Weekend watchlist: 10 top movies to check out for Father’s Day

‘Home’ (Amazon Prime Video): Veteran actor Indrans is Malayalam cinema’s go-to actor for playing the comic sidekick, but this film taps into his full potential as an actor par excellence. He plays the outdated and archaic dad Oliver Twist who’s having a tough time keeping up with his social media savvy sons. He’s endearing as this ageing father who just can’t keep up with his two grown-up sons. Sreenath Bhasi as the writer-director facing a writer’s block and facing his own demons is another great discovery in this film. Watch this Malayalam-language film to see how a small family learns to make peace with their conflicts, however petty or poignant. The beauty of this film lies in how they see the extraordinary in the ordinary existence.

‘Father of the Bride’: Are you having a bad week or bad year? Then, sweat not. This romantic comedy ‘Father of the Bride’ is that creative panacea that makes you feel instantly better about life. Directed by Gaz Alazraki and starring Steve Martin and Diane Keaton, it’s the bond between a daughter and father that is celebrated beautifully in this film.

‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ (Amazon Prime Video): On the surface, this is an iconic Bollywood romance featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol taking on the world as the fall in love hopelessly. But scratch that and you will learn that this is also an iconic son-father, daughter-father tale. If Shah Rukh Khan’s teddy-bearish dad played by Anupam Khering is the portrait of a doting and indulgent dad, Kajol’s strict and staid father – played by late talent Amrish Puri – is also a crash course on how daddies come in different shades.

‘Jersey’ (Netflix): Starring Shahid Kapoor, this is a heart-warming family drama about a dad who’s down on his luck and is keen to win brownie points with his son who idolizes him blindly. Kapoor’s quest to make his son proud is heartwarming and endearing. It’s also interesting to see Mrunal Thakur and Shahid squabble as a married couple, fighting to keep things together in their family.

‘Gunjan Saxena’ (Netflix): Janhvi Kapoor plays the titular role in this fierce tale of India’s first female combat pilot during the Kargil War, but the person who had my heart was her on-screen dad, played splendidly by Pankaj Tripathi. The conversations between them about life and learning curve is a master class in how great the bond between a child and his father can be.

‘Fatherhood’ (Netflix): Break out the tissues for this heartwarming tale about what it means to be a dad when things get tough. ‘Fatherhood’ is a comedy-drama based on the 2011 memoir ‘Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss and Love’ by Matthew Logelin. It stars Kevin Hart at Matthew, who is a new father struggling to raise his daughter after the tragic and sudden death of his wife a day after the birth. He struggles to get into the groove of being a single dad while also grieving his wive and dealing with stereotypes about single fathers.

‘Finding Nemo’ (Disney+): Everyone can agree, that the dad and son tale under the sea is one of the best things to have come from Pixar and Disney. Nemo is a little clown fish who has a stunted right fin. His dad Marlin is super protective of him, much to the annoyance of Nemo. When the little guy gets take from the Great Barrier Reef by some scuba divers, Marlin goes on a mission to bring him home. The side characters, such as the forgetful Dory, all a lot of heart to this sweet family story.

‘Interstellar’ (Netflix): This science fiction movie isn’t your typical heartwarming family tale, but amid the futuristic elements and mind-bending time travel there’s still a story about a dad who loves his kids. Matthew McConaughey stars as a farmer and ex-NASA pilot living in the future were Earth becomes uninhabitable. Because of his experience, he’s tasked with piloting a spacecraft in order to go find a new planet for humans, with the help of other researchers. He leaves his young kids behind, but the space mission goes awry and he gets trapped while his kids keep growing older.

‘King Richard’: Being two of the top women athletes in the world, Venus and Serena Williams, was their dad Richard Williams who was determined to write girls into history. Will Smith stars as the inspiring dad who worked as a security guard and coached the future stars on tennis courts in California, shaping them into the stars they are today. Bonus movie: Smith’s ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ was another biographical movie that focussed on being a dad who beat the odds in order to provide for his son.

‘Three Men and a Baby’ (Disney+): This classic 1987 comedy will get you and your dad laughing in no time. It’s about Jack Holden and his friends, Peter and Michael, who are bachelors and roommates in New York City. They don’t take life too serious and are always having fun. Their life changes when baby Mary is placed on their doorstep, with a note that reveals she is the result of Jack’s tryst with an actress. They all end up having to learn how to take care of the baby and eventually about themselves.