When you think of the things that help you with personal development, you probably think of books, journaling and work but can movies be a part of this as well? Certainly yes, here are 3 movies that help you discover your core self, make you rethink your perspective towards life and last but not least, help you on the journey of introspection. Commencing with an Ingmar Bergman directorial, “Wild Strawberries” released in 1997. Wild Strawberries" provides sincere, intelligent, and emotional contemplations of life's disappointment, regrets, and losses. The main character, seventy-eight-year-old Professor Isak Borg is forced to see his life in a true and painful light, but he also would learn that there is hope. It is a gorgeous movie about memory and hope. It is a mirror. At a moment, you discover your past like only reality. Like your real skin, your only voice, your essential eye. It is not strange. We are the fruits of some experiences. Some books, some people, a family, a child o,r a wife are the Ganymedes of our hours, our evolution, and our death. Our freedom, our gestures, and our smiles are the trees of their presence. Isak Borg is the image of an age. Our age which grows up in the noise of every day. Unlikely most of Bergman’s movies, this one was quite the opposite.

The arc of the movie reminds us of an Indian film “Ship to Theseus” by Anand Gandhi. It is a film dealing with a philosophical paradox that doesn't sound exciting but this film surprised the audience. The paradox of the Ship of Theseus is an underlying layer of the film which has 3 stories. The characters in the film deal with things that challenge their beliefs in unexpected ways. There are three different stories. Each with a different plot but the same destination. The first one brings you to the life of a girl who had lost her eyesight due to cornea and does photography. The second is an introspective debate between a monk, Maitreya (Neeraj-in an excellent performance) - who staunchly opposes the use of animals for scientific research - and a young lawyer Charvaka (Vinay) who challenges Maitreya’s non-violent worldview. And the third one is about a stockbroker who just had a kidney transplant. The film explores questions of identity, justice, beauty, meaning and death through the stories of an experimental photographer, an ailing monk and an enterprising stockbroker. The biggest positive is not being either emotionally or intellectually manipulative. It’s a treat to watch a film which is straightforward enough, with not much hidden in layers ,and yet so very subtle. It’s left for the viewers to perceive once the film ends and continue the journey within. There’s a light moment in the film where the monk is asked, “If you are celibate, why this intellectual masturbation?” Well, watch this if you are ready for some soul-searching that ends with an intellectual orgasm.

Concluding with the last movie- a Gauri Shinde directorial “Dear Zindagi”. This film holds up a mirror to your life, shattering all the bubbles you made around yourself. The first half of the film meanders, making you restless. It is a story about Kaira, an aspiring cinematographer who does small ads and projects but wants to shoot an entire feature film. Here, Gauri abandons any cinematic gimmicks to tell a straight and genuinely real tale of a girl struggling with her emotions. Kaira’s bond with her family, childhood trauma, unsuccessful relationships, and self-doubts leaves her in a maze where she struggles to face herself and finds it tough to seek help. Then enter the psychiatrist, played by SRK, who guides her on the journey of decluttering her thoughts. Their Woody Allen type of conversations brings much realization and reality checks to the audience. Speaking of which, the movie has cliché dialogues but the message has been beautifully conveyed. This movie helps you understand the importance of facing and being accountable for your emotions and actions. The conversations between the girl and her psychiatrist depict several self-interrogatory moments which make us introspect our thoughts as well as aspire to change our perspective towards handling emotions. If we have to jot down one common point from all the 3 movies then it has to be the realisation of needing to re-discover yourself. Self-discovery is so essential for one to live a content life. If you are in search of such soul-searching and introspective movies then you should consider watching these.

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