Why everyone should know about Induna.com

It's no surprise that I buy Indian movies. Too many of them, actually. From going to an Indian store to buying online, I've encountered so many experiences.

But never...ever....ever....like with Induna.

Let me explain.

In the past, I started to order online because it was a lot cheaper than purchasing them at the Indian store. Besides that, most online sites offered free shipping only when you purchase a certain amount.

But still, the films I wanted still were not available on dvds yet, or the websites did not have those particular film titles. I'm still eagerly looking for a lot of films I watched when I was younger.

Not only that, in the past few years, I started to watch South Indian movies. I've blogged before about trying to find Sameera Reddy's film, Kalpurush.

Thank goodness for the Internet and people who actually read what I write about; piyaara e-mailed me about Induna having Kalpurush.

I was sooooo excited. Even though I have heard great things about Induna, I have never ordered from them. The prices are really cheap but Induna was based in India. The shipping is high. After debating so much, I decided to do a little research.

It can't be that bad, right? Blogger buddies such as Ajnabi and BB have ordered before. Honestly, I have heard NOTHING BUT GREAT THINGS about Induna.
Ajnabi blogged about it before.

Oh! And let me take this opportunity to totally pimp Induna.com if you haven't heard of it before. I bought: Aaja Nachle 2-disc edition, Chak De! India, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Salaam-e-Ishq, Saawariya, JTYJN 2-disc, Tashan, Don (SRK), Chup Chup Ke, Refugee, Pinjar, Welcome to Sajjanpur, Kismat Konnection, K3G (gift) and Bride & Prejudice (yet another gift) and paid less than $100 including 3-day shipping from DHL. They arrived well-packed and in perfect condition. I lurve them with hearts, flowers, and a marigold garland attached. Also perhaps a thaali waved in front of them.

Well-known Bollywood forum for newbies, Bollywhat, has a thread dedicated to Induna. I read through the thread and there were positive feedback.
kragedy aka BB

1. I highly recommend Induna if you're in India or are buying 10+ films. Great prices and very fast shipping.
2. Make sure you check to see if the DVD is PAL or NTSC. Almost all of them are NTSC, but I accidentally bought the PAL version of Duplicate, and now I can only watch it on my computer. Which pisses me off, because I love that movle to death.
3. Watch out for T Series DVDs. They come in cardboard sleeves (doesn't bother me, but might nag some), and some (like Chameli) have a moderately obnoxious "T Series" stamp in the upper right corner.
4. Moserbaer DVDs are great for the price (slighty better picture quality than Eros, which costs twice as much), although the subtitles aren't as good as those on an Eros DVD. The only issue I've had so far? I can't go from "subtitles" to "resume" with Zubeidaa...no big, though; I have a similar problem with my Paheli DVD.
5. Excellent--and I mean EXCELLENT--customer service!

I know I sound like a broken record, but I can't recommend Induna enough. As other people have said, the owners are very personable and prompt. And again, I also have to suggest buying in bulk--10 movies or more--if you're outside of India, because it REALLY spreads out the shipping cost. I've allotted up to $120 to my next Induna order (which I plan to actually place at the end of the month), and currently, my order spreads out to $4.08 per DVD for 25 DVDs. Also, DHL is Hella fast, so the shipping costs are allowable.

magdalena had no trouble with ordering from Induna, the problem was with Sweden's DHL

I ordered a bunch of dvds from Induna on May 3 - ordering process, payment and confirmation was very smooth - they shipped it the day after and apparently (according to DHL) it was delivered to someone at my address (in Sweden) on May 8. Excellent, right? Problem is I wasn't the one who received it, and I'm the only one at that address. According to DHL customer serivce the slip was signed by someone with a completely different name than mine...

I have no idea what has happened, and DHL is still "looking into it". I don't really care why or what, I just want my films. Now.

I'm very happy to let you know that I received the package today, against all odds! Such a wonderful surprise.

I called DHL Sweden several times over the last few days. They did some more research on their side, contacted Induna etc. Apparently the package was never delivered to my house after all, although it said so in their computer system and they had someone's signature to "prove it". They now claim that it had ended up in a in some storage space in a city not too far from here. I'm very happy they finally found it! However, I think they should at least have apologized to me and also gotten back to Induna to tell them that the issue has been solved. I had to pay an extra tax/toll fee as well (which was expected).

A very polite person from Induna in India called me up a couple of minutes ago to check if I had received the package. Wonderful! He was very worried and kept apologizing for not being able to help, since DHL India was closed because of the elections. Fantastic service, I have to say! As several people have already mentioned earlier in this thread - they actually care, which is something you don't see so much of nowadays - like you said, Leaf, smaller businesses compared to big corporations etc...

Another great surprise was that I got a free copy of Ek Chalis Ki Last Local with the Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! dvd (was included by Moserbaer).

I would definitely order from Induna again. However, I'd probably keep tracking the package through internet and then try to time it so I can be at home sitting on my balcony keeping a watch on the DHL lorry approaching
In response to magdalena, alexaha made a cute comment

OMG, did you speak to Aadaarsh himself? I'm all for "Aadaarsh is my hero" t-shirts, lol.

I'm glad you got your films, finally! Luckily, I never had problems with DHL delivery, but something similar happened to me with a parcel delivered by dpd a few months ago and it was quite unnerving to sort things out.

Another satisfied customer, Nina

Induna is awesomeness itself in my book. My package arrived in Europe 3 days after ordering -- and two of those days were the weekend! I found to my dismay that 2 of the disks don't have subtitles, but that's because I was a dumbass and didn't double-check before ordering: the information is all as clear as day on Induna's website. The DVDs only cost like 1-2 dollars, though, so I don't feel like I've lost much; the songs at least will be more than enjoyable at that price. But anyway: don't be dumb like me and assume all DVDs (as opposed to VCDs) have subtitles, especially when they only cost a buck.Also, I love the way they choose one notable person involved in the making of each film -- actor, director, or composer -- and provide a hyperlink to that person's oeuvre from each film page. I thought it was a clever way to lead me to other things I might want to buy (and to increase their own bottom line).And I feel so much happier being able to pay through PayPal, rather than sending my VISA details out into the unknown yet again. Yep: so long as they do nothing to piss me off in future orders (seems unlikely given the reviews on this thread), I think Induna is the one for me.

So...that was enough for me to finally place an order, especially from overseas in India. Stupid me was having trouble with ordering. I emailed Induna. The response was so quick! Aardarsh even offered to call and help me!!

When I finally figured it out, I placed an order. Even though the shipping costs may seem expensive, the prices for the dvds are fairly cheap. In average, I spent only $104.59 for 21 dvds!!!! Pretty good, huh? That's right below $5 for each dvd. That would have been the same amount if I ordered from the USA!!!

Aardarsh was sweet enough to e-mail me that he was keeping up with my package and was worried that I may not get my package in 3 days, as promised.

But I got my package in 3 days! That's faster than ordering in the USA too. I knew about DHL's policies about having someone sign for them so I had it delivered at work. You don't know how excited I was when I signed for my package in 3 days!!!



I opened the package and look how neatly it was boxed up. Since I ordered 21 dvds, How come I got 22 dvds? Did some research on the extra dvd, which had a sticker on it -- it is Induna's Sailing Flix, a program to help spread the news of Indian films and Induna.

Since half of my movies I ordered are with MoserBaer, I got this cute mask. What I love about them is they carry a lot of older titles with English subs. Even the songs are subtitled. I've had problems with some dvd carriers not having the songs with subtitles. Why not??


I even got this 99 thingy (I don't know what to call it). Makes me want to buy the dvd! I should. The film stars Kunal Khemu (watched, loved, and wrote bout).
Yes, I looooooooooove Induna. They are all that with a cherry on top.

Highly recommended.

www.induna.com