee-s-web-series.html)\n\n## Themes and reception\n\nReviewers read the series as a deliberately personal treatment of the India–Pakistan divide. Scroll.in noted that at a time of frosty India–Pakistan ties, *Kaafir* tells the story of a Hindu taking up the cause of a Muslim from across the border, and challenges the anti-Pakistan sentiment voiced by several of its supporting characters.[8](https://scroll.in/reel/927551/scroll_in) The Quint called it an emotional, engaging watch that gives a personal touch to geopolitics rather than focusing on the Indo-Pak situation in the abstract, and praised Dia Mirza's performance as one of the best of her career, along with Mohit Raina and child actor Dishita Jain.[3](https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/hot-on-web/zee-5-kaafir-dia-mirza-mohit-raina) The Kashmir Observer wrote that the series attempts to depict the political conflict that has engulfed Kashmir, with the Border Security Forces mistakenly taking Kainaaz for a militant.[13](https://epaper.kashmirobserver.net/uploads/epaper/2020-07/5f066ba801ee5.pdf)\n\nOn IMDb the series holds a rating of 8.0/10 from about 1.9K votes, with episode ratings ranging from 7.7 for the second episode to 8.6 for the finale, \"The Last Goodbye\".[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10365978/ratings/) • [14](https://epilog.tv/show/kaafir)\n\n## Streaming and the 2025 film version\n\nThe series premiered on ZEE5 on 15 June 2019 as a single season of eight episodes, with the finale titled \"The Last Goodbye\".[1](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/kaafir-web-series-131506) • [2](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/51761/kaafir) In April 2025, ZEE5 re-released the eight-part story re-edited into a single feature film of about 2 hours 21 minutes, to make Kainaaz's story accessible to a larger audience.[7](https://www.ottplay.com/news/kaafir-on-ott-watch-dia-mirza-mohit-raina-series-re-edited-as-film-zee5/d7b96351b0751) • [15](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/kaafir)\n\nAvailability has shifted over time. JustWatch reported in 2025 that the film version was last available on Zee5 in India until May 2025 and was then unavailable to stream in India, while the series remained available on Zee5 in Egypt and eight other countries.[15](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/kaafir) • [4](https://www.justwatch.com/in/tv-show/kaafir) In Pakistan, the series streams on Zee5 with a subscription.[16](https://ottasia.com/title/tv/90312/kaafir?country=PK)\n\n## Other works of the same name\n\nA separate Pakistani Urdu-language television series also titled *Kaafir* (کافر) aired in 2011, first airing on 1 January 2011 and ending on 28 May 2011. It stars [Humayun Saeed](https://www.edgepedia.org/humayun-saeed) as Shahan Ali Khan and Ayesha Khan as Izzat, and its plot follows a revenge conflict between Izzat, an outspoken young woman, and Shahan, a powerful channel head. It streams on the Eros Now Amazon Channel.[17](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/kaafir/OqQesI1enjXQIZA4XhPoZ1/) • [18](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/kaafir) It comprises 22 episodes according to Moviefone, or 26 episodes according to [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch), in its single season.[17](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/kaafir/OqQesI1enjXQIZA4XhPoZ1/) • [18](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/kaafir)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Kaafir Web Series (2019) – Release Date, Review, Cast, Trailer, Watch Online at Zee5, Gadgets 360](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/kaafir-web-series-131506)\n2. [Kaafir – TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/51761/kaafir)\n3. [Zee5 Web Series Kaafir Full Review, The Quint](https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/hot-on-web/zee-5-kaafir-dia-mirza-mohit-raina)\n4. [Kaafir – watch tv show streaming online, JustWatch (India)](https://www.justwatch.com/in/tv-show/kaafir)\n5. [Kaafir (TV Series 2019– ) – Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10365978/fullcredits/)\n6. [Kaafir (TV Series 2019– ) – Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10365978/ratings/)\n7. [Kaafir on OTT: Watch Dia Mirza and Mohit Raina's series re-edited as feature film, OTTplay](https://www.ottplay.com/news/kaafir-on-ott-watch-dia-mirza-mohit-raina-series-re-edited-as-film-zee5/d7b96351b0751)\n8. ['Kaafir' review: An Indian and a Pakistani team up for justice in Kashmir-set web series, Scroll.in](https://scroll.in/reel/927551/scroll_in)\n9. [Kaafir Review: A Simple Depiction Of How Fate Can Become The Beauty Or The Beast Of Life, Zee5 News](https://www.zee5.com/zee5news/kaafir-review-a-simple-depiction-of-how-fate-can-become-the-beauty-or-the-beast-of-life/)\n10. [Kaafir Director Sonam Nair, Mukul Dev Talk About The Web Medium, Zee5 News](https://www.zee5.com/zee5news/kaafir-director-sonam-nair-mukul-dev-talk-about-the-web-medium-its-exciting-and-freeing/)\n11. [Dehradun English Edition, 15 June 2019, Daily Pioneer](https://www.dailypioneer.com/uploads/2019/epaper/june/dehradun-english-edition-2019-06-15.pdf)\n12. [Kaafir Review: An imprisoned Dia Mirza and her guilt-stricken lawyer Mohit Raina shine, PeepingMoon](https://www.peepingmoon.com/webcast-news/news/31407/Kaafir-Review-An-imprisoned-Dia-Mirza-and-her-guilt-stricken-lawyer-Mohit-Raina-shine-in-Zee-s-web-series.html)\n13. [Kashmir Observer e-paper, 9 July 2020](https://epaper.kashmirobserver.net/uploads/epaper/2020-07/5f066ba801ee5.pdf)\n14. [Kaafir – epilog.tv](https://epilog.tv/show/kaafir)\n15. [Kaafir streaming: where to watch movie online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/kaafir)\n16. [Where to watch Kaafir (2019) in Pakistan, OTTASIA](https://ottasia.com/title/tv/90312/kaafir?country=PK)\n17. [Kaafir – TV Series, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/kaafir/OqQesI1enjXQIZA4XhPoZ1/)\n18. [Kaafir – watch tv series streaming online, JustWatch (UK)](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/kaafir)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Indian and South Asian web series*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/kaafir", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/kaafir.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Kaafir\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/kaafir. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Kaafir](https://www.edgepedia.org/kaafir)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/kaafir](https://www.edgepedia.org/kaafir). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Kaafir\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/kaafir. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Kaafir is a 2019 ZEE5 Hindi web series, 8 episodes, directed by Sonam Nair, written by Bhavani Iyer, starring Dia Mirza as imprisoned Pakistani woman Kainaaz Akhtar and Mohit Raina as her lawyer; distinct from a 2011 Pakistani series of the same name." }