Looking Back to 2025 through Movies, Travels & Writing

By Reubenna Dutta December 31, 2025

This is my last post for 2025. And I am excited, as I have received so much love this year. I have achieved a lot, despite being rejected many times, but I have lived every moment to the fullest. Life has indeed been a "Box of Chocolates" with unexpected surprises and shocks. But I accepted every bit of it. The most rewarding aspect of my writing journey has been my consistency. I wrote when I was travelling, I wrote when I was happy, and I wrote when I was not. I had co-authored 6 anthologies, and my work was published in 2 magazines. The writing and blogging community has been of immense support throughout.

One of my favourite ways to unwind is watching movies. This year, I watched a few, but not much to boast about. Amongst the ones that I had watched, I liked a very few and here are those:

1. Kaalidhar Laapata (Hindi): Abhishek Bachchan stars in this film as the central character, who suffers from a progressive degenerative disease. His family, for whom he had sacrificed almost everything, tries to get rid of him, while an orphaned kid befriends him and becomes his support system, leading him to be an improved version of himself. Directed by Madhumita Sundarraman, the movie has a beautiful story of losing and finding oneself.

2. Putulnacher Itikatha (Bengali): Directed by Suman Mukhopadhyay, this film has been adapted from the book by Manik Bandopadhyay. Abir Chatterji stars as Shasi, a doctor who returns to his village for the hope of beginning his practice, but with a bigger ambition of going abroad for his higher studies. The declining social state of the then Bengal, laden with illiteracy and superstitions, suffocates him, but that very aspect also instigates a sense of responsibility in him, which rises beyond his ambition.

3. Ronth (Malayalam): I have not seen a lot of thrillers this year, but amongst the ones that I have watched, this film stands out. Directed by Shahi Kabir, the film tells the story of one night when two cops are forced to co-patrol. Their personal clashes, differences in decisions, and opinions lead them through the night, facing various unpleasant situations. The movie is slow, but the situations faced, the twists, the smooth flow, and the powerful performances of Dileesh Pothan and Roshan Mathew make it an intense watch.

Travel:

This year, one of the places I had dreamed of visiting since I began reading about its history in books has finally been fulfilled. We visited Rajasthan. Our first destination was Jodhpur, where my husband had to attend a conference. For the initial two days, we had to travel in bits and pieces. Thankfully, my daughter and I had enough time to shop our hearts out. After an eventful stay at Jodhpur for 3 days, we headed our way to Kumbhalgarh for a one-night stay. Our next destination was Udaipur, and it was the best experience of the entire trip. There are so many things to do here, one will lose count. After a 3-night stay, we headed for Jaisalmer, on an almost 10-hour drive. It was exhausting, and we had to stay in a tent amidst the sand dunes. A visit to the city of Jaisalmer and its enormous golden fort, followed by a return to the sands for an exciting camel ride, an entertaining night of folk dances, and music - that was pretty much Jaisalmer.