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Editor: Kunal Mehra
(This story was first published on 14 August 2019. It has been reposted from The Quint's archives on the eve of India's 75th Independence Day)
Hello there, fellow patriots! It’s that time of the year again when padhos waale Sharma uncle gets all nostalgic about desh bhakti. You spot kids running around with orange, white and green kites and the friendly hawkers at the traffic signals are selling jhandas of all sizes.
Independence Day, the day our country became free from the angrezi hukoomat, and so many years later my freedom has led me to a BIG first world problem. What do I binge on 15 august?
Independence Day is always an occasion for celebrating cinema in India and this year we have options galore. With three fresh new releases and an array of TV premieres, the patriot in me just can’t decide what to watch. And I bet you were wondering too.
Well, don't you worry fam, we go you! To solve your problems we deciphered which patriotic movie and show best suits you depending on the type of patriot you are.
1. The 'Mera Bharat Mahaan... Abhi Banana Hai' Patriot
This patriot always looks at the nation with their nothing-will-ever-be-good-enough glasses. Best described as that parent who keeps asking their child to perform better.
If you are this patriot, this Independence Day we recommend for you, “Mission Mangal”. Go watch the story of ISRO’s marvellous achievement that made planet Mars more accessible to explore!
2. The HR Patriot
The patriot who makes you work on national holidays but also forces you to have fun while doing so. This patriot feels patriotic only on two days of the year (if you know what we mean) and because they only look kesari, our recommendation for them is also Kesari.
3. The 'NRI' Patriot
The far-from-home patriot, who misses the smell of his desh and the ghee waale paranthe. You'll find them roaming around in Indian wear, trying to catch hold of their kids so they can narrate to them their 'pind ke kisse'.
For them we recommend Sacred Games Season 2. This super cool series will also get your not very desi kids involved. If you haven't watched Season 1, we assure you that the show is totally binge-worthy!
4. The Fact-Check Patriot
This patriot has deeply studied every newspaper, website and WhatsApp forward. A casual conversation about the nation with them, can turn into a never-ending history lesson for YOU. Active on Quora and reactive on Twitter, this patriot knows what they're talking about and has got all the facts to support it.
For them we recommend The Tashkent Files, a conspiracy thriller about the death of former Indian prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.
5. The Dry-Day Patriot
This patriot has alcohol withdrawal specifically ONLY on that one day which happens to be a dry day. For this patriot we recommend India’s Most Wanted. Go watch this movie and get HIGH ON ADRENALINE.
6. The No-Feedback Patriot
This patriot loves the country in a way that they can’t SAY or HEAR anything against it. If you were wondering who woke you up on your ‘holiday’ blasting “meri desh ki dharti” and got you all hyped up over flying kites, it was probably them. For this patriot, we suggest Batla House. The movie revolves around the 13 September 2008 serial blasts that hit Delhi.
So that was it guys. Those were our picks for you. Hope your Independence Day binge is sorted now. Don’t forget to tag a patriot like this if you know one!
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)