Everything I watched in 2021

Feature Films

Life (2015)

8/10

English

Anton Corbijn

Is Love Enough? Sir (2018)

10/10

Hindi, English, Marathi

Rohena Gera

Rebecca (2020)

7/10

English, French

Ben Wheatly

Unpaused (2020)

9/10

Hindi, English

Raj & DK, Nitya Mehra, Nikkhil Advani, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Avinash Arun

The Lighthouse (2019)

8/10

English

Robert Eggers

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015)

9/10

Hindi, English, Bengali, Japanese

Dibakar Banerjee

Tribhanga - Tedhi Medhi Crazy (2021)

9/10

Hindi, English & Marathi

Renuka Shahane

The Land of Steady Habits (2018)

8/10

English

Nicole Holofcener

Uncle Frank (2020)

7/10

English

Alan Ball

Jaoon Kahan Bata Ae Dil (2019)

5/10

Hindi & English

Aadish Keluskar

Music Teacher (2019)

7/10

Hindi

Sarthak Dasgupta

Don Jon (2013)

7/10

English

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

The Last Color (2019)

8/10

Hindi

Vikas Khanna

The White Tiger (2021)

8/10

English & Hindi

Ramin Bahrani

The Girl on the Train (2021)

6/10

Hindi

Ribhu Dasgupta

Evening Shadows (2018)

7/10

Hindi

Sridhar Rangayan

Matthias & Maxime (2019)

7/10

French & English

Xavier Dolan

Pagglait (2021)

7/10

Hindi

Umesh Bist

The Intern (2015)

8/10

English

Nancy Meyers

My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)

7/10

English

P. J. Hogan

Ajeeb Daastaans (2021)

7/10

Hindi

Shashank Khaitan, Raj Mehta,

Neeraj Ghaywan & Kayoze Irani

Summer of 85 (2020)

6/10

French

François Ozon

Zindagi: in Short (2020)

6/10

Hindi, Gujarati & English

• Tahira Kashyap
• Punarvasu Naik
• Vijayeta Kumar
• Rakesh Sain
• Gautam Govind Sharma
• Smrutika Panigrahi
• Vinay Chhawal

Latter Days (2003)

5/10

English

C. Jay Cox

Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar (2021)

9/10

Hindi

Dibakar Banerjee

Another Round (2020)

7/10

Danish

Thomas Vinterberg

Y Tu Mamá También (2001)

6/10

Spanish

Alfonso Cuarón

End of the Century (2019)

8/10

Spanish

Lucio Castro

A Summer's Tale (1996)

8/10

French

Éric Rohmer

Haseen Dillruba (2021)

7/10

Hindi

Vinil Mathew

Strangers (2007)

6/10

Hindi

Aanand L Rai

Chehre (2021)

6/10

Hindi

Rumy Jafry

Paris 05:59:Théo & Hugo (2016)

8/10

French

Olivier Ducastel & Jacques Martineau

Tom at the Farm (2013)

8/10

French

Xavier Dolan

Ankahi Kahaniya (2021)

9/10

Hindi

Abhishek Chaubey, Saket Chaudhary & 

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

Bunty aur Babli 2 (2021)

6/10

Hindi

Varun Sharma

Kaali Khuhi (2020)

7/10

Hindi

Terrie Samundra

Chhorii (2021)

9/10

Hindi

Vishal Furia

Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (2021)

7/10

Hindi & Punjabi

Abhishek Kapoor

Sur: The Melody of Life (2002)

8/10

Hindi

Tanuja Chandra

Meenakshi Sundareshwar (2021)

7/10

Hindi

Vivek Soni

P. S. Films indicated in Italic and Underline are the ones which I saw in theatre. 

Web Series / TV Shows

I Know This Much Is True

The Married Woman

Season 1

Dev DD 

Season 2

Modern Love

Season 1 & 2

Bombay Begums

Season 1

Bandish Bandits

Season 1

Out of Love

Season 1 & 2

His Storyy

Season 1

What the Love! with Karan Johar

Season 1

Normal People

Season 1

Broken But Beautiful

Season 3

Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives

Season 1

Maharani

Season 1

Feels Like Ishq

Season 1

Bhaag Beanie Bhaag

Season 1

Little Things

Season 4

Bigg Boss OTT

Season 1

Fittrat

Season 1, Episodes 1 to 4

Adulting

Season 3

Decoupled

Season 1

Virgin River

Season 1 to 3

Emily in Paris

Season 2

Never Have I Ever

Season 2

Short film

Closure - A Film about Consent by Tinder

The Booth

Counterfeit Cunkoo

Summer Vacation

Six Strands

Rewatch

We Are Family

Dear Maya

Into the Wild

Love Aaj Kal (2020)

Fleabag

Season 1 & 2

Pushpavalli

Season 1 & 2

Matched short film 

Jab We Met 

Sisak (short film)

Loev

English Vinglish

A Suitable Boy

Khamakha (short film)

Queen

October

Hum Tum 

Raanjhanaa

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu

Books I read in 2021

1. Aayno

Gujarati

Ashwini Bhatt

(4/5)

2. Saat Pagla Aakashman

Gujarati

Kundanika Kapadia

(5/5)

3. Home Body

English

Rupi Kaur

(4/5)

4. Theek Tumhare Peechhe

Hindi

Manav Kaul

(5/5)

5. Tatvamasi

Gujarati

Dhruv Bhatt

(4/5)

6. Prem Kabootar

Hindi

Manav Kaul

(4/5)

7: Amrita Imroz: A Love Story

English

Uma Trilok

(5/5)

8. Tumhare Baare Mein

Hindi

Manav Kaul

(5/5)

Re-read

Ek ane Ek

Gujarati

Chandrakant Bakshi

(4/5)

Lili Nasoma Pankhar

Gujarati

Chandrakant Bakshi

(4/5)

Hun, Konarak Shah

Gujarati

Chandrakant Bakshi

(4/5)

Ekaltana Kinara

Gujarati

Chandrakant Bakshi

(5/5)

P.S. I have just included the books which I picked up this year and finished reading. I couldn't complete few books so I've not added them.

હમ તુમ - એરપોર્ટ પર છૂટા પડીને ફરીથી મળવું

કુણાલ કોહલીની ફિલ્મ 'હમ તુમ' ખૂબ જ સુંદર રીતે નવ વર્ષના સમયગાળામાં બદલાતી લાગણીઓનું વર્ણન કરે છે. રિયા (રાની મુખર્જી) અને કરણ (સૈફ અલી ખાન) વર્ષો સુધી એકબીજાને મળે છે, છૂટા પડે છે અને ફરીથી મળે છે તે સમય દરમિયાન તેઓની જિંદગીમાં ઘણા પરિવર્તનો આવે છે. દુઃખ આવ્યા બાદ ફરીથી જિંદગીમાં આગળ વધવું એ પ્રક્રિયા રિયાની જિંદગીમાં બને છે. કરણ વર્ષો પછી પોતાના વિચારો અને જિંદગી વિશેના અભિગમમાં પરિપક્વ બને છે.

રિયા અને કરણ સૌપ્રથમ એરપોર્ટ પર મળે છે, જ્યારે તેઓ ન્યૂ યોર્ક જઈ રહ્યા હોય છે. તેઓ એમસ્ટરડમમાં સાથે ફરે છે અને ઝઘડીને છૂટા પડે છે. ન્યૂ યોર્કમાં તેઓ ફરીથી મળે છે અને રિયા પોતાની મિત્ર અને કરણની તે સમયની ગર્લફ્રેન્ડ શાલિની (શહેનાઝ ટ્રેઝરીવાલા) સાથે એમસ્ટરડમમાં થયેલ ઘટનાઓનું વર્ણન કરે છે. આથી રિયા અને કરણ ફરીથી અલગ થાય છે.

રિયા અને કરણ ત્રણ વર્ષ પછી દિલ્હીમાં મળે છે, રિયા સમીર (અભિષેક બચ્ચન) સાથે લગ્ન કરી રહી છે અને લગ્ન બાદ જ્યારે રિયા સમીર સાથે જાય છે ત્યારે ફરીથી તેઓ એરપોર્ટ પર છૂટા પડે છે.

તેઓ ત્રણ વર્ષ પછી ફરીથી પેરિસમાં મળે છે, ફક્ત એક જ વખત તેઓ ટ્રેનમાં મળે છે અને સમીર મૃત્યુ પામેલ છે તે વાતની કરણને જાણ હોતી નથી. ત્યારે ફિલ્મનો ઇન્ટરવલ આવે છે.

કરણ જયારે પેરિસથી પરત મુંબઈ જાય છે ત્યારે રિયા તેને મૂકવા માટે એરપોર્ટ પર જાય છે અને યાદ કરે છે કે તેઓ સૌપ્રથમ એરપોર્ટ પર મળ્યા હતા. વર્ષો પછી રિયા અને કરણની દોસ્તી તેમજ પ્રેમની લાગણીઓની શરૂઆત થાય છે પણ તેઓ ફરીથી પેરિસ એરપોર્ટ પર અલગ થાય છે.

રિયા જ્યારે મુંબઈ આવે છે ત્યારે મિહિર (જિમી શેરગિલ) તેને એરપોર્ટ પર લેવા જાય છે. મિહિરનાં લગ્નમાં રિયા અને કરણ ફરીથી અલગ પડે છે અને અલગ અલગ દિશામાં જાય છે. તેઓ એકબીજા સાથે રહેવા માંગે છે પરંતુ તેની પાછળ તેમનાં વિચારો અલગ છે.

ફિલ્મનાં અંતમાં તેઓ એકબીજા સાથે લાગણીઓનો એકરાર કરે છે અને તેઓ સાથે એક જ દિશામાં જાય છે. આખી ફિલ્મ દરમિયાન આ પ્રક્રિયા ખૂબ જ સુંદર રીતે વ્યક્ત થાય છે.

રિયા અને કરણ બંને કલાકાર છે. રિયા ફેશન ડિઝાઇનર તરીકે કરિયર બનાવે છે, જ્યારે કરણ કાર્ટૂનિસ્ટ અને લેખક તરીકે. બંનેનો ઉછેર તેઓની માતાએ કર્યો છે. કરણનાં માતા પિતા અંજુ (રતિ અગ્નિહોત્રી) અને અર્જુન (રિશિ કપૂર) અલગ રહે છે. આથી કરણનો ઉછેર તેની મા અંજુ કરે છે. જયારે રિયાનાં પિતા મૃત્યુ પામેલ છે આથી રિયાનો ઉછેર રિયાની મા પરમિન્દર (કિરણ ખેર) કરે છે.

ફિલ્મનું ટાઈટલ ટ્રેક ખૂબ જ સુંદર રીતે શૂટ થયું છે. રિયા અને કરણ અનુક્રમે વયોવૃદ્ધ દંપતી, બાળકની અપેક્ષા રાખતા પરિણીત દંપતી અને તેમની પ્રપોઝ ક્ષણ વખતનાં યુવા દંપતીને મળે છે. આ વિપરીત હોવું જોઈએ ને? દર વખતે હું આ વિશે ઘણું વિચારું છું. કદાચ કરણ અને રિયાની વાર્તા અલગ છે એટલે આ રીતે હોઈ શકે. વર્ષો પછી પણ આ ફિલ્મ મને એટલી જ ગમે છે અને વર્ષો પછી પણ ગમશે જ. હું ઈચ્છા રાખું કે રિયા અને કરણ તેમના બાળકો અને પાળેલ કૂતરા ટોમી સાથે ખુશ હશે!

Rani - Queen

Dear Rani, 

Maybe the best decision you took would be that you decided to go on your honeymoon all by yourself. You found the meaning of your life. I met the girl who was hesitant before dancing at her own Mehndi ceremony. Later I met a girl who wasn't shy at all before dancing in foreign countries with strangers. 

You came a long way from not being able to order food in Paris to even remembering the name of a waiter in Amsterdam, from not holding your luggage in a trolley properly to holding in a perfect backpack or being sad in the streets of Paris to finding complete freedom by running in the streets of Amsterdam. 

You had pain in your heart but you knew that you'll not be able to get such a chance to go to Paris again. You took that chance. You dared to do so. That's the most important thing. You met Vijaylaxmi, Taka, Tim, Oleksander and so many other people. They all were so different from you. But you knew how to mingle with them.

I know it would've been so difficult to be in that kind of a relationship with Vijay, where maybe there was love but there wasn't respect. And as they say, whatever happens, happens for good. You deserved someone so much better than Vijay and I hope you've found that someone special now. Even if not, it's ok, because you're sufficient enough for yourself as you have that maturity and courage to handle any situation without any partner. 

Lots of love,

S.

P. S. I hope you'll invite me someday to Delhi. I would love to eat your Golgappas. We can even go shopping at Lajpat Nagar.

Life

Around three months ago, in June 2021, on some working day, I was very late for my office and I saw one aged lady indicating her hand for a lift sign and I stopped my vehicle. I asked her where she wanted to go. She told me that she was waiting for an auto-rickshaw for the past ten to fifteen minutes but nobody stopped. She wanted to go to the bank which was nearby my office, so I told her to sit behind me on my two-wheeler. She immediately started to give blessings to me, maybe because it was really hot that morning and she seemed very tired. In those five minutes drive, I got to know that she was going to the bank to get some money from her late husband's account. Her late husband had some kidney complications and they transferred one of her kidneys to him but they couldn't save him. She was surviving with one kidney for the past three years after her husband's death. She told me that their son was on some higher-level post somewhere and he didn't support it. She travelled from some small town in Saurashtra to get this money. She also explained some bank account complications which I didn't understand. I felt so bad, deep inside my heart. I was numb, I didn't understand what to say or what to do next. I was very late for the office but I asked if she needed further help I could go inside the bank with her but she denied and thanked me. She started crying and gave me blessings. My eyes were almost teary. I told her not to cry and said she was very strong and we drifted apart.

Since the past few months, I have had some professional and personal problems. I tried a lot but none of them got solved. I tried everything to forget those issues. I travelled, I made paintings, I read books, I watched movies, even I took a break from my work and I was on leave for few days. Meanwhile, I learnt many things. We share problems with some very personal people. But sometimes nobody can help us because the situation isn't in anyone's favour. This time I didn't share with anybody what I was feeling deep inside or what I was going through in that phase of life. Eventually, some very close people sensed and I told them. I couldn't solve any of the problems but they seemed a little less important. I got used to living with them. Now if I get hurt with someone I just stop talking to that person and wait for him or her to understand the situation because every time we explain them and they don't understand. I stopped telling people what their faults were and how those situations affected me. Because I know if they don't understand by themselves there is no need to mention those things. They might think I'm very fragile but very few of them know that I am very strong.

Years ago I failed few subjects in my engineering and I was going back to my home from college. I was very sad and I was sitting on the edge of the city bus' door because the whole bus was very much crowded. Maybe I was crying because one gentleman offered me some water. This gentleman or some other strangers who have helped me or sometimes I did some small favours like the incident mentioned earlier are in my heart even after this much time has passed.

Years after years we meet new people, but very few can impact our lives. Eventually, we lose friends or some people give us a tremendous bunch of memories and suddenly they leave this world or city or sometimes those relationships just die...

Whenever I go to new places, I find their daily life very interesting. I might not be able to adjust to their daily routine, but their life fascinates me. In the past few months, I visited places where there were mountains, waterfalls or forests. I got to know their hardship regarding day to day life. When I was in my teens I used to imagine someday I would live in mountains, because nature has always fascinated me. I still sometimes think about mountains whenever I feel sad. In the past few months whenever I was sad I used to visit nearby parks and other natural places. I used to document trees, clouds, peacocks, lakes, flowers, sunset and few other natural things and surroundings via pictures and videos. It made me calm, maybe eventually helped me to live with my problems by just accepting them.

***************

“When you least expect it, nature has cunning ways of finding our weakest spot.”

- André Aciman, Call Me By Your Name

***************

There's nothing wrong with you. There's a lot wrong with the world you live in.

- Chris Colfer

***************

જિંદગી

શહેરથી થોડેક દૂર પુરાના કિલ્લાની પાસે ટેકરી પર ચડીને તે ઊભો રહ્યો. ટેકરીની પાછળ સૂરજ ડૂબવાની તૈયારીમાં હતો, થોડી વારમાં રાત ઝિલમિલાવાની હતી. બાવળનાં કાંટાઓની પેલે પાર પાણી વિનાની સૂકાયેલી નદી હતી. હવામાં વરસાદ પહેલાનો ઉકળાટ હતો. કિલ્લા પર બેઠેલો મોરલો વરસાદના આગમનની તૈયારીમાં હતો. આસપાસમાં કેટલાક લોકો બેઠા હતા. થોડે દૂર એક યુગલ પ્યારની મદહોશીમાં ચૂર હતું. એક આદમી સિગારેટ ફૂંકી રહ્યો હતો. વર્ષો પહેલાં આવી જ એક સાંજે તેણે પોતાનાં દોસ્તની સાથે સિગારેટનો પહેલો કશ ખેંચ્યો હતો, જ્યારે લાગતું હતું કે એ જિંદગી શું કામની જ્યાં સાથે બેસીને સિગારેટનાં બે-ત્રણ કશ ખેંચી શકાય એવો એક દોસ્ત ન હોય! અત્યારે એ દોસ્ત પાસે ન હતો, જિંદગીમાં અધૂરપ હતી અને શુષ્ક હવાની સાથે રહેલાં બાફમાં થોડીક ચોરેલી પળોની જેમ આ જિંદગી જીવાઈ રહી હતી...

Scene Explained - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - First encounter of Dev & Maya

Scene Explained:-

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)

**********

18th March 2002. It was the day when Dev & Maya met for the very first time. Maya was about to get married to Rishi. Dev and Maya had a small talk and both of them instantly felt connected. 

Maya was confused about whether she loved Rishi or not. She felt that sometimes friendship replaces love and then there remains no space for love. Maya knew Rishi since childhood, they were good friends. But Maya didn't love him, of course, she didn't know at that time. She eventually got married to Rishi.

Dev was married to Rhea. They both were settled in life but not happy together. It was the day when Dev also realised that probably his love for Rhea has changed. He didn't answer properly when Maya asked if he loved his wife. Because he was as confused as Maya.

Maya was trying to find love for years. But that love wasn't Rishi. She was sitting on that bench and thinking how her life would turn out in future. Dev advised her to find love even after marriage. He said, if she won't look for it, she won't find it. Probably Dev was also assuring himself about the same thing. He was also looking for love. That love was Maya.

They both didn't know the particular thing at that moment. But both of them felt something deep inside. As Rishi was putting sindoor in Maya's maang, at the same moment, Dev had an accident and blood was flowing from the wound to his face. Dev narrated the incident beautifully by saying that time can heal anything, but in few relationships, some wounds get deepen as time passes.

**********

Dev - Shah Rukh Khan

Maya - Rani Mukerji

Rishi - Abhishek Bachchan

Rhea - Preity Zinta

**********

Movie: Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)

Written & Directed by: Karan Johar

Screenplay: Karan Johar, Shibani Bathija

Dialogues: Niranjan Iyengar

Cinematography: Anil Mehta