Last Saturday, after getting completely irritated and frustrated by practical exams, I went for a movie with my mother. Hindi film– “Kapoor & sons (since 1921)”. I basically went to drool over Sidharth Malhotra (one of the central characters), but I had a different experience all together.

Generally Bollywood films deviate from reality to make it feel-good or dramatic. But this film is quite realistic. Minimal cliche. The story circumnavigates around the Kapoor family as the name suggests. The members have a bitter-sweet relationship with each other. It’s not like those Sooraj Barjatya movies- “The family that prays together, eats together, stays together”. No one’s perfect in the Kapoor family, everyone have their own set of flaws, secrets. The parents (played by Rajat Kapoor and Ratna Pathak Shah) fight at every issue, then they attempt to reconcile. The brothers (played by Sidharth Malhotra and Fawad Khan) fight then share a joint. The sweetest member happens to be the senior most Kapoor, the 90-year old Dadu (played by Rishi Kapoor). He’s tech-savvy, his “i-papad” happens to be his most priced possession, why? Cause he gets to see Mandakini’s videos and “rangeen” movies!!

Time and again I could connect with myself and my family. The misunderstandings, the daily fights, the fuss over food, the reminiscing time, the party time.

I got to realise some of my follies watching the characters doing the same. There’s one see scene when Tia (played by Alia Bhatt), the younger Kapoor brother’s (played by Sidharth Malhotra) girlfriend, said, that she was so angry at her parents for not being with her on birthday, that she said, “Why do you need to come back?stay in Canada itself” That was the last time she spoke to her parents, their flight crashed and they never returned. That time I realised even I’ve told something like that to my parents quite often. At that point of time, I shed some tears. Now how much every I’m angry I try not to say that again to them and I pray to God not  to punish me that way.

I also realised that family is about forgiving and moving on. Everyone makes mistakes, if we keep holding on to them, the family won’t remain one and we won’t be at peace.

I was entangled in a rift with my family during that period of time. I wanted a break but this movie didn’t give me that break but at least made me realise certain things about family. I’m trying to forgive and move on.

As mentioned before, the striking factor of the film was lack of stereotypes. There was no dreamy song sequence and no stereotypical characters. For instance, the film’s set in Tamil Nadu but there wasn’t any cliched South Indian character. Homosexuality was  portrayed as if it’s quite normal, like it actually is in reality, without any over-the-top mannerisms in the character. It’s nice.

Thanks to the makers and the cast for this flim. Well done 👍.

P.S. I cried a lot during this film.. A lot. The second time, I cried for more than 10 minutes (first time being while watching Neerja)

P.P.S. I think it’s better to go with friends rather than parents, as far as the full dose of double meanings are concerned in the first half of the film, I was so embarrassed having mom beside me. LOL 😅. Thank God she didn’t make a fuss about it.

With love,
Priya….