The months of July and August popularly see Friendship Day celebrated across the world, and there’s no better time to indulge in some on-screen bromance, sisterhood, platonic love and everything in between.
In Bollywood, the genre has perhaps become oversaturated in recent years, with Rajamouli’s testosterone-fuelled brotherhood in RRR (and Baahubali, to a certain extent) inspiring several of the ilk; some mildly enjoyable, most dithering. The likes of Dil Chahta Hai and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara retain indulgent rewatch value, however Jhankaar Beats from 1993 still remains my comfort watch — how could you not fall for Sanjay Suri and Rahul Bose jamming to R. D. Burman?
A still from ‘Jhankaar Beats’
Some new-age gems from the south give us more hope, beginning with two Telugu buddy-comedies, Vivek Athreya’s Brochevarevarura and Anudeep KV’s Jathi Ratnalu, both serving as masterclasses in milking situational humour and emerging as breaths of fresh air among the star-driven commercial vehicles.
In Kerala, Dulquer Salmaan and Sunny Wayne’s bike trip drama Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi inspired all sorts of road adventures amongst the youth, even contributing to a spurt in the number of Bullet users across the state, while two coming-of-age dramas from 2006 — Classmates and Notebook — still hold pride of place in any discussion on Malayalam films themed around friendship. Kannada films Gaalipata and America! America!! deserve a mention too, for their commercial success and cult status even today.
A still from ‘Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi’
Kollywood will always have Mani Ratnam’s Thalapathi with Rajinikanth and Mammootty in their now-legendary roles, as well as Kamal Haasan’s Panchatanthiram, which audiences still enjoy. More recent picks include Shankar’s Nanban (Vijay back to doing what he does best, even if it was in a remake), M. Rajesh’s laugh riots with a ridiculously in-form Santhanam in Boss Engira Bhaskaran and Siva Manasula Sakthi, and the often-forgotten Five Star directed by Susi Ganesan in his 2002 debut, which followed the lives of five friends after college.
It’s telling that reruns of Friends, Sex and the City and The Office were among the most-watched English-language shows during the pandemic, but newer long-format contenders keep emerging to stake their claim in the genre. Three delightful British outings — Extraordinary, Sex Education and Derry Girls — invite all kinds of fuzzy feelings, whereas Broad City and Insecure up the ante, and have been rightfully hailed for their progressive depiction of modern-day friendships and breaking stereotypes.
A still from ‘Derry Girls’
P.S: It behooves me to mention Judd Apatow’s golden phase here (Freaks and Geeks, Crashing, Superbad, Girls, Bridesmaids), which also gave us some true-blue knockouts.
On the movie front, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen fighting cancer together in 50/50 always makes for a wonderful happy-cry, while Greta Gerwig’s Frances Ha and Olivia Wilde’s razor-sharp Booksmart(featuring star turns from Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever in the best teen comedy of the decade) were dazzling reminders on navigating friendships while growing up. The Hangover trilogy is, of course, an absolute R-rated riot.
Finally, a word on Apple TV’s Platonic, which celebrated modern adult friendships between men and women after marriage, in a gloriously self-aware journey of two very different people going through their own midlife crisis and late millennial angst. On that note, even if Sofia Coppola never tells us what Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson whisper to each other at the end of Lost in Translation, surely it would count as the most intimate depiction of frien... platonic love ever?
A still from ‘Lost in Translation’
From The Hindu cinema team, a fortnightly column recommending films and shows tied to a mood, theme, or pop cultural event.
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