Shakun Batra’s Bollywood movie Gehraiyaan is receiving love all the way. The film, frontlined by Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Pandey, and Dhairya Karwa is an intense take on infidelity and unhealed childhood traumas. If you loved Gehraiyaan, here are some other Indian movies that touch upon the same subject.

1.Dosar (Bengali, 2006)

Directed by the legendary filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh, Dosar is a very subtle take on extramarital affairs. Entirely shot in black and white, Dosar etches out the emotional tension between the married couple who are in a difficult phase of their marriage. Kaberi (Konkona Sen Sharma) gets a call about her husband’s accident but what devastates her more is that there was another woman with him in the car. Though her husband survives the accident, she finds it extremely difficult to forgive him for what he has done.

2.Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (Hindi, 2006)

Karan Johar’s directorial venture Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna was considered a bold move at the time of its release. The movie had some pretty intense scenes which were not so common in the early 2000s. Dev and Maya are both stuck in unhappy marriages and find comfort in each other when things fall apart. Though troubled with guilt, they eventually give in and sleep with each other. Is it a film that glorifies extramarital affairs? From an outside perspective, yes. But the film focuses on the two characters who are unhappy and just don’t feel like being in a relationship with their respective spouses.

3.Ore Kadal (Malayalam, 2007)

Ore Kadal is a very poetic take on extramarital affairs. The film does not give away much about the sanctity of the relations and leaves it up to us to decode the complex emotions that the titular characters go through. Inspired by the Bengali novel Hirak Deepthi, Ore Kadal tells the story of Deepti, a housewife, and Nathan, an intellectual economist. In spite of being aware of the toxic nature of Nathan, Deepti feels pulled towards him and finds being attracted towards him. There is a rhythm in the way Shyamaprasad picturizes his characters and it is highly palpable in Ore Kadal.

4.Haseen Dillruba (Hindi, 2021)

While the above-mentioned movies were of serious and intense tone, Haseen Dillruba is a fun and mystery thriller movie that stems from the extramarital affair that Rani (Taapsee Pannu) has with her husband Rishu’s (Vikrant Massey) cousin. While the first half of the film is packed with humor, the second half veers away into a murder mystery. Haseen Dillruba is one of my favorite movies from 2021.

5.The Lunchbox (Hindi, 2013)

The Lunchbox is an epistolary romance drama that takes place on the account of a misplaced lunchbox. Ila (Nimrat Kaur) is a housewife who receives no attention and care from her husband. She doesn’t complain and comes to terms with her mundane life until the lunchbox she sent for her husband reaches Saajan(Irrfan Khan). Saajan appreciates her food which makes her feel valued, for the first time in a long time. She finally comes to realize that she deserves to be treated with respect and decides to leave her husband for Saajan. The film will stay with us forever.

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