Best Regional Romantic Films To Watch Over This Valentine's Day Weekend

 Tired of the mainstream Bollywood romantic-masala movies? Can’t bear to watch Shah Rukh Khan spreading his hands as Kajol runs towards him in DDLJ one more time? Or are you bored of watching the same manic-pixie dream girl rescued by an introvert trope? Perhaps it is time for you to look outside of the hindi film realm in search of wholesome romantic films this Valentine's Day.

Let us be honest, we don't give regional films the credit and attention they deserve. Unlike Bollywood, which avoids risky stories due to their massive budget, which makes their risk-taking abilities zero, regional films are often laden with bold subjects and off-beat characters that are not just relatable but refreshing to watch.

Since Valentine's Day is just around the corner, let us keep the thrillers and political dramas aside and give in the season's deman, focussing purely on love.

So here the best regional romantic films to watch this Valentines' Day:

OK Kanmani

OK Kanmani is about to two urban lovers who do not believe in the idea of marriage, only to realise its beauty after they witness the love between the older couple they live with. The Malayalam-language film features actor Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menen in lead and is directed by Mani Ratnam.

Suggested Reading: Six Must-Know Telugu Actors Taking Tollywood to the World Widening Audiences

OK Kanmani is one of the most saught after romantic films of last decade, so much so that it was adapted to Hindi later, with Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur in lead. However the adaptation was simply missing the zest and vibe of the original.

Muramba

Alok (Amey Wagh) and Indu (Mithila Palkar) decide to part ways after spending three years together in a relationship, however Alok’s parents try to reconcile the broken couple when they get to know about their decision in this Marathi-language romance-comedy movie.

A still from Muramba

The film also features Sachin Khedekar and Chinmayee Sumit as Amey's parents who try and get their son to reconcile with his girlfriend. The film isn't just about the complexities of a modern relationship but how parents today get out of their comfort zone to support their children.

Pelli Choopulu

The life of a carefree man changes for better when he meets an ambitious woman during a matchmaking session. A case of mistaken identity keeps their families from going ahead with the alliance but Prasanth and Chitra feel a spark between them and decide to start a food truck together. While their reasons to get into the business together are different, they discover a common passion for food and relate over not being able to stand up to their families.

This Telugu-language film stars Vijay Devarakonda and Ritu Varma in the lead roles and was later remade in Hindi as Mitron and Malayalam as Oh Manapenne!

Maara

Starring R Madhavan and Shraddha Srinath, Tamil-language film Maara revolves around the story of Paaru (Srinath) who sets out to find the man who painted a fairy tale she once heard in her childhood. The film discusses the idea of journey towards finding one’s love.

A still from Maara

Premam

Malayalam film Premam is a coming-of-age film about a young man and how his notions about love change as he goes through heartbreaks and breakups. The film revolves around the idea of rekindled love, moving on and finding a purpose in one’s life. Premam features actors Sai Pallavi and Nivin Pauly in the lead, along with Anupama Parmeshwaran, Alphonse Puthren and Krishna Sankar among others.

Premam to was remade in other languages, the most noted being a Telugu film by the same name that features Naga Chaitanya and Shruti Haasan in lead.

Suggested Reading: Five Reasons Why You Should Be Watching More Regional Films

Bela Seshe

This Bengali film follows the story of Biswanath Majumdar (Soumitra Chatterjee) who decides to divorce his wife (Swatilekha Sengupta) after fifty years of togetherness and raising four children, believing that his married life has nothing new left to offer. The film came out in 2015 and is directed by Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy.

The film is not only a take on long term relationships and how apathy often seeps into marriages after decades of togetherness, but also offers an insight on modern marriages by putting the relationships of the old couple's children under the microscope.

Dia

Kannada film Dia narrates the fateful events that follow after Dia (Kushi) admits her feelings to Rohith (Dheekshith Shetty) only to lose him to a terrible accident. Moving on from her incomplete love story, she starts dating Adi (Pruthvi Ambaar) but soon finds out that Rohith is still alive.

Not all films have a happy ending, some leave you with a terrible knot in your guts and a heaviness in your chest. But hey, who said Valentine's Day is always supposed to be about mush and fluf. If heartwrenching love stories is your thing, then give this film a chance for sure.