If there is an episode I have to insist you on reading, then it has to be this one. There are periods in your life that you can put a label on, not just a word encapsulating an emotion, but an actual label that defines it; Tere Naam is that label for my two years of schooling life in Patna. Back in the day, I couldn't stand the songs of Tere Naam getting broadcasted on every autorickshaw ride I took, and now I have bookmarked the film to be of cult status with some of its songs in my music library. The film captured what it meant to be an आशिक़, perhaps one of the few films of the post-90s era that carried the dreams and hopes of small-town youth yearning for love, who have been dealt a difficult hand, breaking them enough to find respite in the voice of Udit Narayan singing - 'ये प्यार में क्यों होता है?' Uff, goosebumps. I am off to listen to Tere Naam songs, and if your experience matches with mine, then maybe give this episode a read with this song playing in the background.
Also, buy me a coffee to keep me going with the pages. Thank you!
PS - I am not trying to whitewash or glorify the hooliganism that gets practised by men through shoving themselves on women in a crass manner. But it's true that most of the 90s Bollywood was that.