Film

Bangalore Days

Name: Bangalore Days
Genre: Drama, Family, Romance
Released: 2014
Cast: Nazriya Nazim, Nivin Pauly, Dulquer Salmaan, Fahadh Faasil, Parvathy Thiruvothu

Coming-of-age
Light-hearted

Bangalore Days is a fizzy ensemble romance about three cousins discovering themselves in a new city. It's optimistic, funny, and utterly charming—a film that makes you believe in serendipity and second chances. Malayalam cinema at its most accessible, aimed at anyone who's ever felt that electric moment when your real life is about to begin.

TMDb rating

3.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy an ensemble of friends and cousins drifting through a city, where the charm lives in banter, small mishaps and the warmth between people rather than in a tidy plot.

Skip it if you want a lean story with a clear spine; this one wanders from one cousin to the next and can feel loose, especially in its middle stretch.

What it asks of you: Settle in for about three hours with a leisurely, episodic rhythm, and let it meander at its own pace rather than hunting for momentum or a single through-line.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Jab We Met2007

A Delhi-to-Himachal journey film that captures the same giddy energy of self-discovery and the magic of meeting the right person at the right time. Sharp dialogue and genuine chemistry between leads.

But The tone is lighter and breezier than some prefer—it prioritizes fun and romance over depth or realism.

3 Idiots2009

Three friends navigating ambition, friendship, and what they actually want from life, told with humor and heart. Another Indian ensemble that understands how to make personal growth feel like an adventure.

But It's nearly four hours long, and the philosophical moments can feel heavy-handed alongside the comedy.

Wake Up Sid2009

A spoiled Mumbai boy finds purpose and love in Delhi. Same DNA as Bangalore Days—young people figuring out who they are, with a soundtrack that becomes part of the story.

But The romance can feel a bit neat and tidy, resolving conflicts through charm rather than real reckoning.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Bangalore Days

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Before Sunrise1995

Both films believe that the point isn't what happens, it's who you become because of who you meet.

Two strangers meet on a train and spend a night walking through Vienna talking about everything that matters. The entire film is conversation, connection, and the ache of not knowing if you'll see someone again. It's the spiritual opposite temperature of Bangalore Days but shares its faith that meeting the right person changes you.

But There's almost no plot—if you need incident to hold your attention, this will test your patience severely.

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani2013

Friends backpacking through Europe and Manali, discovering that growing up means choosing between different versions of yourself. Gorgeous cinematography and genuine character complexity alongside the romance.

But It's a Bollywood romance first, so if you find that genre's emotional language manipulative, this won't change your mind.

Cocktail2012

Three people in Delhi learning about freedom, desire, and the gap between who you think you should be and who you actually are. Sharper and darker than Bangalore Days, but moving in the same direction.

But The gender politics are messy in ways that aren't fully examined—it can feel dated in uncomfortable ways.

Dil Dhadakne Do2015

Family ensemble on a cruise ship where adults and young people all face reckoning with their choices. Same warm, sprawling energy, with real emotional stakes underneath the fun.

But It tries to solve too much—multiple plot threads compete for attention, and not all of them land equally.

Raanjhanaa2013

A love story that moves from a small town to Delhi, following how place changes people and how people change for love. Honest about the cost of chasing dreams alongside chasing someone.

But The ending divides people—some find it mature and surprising, others find it unsatisfying.

Madras Cafe2013

Three young lives collide against a backdrop of political tension in 1980s Chennai. It has the ensemble warmth of Bangalore Days applied to something with real stakes and consequences.

But It's much heavier and more serious—if you want the lightness of Bangalore Days, this isn't it.

Happy Bhag Jayegi2016

A young woman escaping a planned marriage runs away to Pakistan and collects strangers into her adventure. Charmingly chaotic in the way Bangalore Days is, with a different cultural perspective.

But The comedy can feel uneven, and some of the plot requires you to suspend a lot of disbelief.

C'était un rendez-vous1976

Both films are love letters to cities and the person you want to share them with. The geography isn't background—it's the whole point.

A single take, a Ferrari, Paris at dawn, a camera mounted to the front of the car—4 minutes of pure adrenaline and visual poetry. It's about falling in love with a city and the recklessness of youth. No dialogue, no plot, just the feeling Bangalore Days chases for 172 minutes, concentrated into 4.

But It's essentially a stunt film with no narrative structure—if you need character or story, you'll be baffled and frustrated.

Boyhood2014

Both films trust that growing up and changing is enough to carry a narrative. The smallest moments—conversations, arrivals, leaving—are the whole story.

Filmed over 12 years, following Mason from age 6 to 18, watching him move cities, meet people, drift and settle. It has the same sense of time as a compressed moment—the feeling that everything that happens is both urgent and part of something much larger than one summer or one move.

But At 2h 45m it can feel slack, and some viewers find the lack of dramatic structure genuinely boring rather than meditative.