2000s Movies To Rewatch That'll Transport You To Your Happy Place

The first time I saw Jab We Met, just the prospect of travelling alone in a train and meeting a cute stranger (plus point if they are a millionaire) seemed very exciting. Even now, as I am 24 and still living with my parents, it still is. Kareena’s solid break up advice has helped an entire generation get over their exes, and the movie is mostly very fun to watch and gets you smiling from ear to ear. The best part though is Kareena aka Geet’s bluntness. How she speaks her mind without a second thought was a quality I admired back then, and still do!

Of course this Shah Rukh Khan movie had to be on the list. I love Shah Rukh, but I’m not special, all 8 billion people around the globe seem to do the same. The big brother energy Shah Rukh embodies in the movie radiates off screen too, and for once, I really believe, the world has Shah Rukh so it will all be well. But that’s not the only reason I keep going back to it, I go back to it because of the range of emotions it makes me feel. And also because the badass and rebellious Amrita Rao really struck a chord with me. Ahem. College life, family drama, comedy AND a secret mission—SO MANY FEELS! P.S. Does anybody remember Rakhi Sawant in the movie?

Even back when Chak De India released, I saw it twice or thrice in the theatres itself. Obviously, I cannot give you a count of how many times I’ve seen it in the past 16 years, but you get the idea. Even when I’m not actively rewatching it, Shah Rukh’s ‘Sattar Minute’ dialogue is a constant that stays with me whenever I’m about to do something important. 

Hum Tum, for me, is the whole “Ladki Kyon” song sequence, which is a fun and accurate banter on how men suck. Hehe. Other than that, Rani & Saif’s ‘Hate At First Sight’ is entertaining to go back to, and Rani’s repulse and Saif’s carefree attitude brings a smile to my face each time I watch it. It gives me hope that there might just be hope for my imaginationship to work out at the “right time” and thank you for your condolences but I’m going to stick to my denial right now. 

Movies like Salaam Namaste are proof of how forward 2000s movies actually were. Honestly, Bollywood doesn’t make rom-coms like these any more! WHY? Sorry guys, but I really don’t think movies like ‘Shiddat’ or ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya’ and so on are even close to cutting it. A cute romance, a live-in relationship and an accidental pregnancy! Now that’s a realish relationship we can relate to as adults. That, AND Preity Zinta. I had a major girl crush on her as a kid and I kinda just go back to revisit that feeling. 

Ah, who doesn’t like to see a dysfunctional rich family on screen? Especially if it involves beautiful locations, amazing clothes and a talking dog. That’s not the only reason I keep revisiting Dil Dhadakne Do time and again—it’s because characters as flawed and struggling as the Mehra’s give you subtle lessons you’d never forget and some very, very funny moments. The highlight of the movie for me was Anil Kapoor showing Priyanka’s husband his place, which was off the ship.

One of the best sleepover I’ve had with my BFFs involved a tub of ice cream and Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. No matter how many times I see it, every time I see Jai consoling Aditi when her cat died, my heart smiles a little. Okay, maybe the movie is a little unrealistic, with talking portraits and horses and airport scenes, but at the very heart of it it feels like a chocolate cake that you can go back to every time, that promises the same feeling of satisfaction all over again. 

Having given a new lease to school and college friendships, ZNMD is a movie that each and every one of you must have seen a gazillion times. I cannot think of just one particular instance that fixes me to my seat in front of my TV whenever the movie is playing, it’s just the movie in its entirety that is a masterpiece. Be Farhan Akhtar throwing Hrithik’s phone off the car and Hrithik getting a very pink phone in its place, or the friends motivating each other to face their fears one by one, or Katrina teaching Hrithik the true meaning of life, or the Tomatina festival—each aspect of the film is beautiful in its own way. Mostly though, the movie leaves me with a reinvigorated ‘wanderlust’ every time I see it. One day, Spain, one day.  

Having been called out for my weight by my peers since forever, Dum Laga Ke Haisha was a movie that spoke to me on a very personal level. Bhumi’s character knew her self worth and was vehemently protective of her ground. Her confidence shines throughout the movie, despite the difficult situation she finds herself in. All this makes DLKH a beautiful, one of a kind movie–one that stands out even today. The slow and gradual love that brews between the couple and them winning the competition in the end is the happy ending that we all hope for, and one that keeps us pulling back to the movie again and again. 

Seeing Dil Chahta Hai for the first time as a child probably didn’t mean so much to me as it did when I saw it with my friends on a college trip. No, it wasn’t Goa, because only the really lucky ones finally get to go on that Goa trip, but still. Now, as an adult whose college life is farther than where I’d like it to be, DCH still means so much, just different parts. While like Amir’s character, most of us didn’t know (and still don’t know) what we wanted in life during and after college, but not all of us have the safety net of our family business. And no matter how many ‘friends for life’ promises we make, adulting makes it pretty darn hard to keep them. DCH gives me hope to wait for and cherish the good parts of life!

Now, I wasn’t initially going to add Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham to the list, but SRK fans in the office promised to make my life hell if I didn’t. And alright, I’m going to give it to them, the movie does have rewatch value… Even though we’ll never figure out just where in Delhi is a house with the space of a helipad available—it's KJo so chalta hai. And, that’s also the point right, just revel in the glamorous universe of KJo and experience the lives of the ultra mega rich. Eye-candy Hrithik and mean girl Kareena aka Poo make some of the most memorable scenes of the movie, even though we might never agree with Amitabh’s theories of ‘Parampara, Pratishtha, Anushasan’. 

Raise your hand if you send Kangana’s famous gif from the movie Queen ‘Mera Toh Itna Life Kharab Hogaya’ to your friends at any minor inconvenience that happens in your life. I definitely do. But that’s not the only way in which this movie has stayed with us after all these years. The movie is a masterclass in confidence and breaking away from toxic, regressive men (portrayed a little too realistically if you ask me). 

Mani Ratnam-directed O Kadhal Kanmani or OK Kanmani showed the lead pair deciding to take the casual relationship route before it got ‘hot’. A young couple, who are destined to separate even before they get together, Aditya and Tara’s cute relationship is especially relevant now that we can relate to it. Being in the age that we are, marriage is still a scary concept but so is not being married at all. As we slowly and gradually figure out our own route, at least we have the comfort of watching this cinematic treat. 

Titli is a portrait of how crushes that we seem to worship don’t always work out—in the most startling way possible! That’s a reality check I did not know I needed before I got it. In a very simple circumstance, the movie showcases the whole lifecycle of romance—from an innocent crush ‘crushing’ you with a heartbreak, to meeting a long-lost love that didn’t pan out, Titli gives me goosebumps every time I see it.

If it wasn’t for Dadasaheb Phalke, I wouldn't be here sitting and recounting a list of all the movies that are virtual happy places for me. A biopic on the ‘Father Of Indian Cinema,’ Harishchandrachi Factory depicts the making of India's first full-length feature film, ‘Raja Harishchandra’. Phalke’s awe for cinema now mirrors the entire nation who’s obsessed with films to date. The story is enjoyable because it shows just how far we’ve come!