Here’s a little insight into how my daily routine of 2020 can be extrapolated to an entire year – basically be doing office work the whole freaking time and finding pockets of time throughout the day to do other stuff like having lunch, cooking, being a potato & instagramming (coz a day seems incomplete without it just like it would without pooping). Needless to say, this means my reading has gone for a toss! I entered the biggest reading slump with my 12th book of the year and I can say that I haven’t read more than 20 pages since last 1.5 months. I also mentioned here that I realized most of my reading happened in my pre-pandemic commute.

What I am trying to say is I have no life left. And, no, I am not going to blame work for it. I need to reform myself and it hit me the hardest when I realized we are already in December. So here I am – picking books again, writing here again – even trying out blogmas (whatever that means seriously). Also should mention that I am typing this all up via the WordPress phone app because too tired and lazy to pickup the laptop again. I need to do a post on what a whirlwind of changes this year has been (don’t we all?) but this post is a fun one for me to get into the writing vibe and for you to savor.

Here I am talking about my favorite movies of ‘current times’. When I say current times, I mean the times when we have grown as adults and when we are in the age where we love to say “they don’t make good movies anymore”.

Tell me by the end of this post – do you see a pattern here?

1. Piku: what completely seems to be a regular drama feature gradually turns into an emotional ride as it progresses. I have watched this one several times and felt an emotional void, a feeling where I didn’t know exactly what I felt – maybe that feeling of knowing that your parents are growing old, there is a child to parent role reversal happening gradually but you still can’t be done with the fights with them? I was always teary-eyed, always left longing for something I couldn’t put my finger on. Apart from the emotional bit, I love the vintage-style shots of Kolkata and, of course, Piku – Smart, confident, fierce, protective, fearful yet strong and unapologetic! This movie starred Amitabh Bachchan as one of the leads, but if you have watched this, you know late Irrfan Khan stole the show (can’t believe we are writing late for him!)

2. Queen: The coming of age of a ‘homely’ Punjabi girl whose fiance decides to call off the wedding on the wedding day. Not used to stepping out for errands alone, she decides to go on her honeymoon to Europe alone. This movie is better than it sounds and delivers more than it promises. You cannot stop cheering for the protagonist and her wins become your own! I want to say one thing – I don’t watch a lot of movies so I may not be right – but I do feel it’s one of the freshest concepts Bollywood has explored!

3. Dear Zindagi: a movie aptly describing our generation – Kiara – accomplished yet discontent, over ambitious and always being hard on herself. And then comes a therapist who decidedly changes the way she thinks, frees her mind and takes her on a journey where she can face her biggest fears and sets herself free. Every lesson he teaches her makes me emotional and I relate to the feeling of finding it difficult to go easy on oneself and when someone else has to take the onus of making you realise the same. Few of my favorite lessons and lines from this movie –

“जब आसान रास्ते से काम ‌हो सकता है, तो मुश्किल रास्ता ‌चुनना क्यों जरूरी है?” Translation – when something can be done through an easy method, why it’s always important to take the difficult route?”

“अगर हम खुल के रो नहीं सकेंगे, तो खुल कर हसेंगे कैसे?” Translation – if we won’t be able to weep uninhabited, then how we will be able to laugh uninhabited?

Something that everyone who has watched this movie would have noticed – this movie shows Alia Bhatt in some of the best outfits ever for a girl next door role!

Bonus – Band Baaja Baaraat: Now this is a movie with all the typical bollywood masalas but it still stands out for me than the usual fare because its plot is focussed on two graduates making a career out of wedding planning. If you know me in real life, you know I dig this as a career option. 😀 I love, love, love the idea of being a professional wedding planner because I think this is the only profession where I won’t dread Monday mornings! I love weddings, I love helping out friends plan their outfits, venues etc etc (provided I am being asked) and I am excited as hell about wedding planning. Let me know if you want any help in planning yours!😛 Needless to say, this is the reason I love this movie a little extra. Do watch this if you are looking for a fun, light rom-com.

That’s it from my end for today! Do share your own recommendations in comments.

Also, I made a similar list here long ago where I mentioned my most favorite movies of all times (they belong to times I was not born in😀)