Must Watch Netflix Hidden Gems

I spent the majority of my nights recently, thinking, what in the hell am I doing at 4 am in the morning, watching this show, and why in the world can I not stop! Jesus Christ! These shows I've been watching are addictive level 100 and I've had my own theories on the science behind what made these shows so binge-worthy, and exactly why you should get hooked on them as well.

Say I Do

I think this show works because people love love. And if you love Queer Eye or Say Yes to the Dress, than most likely you'll love this. I found myself falling in love with the relationships, the stories, and the utter love the couples had for each other. And with three beautiful and gracious gay men acting as fairy godmothers, of course this show would be addictive. Asides from of course the beautiful relationships of each couple, the three "angels" are the stars of the show. You fall in love with each gay guy and hate yourself for it, because you wish you could have at least one of them turn straight for you. These sensitive, caring, funny, and generous guys go above and beyond to make these couples' wedding dreams come true. With heart breaking background stories, dress montages, creative concepts, proposals, and a time limit for the finale, it is an emotional roller coaster for the couples and viewers alike.

The Big Day

This show is a wedding planner's dream: rich couples, extravagant weddings, unapologetic bridezillas, and changing customs. This is a much more dramatic and cinematic rendition of Say I Do, with less heartwarming moments and more action. What I love about this show is that it's short in episodes, and focuses on the process rather than the love behind weddings. I love the unconventional brides, who aren't afraid of enjoying their weddings or showing fake humility and shyness. These brides know what they want and will do whatever they can to get it done. There was even a nice surprise of a gay couple getting married in India. It is nice to see gay couples being normalized in Indian content, and honestly, they gay couple was the most functioning and lovable couple.

The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives

People have this misconception about us that we have these oh-so glamorous lives, but that's not really trues. Our lives can be quite mundane. –Bollywood Wife #1

With one-liners such as "Seema gets my goat sometimes" and "she's taken a lot of potshots at me", this group of four women act as the neighbourhood aunties of the Bollywood industry. You get the whole package of four best friends and wonder how they lasted so long with their clashing personalities. You get the has-been aunty, Neelam Kothari Soni, who's main trouble is having too many acting offers after her hiatus from the industry, none of which suit her tastes of the good and pure woman. Not willing to swear on camera, have love scenes on camera, or look undignified on camera, and to the point that she is also not willing to give auditions on camera, you wonder what acting is for her. Then comes the goody-two-shoes and politically correct of the bunch, Bhavana Pandey, who hates to take on a side, although for most of the show she is on the opposite side that Maheep is on. Maheep Kapoor is the unapologetic gangster that we all love. She would be a great contestant for Bigg Boss, if she wasn't so rich. One of the big plot lines for her was of her daughter's debutante ball in Paris. Quite mundane, yes? You get a bit flabbergasted at how the show feels like an elaborate scheme to introduce Shanaya into the industry, but then what else can we expect from a show that has Karan Johar in it? And then comes the Khan bahu, Seema Khan. Who's main passion seemed to be disturbing her son who studies overseas. The one thing you notice in this show is that basically most of the drama is staged, but you don't mind it, because the few events that aren't staged, such as debutante ball or the Gauri Khan party really show you a different world. I learned about connections within the industry that I never knew about, such as these women with Gauri Khan. And how Ananya Pandey is basically Shahrukh Khan's god daughter. It makes me wonder if that's how she got the Filmfare award. Anyways, this show is basically the desi "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" but in this show, you can comfortably say the most entertaining people were the husbands, not the wives.

Namaste Wahala

This is less of a gem and more of a obligatory watch. I just watched this movie for Ruslaan Mumtaz, but it was the typical love story in all marriage movies, sudden meeting, fell in love at first sight, and fate plays a redundant hand in bringing them together. It's predictable, but it's nice to see two different cultures, both being racist for a change. One thing I love is how normalized this love is between the main couple, there was no judgement and immediate attraction. I'm glad that the main characters never even acknowledged the difference in skin colour and culture when determining whether to fall in love or not. And what a change, to see a love story with marriage as the intention of the relationship. Perhaps this can act as a prelude to the The Big Day.

Indian Matchmaking

Wow. The trailer explains this much better than I do. You know it will be interesting when the protagonist of the show follows the Indian aunty matchmaker, Sima. The funny thing is, throughout this entire show, there was not even one successful match, says a lot. Want to know how you find a marriage partner in other ways, asides from love at first sight, like in Namaste Wahala, then give this a go.

Paava Kadhaigal

This show is unlike the rest of the shows recommended in this list. Following the theme of marriage, this show grapples with 4 different love stories, shown in a dark way. One story is of a mother who deals with the grief of her daughter possibly losing the chance to ever get married after she gets raped, while another is of a father who deals with the grief of meeting his pregnant daughter who had eloped to marry the one she loves. Then there are the lovers who met misfortunes, one of a twin sister who was killed for honour, and another of a loyal friend, who felt the wrath of society trying to save his unrequited love's budding romance with his sister. I had the pleasure of watching this show backwards without my knowledge, I don't know how I managed such a blunder but it was honestly one of the best mistakes I've made in my life. I put off watching this show in my recommended list because I knew it was a dark and serious series. I was not in the mood to be grappled by the dark truths of social issues within our society, but one day, out of sheer boredom, I scrolled on my phone at put the show on. For whatever reason, which I didn't notice at the time, I started the show on the fourth and last episode. I have a deep passion for South Indian cinema so I immediately recognized some prominent faces, such as Sai Pallavi, and since I love her, I watched the episode till the end. It starts off with a very unsettling tone in the cinematography, perhaps it was the lack of background music, or the strange story progression, but one thing you notice in this show is that it is a thriller. It is full of twists and turns, and makes your skin crawl thinking about the worst case scenarios. Characters die when you think, you hope, they won't, and when you think they will, they don't. This show plays with your emotions like the strings of a guitar. Why I recommend watching this show backwards is because of the surprise element. The impact of the fourth episode will leave you confused and shocked, and then you go to the third episode and expect a similar progression in plot because of the similarities in the stories, but it takes another turn. Then the second episode brings in some comic relief with its dark humour. And finally, the first episode, and the final one I watched, was the most heartbreaking for me personally, and the only story that made me bawl like a baby (ugly crying, snot dripping down, lips swelling up, etc.). That one particular episode made you fall in love with the main character and his love for his best friend and sister, and then breaks your heart as you witness the sacrifices he makes for them. The innocence and happiness of his character, and his love, was so pure that you fall in love with him in 15 mins, and the episode is only 33 mins long. Maybe it was the magic of the mood that was set from the other episodes, that my emotions were trampled on in such a way, or maybe the episode itself was particularly lovable, but I definitely recommend trying to watch this show from episode 4 to 1.

Basically, try to get onto these shows the next time you're browsing through Netflix on what to watch, you'll get hooked. Happy Watching!