Film
Kya Kehna
A Bollywood melodrama about a young woman whose pre-marital pregnancy becomes a social catastrophe in upper-middle-class Delhi. It's a 155-minute emotional gauntlet: passionate, earnest, and unafraid of shame and family scandal. For anyone interested in how Indian cinema has grappled with women's autonomy and social prejudice.
If you liked this
Chandni1989
A luminous Yash Chopra romance that defined 1980s Bollywood glamour. Sridevi's performance is iconic, and the love story—complicated by class and circumstance—has genuine emotional weight beneath the spectacle.
But The pacing is leisurely by modern standards, and some plot turns feel overwrought. If you want plot momentum over mood, this isn't it.
Dil Dhadakne Do2015
A witty, gorgeously shot family drama about marriage, infidelity, and class in contemporary India. It's generous toward its characters while still honest about how families weaponize tradition and shame.
But It's almost three hours, and the ensemble cast means some storylines feel underdeveloped. The tonal shifts between comedy and drama can feel abrupt.
Rang De Basanti2006
Young people grappling with corruption, justice, and what you owe your country. It's earnest without being sanctimonious, energetic without being shallow. Aamir Khan and the ensemble are magnetic.
But The second half pivots into political thriller territory that some find heavy-handed. The ending divides viewers sharply.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Kya Kehna
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Umrao Jaan1981
Both films are about women whose bodies become a site of public judgment and family shame—but Umrao Jaan locates power and artistry in that very space, where Kya Kehna locates victimhood.
Muzaffar Ali's ravishing film about a courtesan reclaiming dignity in Lucknow under British rule. Rekha gives perhaps the greatest performance in Hindi cinema. It's about shame and survival, but also beauty and agency.
But It's from 1981 with a deliberate, painterly pace. The film takes time, and some scenes of sexual violence are hard. It asks patience.
More like this (7)
Lootera2013
A jewel-toned period romance about deception and genuine feeling. Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha have real chemistry, and the cinematography is stunning. It moves at a thoughtful pace.
But It's a slow burn, and if you're not patient with mood over plot, you'll feel the 130 minutes. Some find the fatalism unsatisfying.
Kal Ho Naa Ho2003
A Bollywood romance that knows exactly how to break your heart and then hold it. Shah Rukh Khan is charming and tragic, and the film earns every emotional beat it attempts.
But It's unapologetically melodramatic and sentimental. Also just under three hours of maximum earnestness.
Dostana2008
A rom-com that uses humor to explore masculinity, sexuality, and belonging. Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham have genuine warmth together, and it never punches down at its own premise.
But It's deliberately light and fluffy, which some will find frivolous. The film never engages the deeper social questions it raises.
Barfi!2012
A silent (or near-silent) romance with genuine visual invention. It's playful and bittersweet, told with real affection for its characters and for cinema itself.
But The cuteness can feel excessive, and there are tonal moments that haven't aged perfectly. Some find it overly whimsical.
Veer-Zaara2004
An epic romance across the India-Pakistan border with Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta. It's a wartime love story that privileges emotional truth over geopolitical simplicity.
But It's nearly three and a half hours of maximum melodrama. The second half loses some narrative tension, and the political backdrop can feel like decoration.
Lipstick Under My Burkha2017
Both center female desire and bodily autonomy as a crisis in family and society—but where Kya Kehna treats pregnancy as a shameful accident, this film treats female pleasure as a conscious, joyful act of rebellion.
Four Indian women of different ages and classes discovering desire, ambition, and selfhood. It's funny, furious, tender, and sensual. Made by a woman, for women, about women's actual interior lives.
But It was initially banned for obscenity. The language is frank, the sexuality unapologetic. If you need reassurance or sentimentality, this isn't it.
The Breakfast Club1985
Both are about young people (and families) policing bodies and sexuality as a way of enforcing class and social belonging—but Hughes keeps the focus on the teenagers' interior experience and moral growth, rather than parental judgment.
Five high school students forced together in detention, forced to see past each other's masks and their own shame. John Hughes writes authentic teenage emotion. It's heartfelt without being maudlin.
But It's entirely set in one room and relies on dialogue and faces. The social politics are 1985, which can feel dated. Some of the humor is broad.
People
Cast
Preity ZintaPriya Bakshi
Saif Ali KhanRahul Modi
Anupam KherGulshan Bakshi
Farida JalalRohini Bakshi- MamikVicky Bakshi
Nivedita BhattacharyaPriya's Sister-In-Law
Navneet NishanMrs. Modi
Rajeev VermaMr. Modi
Rita BhaduriAjay's Mother
Directing
- Kundan ShahDirector
Writing
- Honey IraniScreenplay
- Honey IraniWriter
Production
- Kumar Sadhuram TauraniProducer
- Ramesh Sadhuram TauraniProducer