There are films that linger, not just for their visuals, dialogue, or music, but for the quiet truths they leave behind. Some remind us of who we once were. Others hold up a mirror to who we are still becoming.
As a therapist, and as someone shaped by stories, these four Bollywood movies — Dear Zindagi, Tamasha, Bareilly Ki Barfi, and Taare Zameen Par — continue to whisper to me about healing, love, and the courage it takes to be seen.
🎬 Dear Zindagi (2016)
- Our (symptoms) pain has something to tell us — listen.
- Freedom begins when we confront our fears and shame.
- We hurt in relationships, and we heal in them too.
Therapist’s note:
This film reminds me that authenticity heals.
We don’t always need to fix. Sometimes, we just need to show up — present, honest, and kind. (And having a cool, inspiring therapy office like Dr. Jehangir Khan’s — aka “Jug” — helps.)
🎭 Tamasha (2015)
- The exiled parts of us are waiting to be seen.
- Suppressed emotions don’t disappear. They resurface louder, until heard.
- The child in us still believes (or wants to believe) they are special. As adults, it’s our sacred task to protect that light.
Therapist’s note:
This movie is a love letter to the inner child, to the stories we abandon, and the courage it takes to reclaim them.
💌 Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017)
- The society will deem flawed what it perceives as ‘different.’
- All we really want is to be seen — with our flaws and all.
- Love, in its purest form, transforms us, helping us grow beyond our safeguards.
Therapist’s note:
This film reminds me that acceptance, not perfection, is what holds and heals us. And a good, feel-good movie will always be there when we need a companion.
💫 Taare Zameen Par (2007)
- Children come to know themselves through our gaze. What we reflect becomes the mirror they carry into the world.
- Sometimes, it only takes one person to notice, one gentle presence to say: You’re not broken, you’re brilliant in your own way.
- “A creative adult is also the child who survived.”
Therapist’s note:
This film reminds me that where trauma takes root, compassion can still reach.
Protective factors — a teacher, a friend, a parent who truly sees — can become the bridge between shame and self-belief.
Closing Reflection:
All these stories taught me that healing isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about remembering who we were before the world told us otherwise.
Healing, like cinema, is a relational process. We don’t transform alone. Sometimes, it takes just one person to see us clearly enough that we begin to see ourselves again.
Perhaps that’s what these films really show us: that courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to stay — real, messy, tender — with the parts of us still waiting to be loved back into the light.
All that said, I’ll leave you with a quote to chew on:
Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.
– Rainer Maria Rilke
And if you’re longing to begin your own journey of healing, or looking for a South Asian therapist who understands your story, you’re welcome to visit my services page to learn more.