Bond over these delightful stories with your family
To commemorate the International Family Day (May 15), here’s a curated list of stories that celebrate the different flavours of domesticity, its struggles, challenges and triumphs.
Hyderabad: English comedian, actor and writer Leslie Dawson described the family unit with characteristic humour when he said, “Families are like fudge – mostly sweet, with a few nuts.” It is this unpredictable quirky quality that makes each family unit unique.
To commemorate the International Family Day (May 15), here’s a curated list of stories that celebrate the different flavours of domesticity, its struggles, challenges and triumphs. Check out:
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (Prime Video)
What happens when a strong-willed, independent woman and a traditional, ‘unwoke’ man exchange households and step into each other’s family? Rani (Alia Bhatt) is taken aback when she comes up against the regressive notions about marriage and career and Rocky (Ranveer Singh) is at a loss when he meets his free-spirited future in-laws. Through their experiences, the film raises many pertinent questions about gender, the meaning of masculinity, feminism and family.
Drishyam 2 (Prime Video)
How far will you go to protect your family? This is the question that the multi-lingual ‘Drishyam’ franchise asks. The sequel is as absorbing as the first film where a murder inadvertently pushed a happy family into a terrifying battle for survival. In the second film, the truth that had been buried comes back to haunt Vijay Salgaonkar (Ajay Devgn) and his family seven years later. How he manages to protect his family by remaining one step ahead of a wily police officer, a vengeful mother on a mission and legal loopholes, makes for a riveting watch.
Do Dooni Chaar (Netflix)
Habib Faisal’s ‘Do Dooni Chaar’ is a realistic portrayal of an overworked teacher whose battered scooter is a butt of jokes, an unappreciated mother who had to sacrifice her career and children whose aspirations and dreams are grander than what their parents can afford. The audience lives every moment of the journey as the squabbling, penny-pinching Duggals plan and plot to bring back harmony as well as some semblance of joy in their family.
Fakt Mahilao Maate (Shemaroome.com)
This tongue-in-cheek Anand Pandit production makes audiences wonder if perhaps only a miracle can bridge the gender gap. The Gujarati blockbuster narrates an unexpected event in the life of Chintan Parikh, a young middle-class man which enables him to listen to the inner voices of the women in his life, including his grandmother, mother, sister, and fiancé. His newfound power humbles him as he delves into the nuances of female emotions and relationships and learns that equality and co-existence are the only mantras for a happy life.
Laapataa Ladies (Netflix)
This delightful rural comedy is an eye-opening account of what happens when a new bride is misplaced and another one lands in the wrong household. Through Phool and Jaya, we meet women who have contrasting personalities and deal with the common crisis in their life in strikingly different ways. While Phool learns that there is a world beyond her ‘ghoongat’, Jaya uses the ‘ghoongat’ to negotiate for freedom and agency.
