There’s nothing quite like travel to heal the soul – or at least, that’s the promise that our movies make. If travel movies are to be taken at face value, going on a trip can resolve some of life’s biggest problems – from depression to a relationship that’s running on fumes.
It’s not as if the travel movie is a new-age invention. Even before millennials began globetrotting, heroes on screen hopped cities and countries, getting into intriguing adventures and experiencing different cultures.
Tamil superstar M.G. Ramachandran’s Ulagam Sutrum Valiban (1973), for instance, is about a scientist who harbours an important secret and goes on a world tour with his girlfriend. The title translates to ‘The youth who goes around the world’. The couple visits countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Thailand. The plots of these films used the place and local culture to create an exotic effect on the audience.
However, films from the new millennium are different in flavour – the characters learn more about themselves, open up and find new directions in their life. While Bollywood has made several travel movies, like Dil Chahta Hai (2001), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), Finding Fanny (2014), Piku (2015), Qarib Qarib Singlle (2017) and so on, the southern industries too have produced quite a few in the genre.
Godavari (Telugu): Sekhar Kammula’s 2006 film is about two young people who meet on a cruise on the Godavari river. They’re both nursing a broken heart – Ram’s (Sumanth) hopes of marrying his cousin are dashed to the ground when his uncle rejects him; Seetha’s (Kamalinee Mukherjee) wedding gets called off because the groom’s side finds her to be ‘too progressive’. Over conversations and a treasure hunt, Ram and Seetha fall in love. There’s a dog on board, too, which offers some quirky commentary on the proceedings. The film is available on Zee5.
Anbe Sivam (Tamil): Directed by Sundar C, this 2003 film is about two people who make unlikely travel companions. They’re waiting for the same flight from Bhubaneswar to Chennai but the flight gets cancelled due to heavy rains. While one is a sophisticated capitalist (R. Madhavan), the other is a communist with disabilities (Kamal Haasan). They end up travelling back home together, and in the process, they learn more about each other’s life and belief systems. Anbe Sivam received positive reviews but was a box office flop. In subsequent years, however, many cinema fans have praised it for its seamless blending of philosophy with travel and adventure. The film is available on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube.
North 24 Kaatham (Malayalam): If you’re new to the FaFa fan club, this 2013 film is a must-watch. Fahadh Faasil played Harikrishnan, a techie with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) who has to travel to Trivandrum for a conference. However, his carefully laid plans are upset due to circumstances. A co-passenger on the train (Nedumudi Venu) receives news of his wife’s poor health, and Harikrishnan ends up having to accompany the man. He learns to deal with changing situations and even falls in love through the experience. The film is available on Disney+Hotstar.
777 Charlie (Kannada): Kiranraj K’s 2022 film is about a man whose attitude towards life is transformed by a dog. Dharma (Rakshit Shetty) is a grouch who has no interest in keeping a pet, but a Labrador puppy named Charlie (Keaton) walks into his life and nothing is ever the same. Charlie, however, has a fatal condition, and a heartbroken Dharma decides to travel with her to Himachal Pradesh. This is because Charlie always gets excited by the sight of snow on TV. On the journey, Dharma slowly comes out of his shell and Charlie, too, gets to tick major life goals. The film is available on Voot.
Rani Padmini (Malayalam): In Aashiq Abu’s film on female friendship, two women who are polar opposites go on a journey together. The 2015 film has Manju Warrier playing a conservative woman who travels to Manali to meet her husband. She bumps into the maverick Rani (Rima Kallingal) who is on the run from a criminal. This is a light-hearted, fun film that puts women’s perspectives on marriage and life at the centre. The film is available on Disney+Hotstar.
Fidaa (Telugu): Another Sekhar Kammula directorial, this 2017 film takes the viewer from the verdant fields of Banswada in Telangana to the icy snow of North America and back. The romance revolves around Bhanumathi (Sai Pallavi), a young woman who doesn’t want to get married and move from her village, and Varun (Varun Tej), an NRI medico. Bhanumathi is confused about her feelings for Varun, and this only worsens when she travels to the US to take care of her pregnant sister. The trip builds the conflict in the film and we get an unexpected ending with the man moving in with the woman’s family. The film is available on Disney+Hotstar.
Ponniyin Selvan-1 (Tamil): Strictly speaking, this is a historical fiction drama, but travel is a vital part of it — so much so that there are travel companies who do organised tours to places that appear in the story. PS-1, the 2022 film directed by Mani Ratnam, is based on Kalki’s widely popular novel series Ponniyin Selvan. The story documents the succession battle in the Chola kingdom, and much of it is narrated through the travels of Prince Vandiyathevan (Karthi) in south India and Sri Lanka. The places mentioned in the books and movie still exist and fans often take a trip to these locations to celebrate their favourite characters. The film is available on Amazon Prime Video.
Charlie (Malayalam): Martin Prakkat’s 2015 directorial about a picaresque hero (Dulquer Salmaan) and a young woman (Parvathy) who becomes obsessed with finding him, is a charming tale about love, loss and redemption. Tessa, who is running away from the prospect of marriage, is intrigued enough by Charlie’s unconventional life to follow him through his sketchbook art. The film jumps from by-lanes of Kerala to the hills of Ooty as she traces his story. The film is available on Sun NXT.
Magalir Mattum 2 (Tamil): Bramma’s film takes its title from the 1994 Tamil comedy that had three women in the lead and was a blockbuster. This 2017 film, too, is about three middle-aged women (Urvashi, Bhanupriya and Saranya) who were thick friends in their schooldays but are now leading mundane lives. A documentary filmmaker (Jyotika), who happens to be the prospective daughter-in-law of one of them, decides to bring the friends back together on a road trip. The four of them travel across north India, re-living their growing up years and finding resolutions to the problems that they now confront. The film is available on Zee5.
Pa Paandi (Tamil): Dhanush made his directorial debut with this quirky film about an elderly retired stunt master (Rajkiran) who leaves his family behind to find new meaning to his humdrum life. He goes on a bike journey, and decides to trace the whereabouts of his long lost love. She (Revathy) happens to live in Hyderabad, and that’s where he heads to rekindle old memories. Pa Paandi is available on Netflix.
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