A reel group hug for those who have been bullied

The scars left by the bullying run deep, as both 'Heartstopper' and 'Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani' show

- SANDIP ROY

My cup of feel-good runneth over.

In an odd twist of fate, I watched Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani and season 2 of Heartstopper, the LGBTQ+ teen drama series on Netflix, on the same weekend. (SPOILER ALERT for those who have not watched either.)

At first you would think the twain can never meet. One is a high-octane Karan Johar extravaganza about mismatched and star-crossed lovers, family values and cultural stereotypes, shot through with bling and nostalgia. The other is the hit series about school romance (gay, lesbian, bi, trans, asexual and more) set in contemporary England. In a world where teen series are bristling with sex and drugs, its protagonists kiss and cuddle. They should have been insufferable. Instead, even cynical viewers have fallen in love with the tenderness of it all.

Both are love stories that foreground families and acceptance. However, there is something else they unexpectedly have in common. To me, both felt like cinematic group hugs for all those who have been bullied in the school yard and at home.

In Heartstopper, it's one of the protagonists Charlie. He is outed in eighth grade, bullied relentlessly. In season 2, he seems to have put that trauma behind him as he revels in his new relationship with the leader of the school rugby team. He has a supportive family, a posse of close friends and gets to go on a dream trip to Paris but the scars left by the bullying still run deep, though they don't define him any more.