# Kanneda
**Kanneda** is a 2025 Indian Hindi-Punjabi crime drama television series directed by Chandan Arora and streamed on JioHotstar. Its title is "Canada" pronounced with a Punjabi twang, a colloquial term among South Asians for the country, and the series follows a Punjabi immigrant in 1990s Vancouver whose pursuit of a music career draws him into drug trafficking and gang life.[1](https://www.hollywoodreporterindia.com/reviews/streaming/kanneda-series-review-all-ambition-little-guile) • [2](https://scroll.in/reel/1080324/kanneda-review-a-high-pitched-saga-of-the-lows-of-drug-trafficking/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premiere | 21 March 2025 on JioHotstar (India)[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35834854/) |
| Format | Eight episodes of roughly 30 minutes each, about 4 hours total[4](https://www.ottplay.com/features/kanneda-a-soapy-take-on-punjab-immigration/b492466d8a33) • [5](https://www.filmfare.com/news/web-series/kanneda-season-1-review-72257.html) |
| Languages | Hindi, Punjabi, and English; dubbed into Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, and Bengali[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35834854/) • [6](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/kanneda-web-series-131020) |
| Lead cast | Parmish Verma as Nirmal "Nimma" Chahal, with Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Ranvir Shorey, Arunoday Singh, Aadar Malik, and Jasmin Bajwa[5](https://www.filmfare.com/news/web-series/kanneda-season-1-review-72257.html) |
| Audience rating | 7.7/10 on IMDb from about 4,400 users[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35834854/ratings/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and setting
The story is set in Vancouver in the 1990s. Nirmal "Nimma" Chahal ([Parmish Verma](https://www.edgepedia.org/parmish-verma)) is a Punjabi immigrant whose family left India in the aftermath of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. He starts out honest, with a rugby scholarship meant to kickstart a music career, rapping over beats made by his friend Daljeet (Aadar Malik) as an escape from the prejudice he faces on the street. Racism and circumstance hold him back, and financial desperation entangles him with Sarabjit ([Arunoday Singh](https://www.edgepedia.org/arunoday-singh)), a crime lord running illicit operations, whom he serves as a drug runner and eventually rivals.[1](https://www.hollywoodreporterindia.com/reviews/streaming/kanneda-series-review-all-ambition-little-guile) • [2](https://scroll.in/reel/1080324/kanneda-review-a-high-pitched-saga-of-the-lows-of-drug-trafficking/) • [8](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/reviews/hindi/kanneda/kanneda-season-1/seasonreview/119196593.cms)
Nimma's fate also intersects with an investigation into Sarabjit's operations by Sanjay ([Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub](https://www.edgepedia.org/mohammed-zeeshan-ayyub)), an Indian-origin narcotics officer who serves as the story's narrator, and with the ambitions of businessman Ranjit Bajwa ([Ranvir Shorey](https://www.edgepedia.org/ranvir-shorey)), whose wife Gurinder (Supreet Bedi) seeks a political career. Nimma's romance with Harleen ([Jasmin Bajwa](https://www.edgepedia.org/jasmin-bajwa)), the sister of his best friend Daljeet, runs through the season.[2](https://scroll.in/reel/1080324/kanneda-review-a-high-pitched-saga-of-the-lows-of-drug-trafficking/) • [8](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/reviews/hindi/kanneda/kanneda-season-1/seasonreview/119196593.cms)
The show frames Nimma's rise and fall against the immigrant experience of the era. Reviewers note that the narrator states outright that racism is rampant and Punjabis are treated as second-class citizens, and the series namechecks the 1914 [Komagata Maru incident](https://www.edgepedia.org/komagata-maru-incident), in which Indians were denied entry into Canada. Nimma's frequent encounters with racism are contrasted with Ranjit's faith in Canadian-style assimilation.[1](https://www.hollywoodreporterindia.com/reviews/streaming/kanneda-series-review-all-ambition-little-guile) • [2](https://scroll.in/reel/1080324/kanneda-review-a-high-pitched-saga-of-the-lows-of-drug-trafficking/)
## Production
Kanneda is based on a story by Sudipto Sarkar and the late filmmaker Nishikant Kamat, and was written by Sarkar, Chandan Arora, Sandeep Jain, and Rajiv Walia, with Arora directing. It was produced by Jar Pictures, with cinematography by [Rajeev Ravi](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajeev-ravi) and a background score and raps by Salil Amrute. Parmish Verma, a singer as well as an actor, composed the series' music; he has said the songs give a parallel summary of the story, carrying details of the character that the show itself does not portray. [Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) reportedly began in 2023, and the trailer was released on 26 February 2025.[2](https://scroll.in/reel/1080324/kanneda-review-a-high-pitched-saga-of-the-lows-of-drug-trafficking/) • [6](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/kanneda-web-series-131020) • [9](https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/entertainment/entertainment-news/2025/Mar/27/kanneda-team-interview-punjabi-rap-is-both-confrontational-and-relatable)Verma connected personally with the role: his own family suffered during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, and he said he understood how that trauma affects people's lives. To grasp Nimma's criminal side, he built an imagined world of scenarios to make sense of the character's choices.[9](https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/entertainment/entertainment-news/2025/Mar/27/kanneda-team-interview-punjabi-rap-is-both-confrontational-and-relatable)
## Reception
Critical response was mixed. Devesh Sharma of Filmfare gave three and a half stars out of five, calling it a gripping, visceral portrayal of the immigrant experience in which Parmish Verma shines; Vineeta Kumar of India Today gave four stars, praising Verma's performance and calling the series a breath of fresh air in the Indian streaming scene.[5](https://www.filmfare.com/news/web-series/kanneda-season-1-review-72257.html) • [10](https://www.indiatoday.in/entertainment/ott/story/kanneda-review-parmish-varma-is-fantastic-in-gangster-drama-beyond-guns-and-goons-2696668-2025-03-21)
Other reviewers were cooler. Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in described the series as an overseas Indian version of [Brian De Palma](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-de-palma)'s *Scarface*, arguing that the migration and racism context gives heft to a predictable thug-life chronicle, with Nimma written as impossibly righteous and missing the layers that would make him more human. The Hollywood Reporter India found the screenplay unable to juggle its many threads, with Nimma's identity as a rapper reduced to an abstract concept, and judged the acting largely campy and the production values hurried. Ishita Sengupta of OTTplay called it a serviceable, soapy take on Punjabi immigration that unfolds in broad strokes, while noting that the sleek 30-minute episodes make it more tolerable than much streaming fare. The Times of India praised Rajeev Ravi's cinematography and the performances of Aadar Malik and Jasmin Bajwa, while faulting pacing and underdeveloped subplots, such as the ambiguity of Ranjit's motives.[2](https://scroll.in/reel/1080324/kanneda-review-a-high-pitched-saga-of-the-lows-of-drug-trafficking/) • [1](https://www.hollywoodreporterindia.com/reviews/streaming/kanneda-series-review-all-ambition-little-guile) • [4](https://www.ottplay.com/features/kanneda-a-soapy-take-on-punjab-immigration/b492466d8a33) • [8](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/reviews/hindi/kanneda/kanneda-season-1/seasonreview/119196593.cms)
Among the cast, Arunoday Singh's pulpy turn as cartel boss Sarabjit drew the most consistent praise; The Hollywood Reporter India called him the only performer who looked comfortable in the series, and Scroll.in noted he matched the show's increasingly hysterical pitch while Zeeshan Ayyub and Ranvir Shorey stayed remarkably controlled.[1](https://www.hollywoodreporterindia.com/reviews/streaming/kanneda-series-review-all-ambition-little-guile) • [2](https://scroll.in/reel/1080324/kanneda-review-a-high-pitched-saga-of-the-lows-of-drug-trafficking/)
On IMDb the series holds a 7.7/10 rating from about 4,400 users, with the most ratings coming from India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia; per-episode user scores for the rated episodes of season 1 ranged from 7.8 to 8.6.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35834854/ratings/)
## References
1. ['Kanneda' Series Review: All Ambition, Little Guile, The Hollywood Reporter India](https://www.hollywoodreporterindia.com/reviews/streaming/kanneda-series-review-all-ambition-little-guile)
2. ['Kanneda' review: A high-pitched saga of the lows of drug trafficking, Scroll.in](https://scroll.in/reel/1080324/kanneda-review-a-high-pitched-saga-of-the-lows-of-drug-trafficking/)
3. [Kanneda (TV Series 2025– ), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35834854/)
4. [Kanneda Is A Soapy Take On The Punjab Immigration, OTTplay](https://www.ottplay.com/features/kanneda-a-soapy-take-on-punjab-immigration/b492466d8a33)
5. [Kanneda Season 1 Review: Raw and visceral crime drama, Filmfare](https://www.filmfare.com/news/web-series/kanneda-season-1-review-72257.html)
6. [Kanneda Web Series (2025), Gadgets 360](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/kanneda-web-series-131020)
7. [Kanneda (TV Series 2025– ) - Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35834854/ratings/)
8. [Kanneda Season 1 Review, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/reviews/hindi/kanneda/kanneda-season-1/seasonreview/119196593.cms)
9. [Kanneda Team Interview: 'Punjabi rap is both confrontational and relatable', The New Indian Express](https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/entertainment/entertainment-news/2025/Mar/27/kanneda-team-interview-punjabi-rap-is-both-confrontational-and-relatable)
10. [Kanneda review: Parmish Varma is fantastic in gangster drama beyond guns and goons, India Today](https://www.indiatoday.in/entertainment/ott/story/kanneda-review-parmish-varma-is-fantastic-in-gangster-drama-beyond-guns-and-goons-2696668-2025-03-21)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › South and Southeast Asian serials › Hindi serials and Indian Hindi-language dramas › Crime and thriller serials*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license