Netflix 2026 Slate: 'Hum Hindustani' Revisits India’s First Election With Saif Ali Khan and Pratik Gandhi

As part of its 2026 slate announcement, Netflix unveiled Hum Hindustani, a series inspired by true events surrounding India’s first general election, conducted between 1951 and 1952, co-starring Saif Ali Khan and Pratik Gandhi. Set in the fragile early years of Independence, the show chronicles the administrative and human effort behind conducting a nationwide vote in a country still reeling from Partition, economic hardship and political uncertainty.

The series centres on a group of officials tasked with executing the promise of universal adult franchise at a scale never attempted before. With a largely illiterate electorate, limited infrastructure and deep scepticism about whether democracy could function in such conditions, the Election Commission of India had to devise systems from the ground up—introducing electoral symbols, transporting ballot boxes across vast and often inaccessible terrain, and persuading citizens that their vote mattered.

Saif Ali Khan and Pratik Gandhi lead the cast, joined by Deepak Dobriyal, Mimi Chakraborty, Sarika and Shraddha Dangar. For Khan, Hum Hindustani marks a continuation of his long association with Netflix. His 2018 series Sacred Games was the platform’s first Indian original and is widely credited with kickstarting the streaming boom in the country. Gandhi, meanwhile, comes to the project after Saare Jahaan Se Achha, another Netflix title that further established him as a performer drawn to politically and historically rooted narratives.

Written and directed by Rahul Dholakia, the series approaches the election from the perspective of those working on the ground rather than focusing on prominent political leaders. The makers describe the right to vote as the central idea driving the narrative, framing the election as a collective effort shaped by belief, persistence and institutional resolve.

Produced by Monisha Advani, Madhu Bhojwani and Nikkhil Advani under the Emmay Entertainment banner, Hum Hindustani aims to present this landmark moment in Indian history with scale while remaining rooted in documented realities. By focusing on the mechanics of the election itself, the series foregrounds the processes that turned a newly independent nation into the world’s largest democracy.