5 Movies To Watch After The Girlfriend
Hilarious, hard-hitting movies with a healthy dose of reality checks to be the green flag you deserve to be
The Girlfriend is the kind of film that sneaks up on you. You walk in expecting a routine toxic-love story and walk out replaying conversations you (or someone you know) had in real life, for stories like these are far too common for anyone not to have come across them. Rashmika Mandanna’s Bhooma doesn’t villainise men for sport, she just holds up a mirror bright enough that you can’t pretend the reflection is someone else.
If that ending left you with a cocktail of curiosity, maybe guilt and the urge to Google “healthy relationship dynamics,” good. Don’t waste the momentum. There’s a whole catalogue of films that tackle power, love, ego, and entitlement without turning into lectures or a moral science class. Additionally, these titles entertain first and sting later, which is honestly the most effective genre of self-awareness. Check them out below.
Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey (2022)
Jaya (Darshana Rajendran) is a woman everyone keeps underestimating. Her husband Rajesh (Basil Joseph) treats life like a permanent ego contest, and things like getting the salt wrong while cooking see him slapping his wife. What Rajesh doesn't know is that Jaya has been practising martial arts secretly to protect herself from all the times he hits her. So one day, when she kicks him back, he is in for a surprise.
Well written and insanely hilarious, by the time the punches land in this film, you (and Rajesh) feel them.
Where to watch: JioHotstar
True Lover (2024)
When it was released, The Girlfriend drew many comparisons with True Lover. Their plots, in a way, are similar: Manikandan K. plays Arun, the popular guy in college who has grown up seeing an abusive marriage at home and doesn't know better than to romanticise it. This leads to a cycle of toxicity with his girlfriend of six years, Divya (Sri Gouri Priya), till she realises that she isn’t here to orbit around his insecurities. You could say that True Lover is the same story, but from the guy's point of view; it leans into the same themes, while trying to give the best possible ending to everyone involved.
Where to watch: JioHotstar
The Great Indian Kitchen (2021)
Remember when Mrs. did the rounds on social media last year? Jeo Baby’s The Great Indian Kitchen is the original movie that the Sania Malhotra starrer was based on. Nimisha Sajayan plays The Wife, a nameless woman trapped in a house that treats her like another appliance. Suraj Venjaramoodu plays The Husband, who genuinely believes he is a decent man until reality slaps him in the form of murky kitchen sink water at the end (you’ll get it when you watch it). The movie is also set in the larger context of the Sabrimala temple verdict, and goes on to show how even if laws change, people’s mindsets don’t.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Laapataa Ladies (2023)
How are you supposed to find a woman if the only picture of her is one where she is veiled? Newly wedded brides Phool (Nitanshi Goel) and Pushpa (Pratibha Ranta) get accidentally swapped on a rural train ride after their weddings. What starts out chaotic search for the bride, as Phool’s husband Deepak (Sparsh Srivastava) and his family go into a frenzy looking for her, turns into a heartwarming story about identity and freedom. A perfect watch if you’re looking for a movie where all the main characters are green flags.
Where to watch: Netflix
Thappad (2020)
Amrita (Taapsee Pannu) walks out of her marriage after her husband Vikram (Pavail Gulati) slaps her at a party. One slap. That’s it. It seems like a little thing to everyone, till Vikram’s boss (with whom he was arguing when Amrita interrupted her and was slapped) asks the question, “You did not raise your hand on me because I’m your senior. But you did on your wife; is it because you consider her less than yourself?”
The film isn’t about physical violence alone. It’s about all the things society expects women to forgive for the sake of peace. The discomfort comes from how many people ask Amrita to adjust instead of asking Vikram to reflect.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video