Culture & Living
If you’ve been looking for some onscreen inspiration to juice your resolutions for the new year, here are the titles to add to your must-watch list
Inspiration can be found all around us in life, but if there’s a chance that it coincides with your weekend binge, all the better. If self-improvement is one of your goals for 2021, there is no dearth of inspiration to be found onscreen—from the therapeutic gratification of before-and-after makeovers to real-life stories that impart hard-learned life lessons. If you’ve been on the hunt for some motivation to get you kickstarted for the new year, here are the movies and TV shows that will inspire you to be the best version of yourself.
Based on a memoir of the same name, the Will Smith-starrer sees a homeless salesman turn his life around with as little as $21 in his pocket. For those who love stories that champion the underdog, the 2006 biopic offers a feel-good watch with gems of wisdom that now serve as industry gospel, including ‘the world is your oyster, it is up to you to find your pearls’ and ‘the cavalry ain’t coming, you can only depend on yourself’.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
The coming-of-age movie marks Ayan Mukerji’s directorial debut with Ranbir Kapoor in the lead role, with whom he would go on to deliver another blockbuster, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani in 2013. Set against the urban locale of Mumbai, the movie follows the life of an over-privileged graduate who finds that he has to stand on his own feet after being disowned by his father. Help comes in the form of an aspiring writer from Kolkata, portrayed by Konkona Sen Sharma, who helps him find his footing in the real world. The nuanced tale offers a celebration of life’s many joys, both big and small—from Sid’s first successful omelette to his eventual calling as a photographer at a local publication.
Streaming on Netflix
If you’ve been looking for a reality show that will leave you with a more worthwhile takeaway than the human mind’s propensity for drama, you’ll want to queue up Shark Tank for your next weekend binge. Over the course of eleven seasons, the multiple Emmy Award-winning show has been credited with realising over a decade of dreams by allowing homegrown businesses the chance to make a pitch to top investors and secure life-changing investments. Beyond turning everyday people into overnight millionaires, the show offers invaluable discourse for those looking to chase their dreams and turn their passion into a paycheque.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
Based loosely on Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone, the 2009 blockbuster is today known by the box office records it shattered upon its year-end release. Following the lives of three students in a cookie-cutter engineering college, the movie witnesses Aamir Khan’s Rancho turning the institution on its head with his non-conformist ideals. With side-splitting gags, comedic chases and a moral takeaway that will linger with you long after the end credits have rolled, the movie makes for a fun weekend watch—regardless of how many times you’ve seen it already.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
The bromance continues with Zoya Akhtar’s directorial, featuring Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol in prominent roles. What starts out as a routine bachelor trip quickly evolves into a life-changing road trip for each of the three leads, who discover the courage to face personal dilemmas and blindspots, all while trying their hand at never-tried-before adventure sports. Set against the idyllic backdrop of the Spanish countryside, the movie serves as a treat for the sights as well as the soul.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
There is no age limit prescribed for learning and self-development, and Gauri Shinde’s 2012 directorial espouses the same through her signature lens of emotional coherence and nuance. Starring the legendary actor Sridevi as an archetypal housewife, the movie sees her grappling with her inability to speak English on a trip to New York. That she chooses to conquer her fish-out-of-water circumstances by attending English classes on the sly serves as a testament to her willpower, and her desire for self-improvement ultimately helps her reassert her value in the family.
Streaming on JioCinema
It would be easy to describe Queer Eye as a makeover show, but it would also be a restrictive interpretation of the Netflix phenomenon. Yes, there are makeovers involved, but the show delves beyond the ordinary to underscore sartorial advice with social commentary by the Fab Five, featuring grooming consultant Jonathan Van Ness, fashion designer Tan France, food and wine savant Antoni Porowski, interior designer Bobby Berk and cultural guru Karamo Brown.
Streaming on Netflix
Originally released on January 1 in 2019, Tidying Up With Marie Kondo continues to slot in neatly with the January mood for fresh starts and purging junk. Headlined by tidying expert Marie Kondo, the show, however, offers more than just home makeovers for before-and-after viewing pleasure. By enabling people to let go of the clutter in their lives, the Japanese expert sheds light on our empathy for the things that we surround ourselves with and eventually, helps clients usher in the transformative power of new beginnings.
Streaming on Netflix
Given the cult success of the mindfulness platform, it seems to have been only a matter of time before it made its way to our TV screens. Together with Netflix, Headspace is demystifying the practice of meditation and mindfulness through guided exercises and videos aimed at helping you feel healthier and happier. If you’ve been on the hunt for some solace in the unpredictable times we live in, ten days of the practice is claimed to increase happiness by 16 per cent.
Streaming on Netflix
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