Just Finished Watching This, And I Can Honestly Say It’s The Best Bollywood Movie I’ve Watched In

Just finished watching this, and I can honestly say it’s the best Bollywood movie I’ve watched in the longest time. I wasn’t too impressed by the trailer when I watched it, but Nai Lagda came up on a random playlist I was listening to recently, and I’ve been obsessed with it since. So I decided to give the movie a try today (thanks to @chahat-ke-safar 💗💗💗) and it was completely worth it!

A gorgeously shot movie, sweetly written (the humour in the first half reminded me of Malayalam films), and the performances are pretty great too. I wasn’t expecting much from Bhai’s nepotism launches (especially considering the history *cough* Hero, Loveyaatri *cough cough*), but man, did they turn out to be a pleasant surprise. Pranutan has great screen presence, and I really liked her dialogue delivery in particular. (I dislike the dialogue delivery of almost all Bollywood actresses launched post 2007 and at most, tolerate them in their movies.) Zaheer is a little wooden, but likable, and has a nice chemistry with the children. Oh, the children were another reason I was wary of watching the movie, coz I tend to dislike the precociousness they’re forced to perform; but the children in this movie were all great actors, and adorable to boot (especially that one little girl who takes her pet fish Dingu everywhere!) Another notable factor: movies set in J&K always have that stereotypical conflict angle looming, but this movie thankfully subverts that trope. There are mentions of the Kashmiri Pandit exodus and other conflicts in the area as character-building background details, but not in a gratuitous manner that most showcase in “a Kashmir movie”.

I just cannot believe a wonderful little movie like this; focusing on a simpler life and the joy of little things; with a smart, strong, empowering female lead; and a heartwarming bond based on respect; is so woefully ignored, while toxic, misogynist bullshit like Kabir Singh is going on to make 250 crores. Please rectify that, and watch this if you’re in the mood for something that’s sweet, and simple, and fills you with warm, happy feelz!