Kushi (2001)

Let us start this "review" of a cultural reset by invoking the queen of feminism, communication, and galaxy brain-ness, Madhumati (Bhumika Chawla). Kushi could not have been half as iconic without her, and to quote every rich person on Instagram when they post something rich- "GRATITUDE". 

This movie is honestly one memorable scene after another. The drinking scene (Ali singing Ae Ajnabi is such a 2020 mood I can't), the scene where Madhu insists that Siddhu (Powerstar Pawan Kalyan) join her and her father for coffee (changed my life), the INFAMOUS "Jaya Aunty maloom tereko? Lalu uncle maloom tereko?" line (HOW I AM STILL LAUGHING), the wedding (won't say whose, coz no spoilers), the breathing scene (if you know, you know), the train scene (you can have a good movie without a train/airport scene, but you can't have a great movie without one) and of course, that epic interval cut scene have all become embedded in my consciousness and there is no way that my personality won't reflect that from this point onwards. This is one of those movies where you won't even realise how 3 hours have passed, because it is just so damn entertaining. Plus, it has one of the best running jokes ever, which somehow doesn't descend into laziness and cringe, a feat in itself.  Thank you, TFI. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Never forget: PK conceptualised three of the songs, and conceived and executed the action sequences. Powerstar for a reason. Talent spilling out like anything, as my friend said. 

I am very glad I never saw the Hindi remake (I don't even want to imagine early 2000s Kareena playing the Madhu role), because this was a treat. A delightful treat, which was also an interesting study in post-liberalisation aesthetics- you can't miss the English that's thrown in every few sentences and the veritable flooding of American brands. Basically, Kushi is a classic and a must-watch for everyone. It's a scientific fact, you can look it up. Toodles.