If Waiting Hai entertained you with its unusual Tatkal ticket scam, quirky characters and the cat-and-mouse chase between Sugam Mishra and Hamza, there are several Indian web shows like Waiting Hai that offer a similar mix of crime, comedy, clever schemes and investigation. Some revolve around people finding ingenious ways to beat the system, while others bring together cops, scammers, hackers and unlikely criminals in stories packed with chaos.
From Farzi and Pritam & Pedro to Jamtara and Choona, here are 10 shows like Waiting Hai to watch if you enjoyed its entertaining combination of scams, humour, technology and crime.
1. Farzi – Prime Video
One of the closest shows to Waiting Hai, Farzi follows Sunny, a gifted artist who discovers that his talent can be used to create remarkably convincing counterfeit currency. What begins as a way out of financial trouble gradually pulls him into a much larger criminal operation, while determined officer Michael tries to bring down the counterfeit network. Shahid Kapoor, Vijay Sethupathi, Kay Kay Menon and Raashii Khanna lead the series, while Bhuvan Arora, who plays Hamza in Waiting Hai, appears as Sunny’s friend Firoz. If you enjoyed watching a clever young man turn an unusual skill into an illegal business while an investigator closes in, Farzi should be high on your watchlist.
2. Pritam & Pedro – JioHotstar
Pritam & Pedro is another strong recommendation for viewers who enjoyed the combination of technology, investigation and humour in Waiting Hai. Set in Goa, the series brings an old-school cop together with a tech-savvy partner, with their completely different approaches creating plenty of friction as they investigate cybercrime and complicated cases. Arshad Warsi, Vir Hirani, Vikrant Massey, Boman Irani and Mona Singh are part of the ensemble. With cops, cybercrime, technology and comedy all driving the story, Pritam & Pedro comes particularly close to the lighter investigative flavour of Waiting Hai.
Also Watch: 9 Shows Like Pritam & Pedro
3. Jamtara: Sabka Number Ayega – Netflix
Jamtara takes viewers into a small-town phishing operation run by young men who make money by tricking unsuspecting people over the phone. Their profitable racket becomes increasingly dangerous when powerful people want a share of the business and law enforcement begins closing in. Like Waiting Hai, the series explores how technology can be used to exploit weaknesses in an everyday system and turn a clever trick into an organised operation. Jamtara is considerably darker, but its combination of technology, scams and investigation makes it an easy recommendation.
4. Choona – Netflix
A group of very different people discover that they have one thing in common: a powerful politician named Shukla has given each of them a reason to hate him. Instead of taking him on directly, they assemble an unlikely team and begin planning an elaborate heist to steal his money. Jimmy Shergill leads an ensemble featuring Namit Das, Monika Panwar, Aashim Gulati, Chandan Roy and Vikram Kochhar. Choona combines crime, comedy, clever planning and characters whose schemes don’t always unfold the way they expect, making it a particularly entertaining follow-up to Waiting Hai.
5. Guns & Gulaabs – Netflix
Set in the fictional town of Gulaabgunj in the 1990s, Guns & Gulaabs brings gangsters, cops and ordinary people together in one wonderfully chaotic crime story. Rajkummar Rao, Dulquer Salmaan, Adarsh Gourav and Gulshan Devaiah headline Raj & DK’s genre-blending series. The criminal world here is considerably more dangerous than the Tatkal racket in Waiting Hai, but both shows find humour in situations that could easily have become straightforward crime thrillers. Watch it for eccentric characters, criminals, cops, betrayals and plenty of unexpected comedy.
6. Matsya Kaand – Amazon MX Player
Matsya Thada isn’t the kind of criminal who depends on brute force. He uses disguises, careful planning and psychological tricks to execute elaborate cons while attempting to remain several steps ahead of the police. Ravi Dubey plays Matsya, while Ravi Kishan takes on the role of the determined cop pursuing him and Piyush Mishra plays an important part in Matsya’s journey. The continuing contest between a clever conman and the officer determined to catch him gives Matsya Kaand a clear connection to the Sugam-Hamza chase in Waiting Hai. It leans more towards thriller than comedy, but fans of clever schemes and cat-and-mouse stories should enjoy it.
7. Sunflower – ZEE5
A murder inside the seemingly ordinary Sunflower housing society turns its eccentric residents into potential suspects, with Sonu Singh becoming particularly difficult for the investigating officers to ignore. Sunil Grover’s unpredictable performance sits at the centre of a story that mixes murder mystery, strange situations and dark humour. Sunflower isn’t built around a technological scam, but it shares Waiting Hai‘s ability to surround a police investigation with colourful characters and comedy. Pick this one if the investigation-and-humour combination was what you enjoyed most.
8. Maamla Legal Hai – Netflix
If the everyday Indian setting and humour of Waiting Hai appealed to you more than the scam itself, Maamla Legal Hai is a great next watch. Set around the fictional Patparganj District Court, the series follows a colourful group of lawyers dealing with bizarre cases, professional ambitions and the everyday chaos of the legal system. Ravi Kishan leads the ensemble alongside Nidhi Bisht, Naila Grewal and Anant V Joshi. Like Waiting Hai, much of the fun comes from taking a familiar Indian institution and filling it with unusual characters, jugaad and increasingly ridiculous situations.
Also Watch: Shows like Maamla Legal Hai
9. Tribhuvan Mishra: CA Topper – Netflix
Tribhuvan Mishra appears to be an ordinary chartered accountant living a respectable family life until financial trouble pushes him towards a secret second existence. What begins as an attempt to solve his money problems soon becomes increasingly complicated as criminals, family secrets and unexpected relationships enter the picture. Manav Kaul leads this dark comedy alongside Tillotama Shome and Shweta Basu Prasad. The central story is very different from Waiting Hai, but both shows find humour in watching seemingly ordinary people become trapped in situations that grow much bigger and messier than they expected.
10. Criminal Justice – JioHotstar
If the investigative side of Waiting Hai kept you hooked, Criminal Justice takes viewers much deeper into the machinery of crime, police investigations and India’s legal system. Across its different seasons, the anthology explores complicated criminal cases from multiple perspectives, following accused individuals, investigators and lawyers as new details gradually change what appears to have happened. Pankaj Tripathi’s Madhav Mishra remains one of the series’ central characters, bringing warmth and occasional humour to otherwise serious cases. It is considerably darker than Waiting Hai, but viewers who enjoyed watching Sugam slowly unravel a criminal operation may appreciate its investigation-heavy storytelling.
Which Show Should You Watch After Waiting Hai?
If you want something closest to the scam-and-investigation setup of Waiting Hai, start with Farzi, especially since Bhuvan Arora plays important roles in both shows. Pritam & Pedro is another strong choice if you want crime, technology and investigation mixed with comedy, while Jamtara takes the technology-driven scam idea in a darker direction. For more crime-comedy, try Choona or Guns & Gulaabs; for the cop-versus-criminal chase, go with Matsya Kaand; and if the investigative side interested you most, Criminal Justice offers a much more serious alternative.