Ads, movies, dramas, everybody is trying so hard to be relatable.
Relatable to Gen Z jokes.
Relatable to Gen Z slang.
Relatable through branded outfits, aesthetic apartments, perfectly curated Instagram feeds, and references designed to go viral.
But what we crave is not relatability.
We crave stories.
Stories that have something to say.
Stories that understand us, not because they know the latest trend, but because they understand our struggles, our emotions, our relationships, and the different stages of life we go through.
We want stories about different kinds of people.
People who walk exactly the way society wants them to walk.
And people who spend their entire lives trying to break those rules.
We want characters who feel real.
Women dressed like the girl next door, wearing minimal makeup, looking like people we actually know. Not because realism is superior to glamour, but because authenticity makes us believe in the story.
We want stories that are grounded.
Stories that have a vision. A purpose. A perspective.
Stories that are trying to communicate something beyond a punchline or a trend.
From love stories to stories about ambition. From a hero saving the woman he loves to a woman saving the man she loves. We want narratives that make us feel something.
We want jokes that are funny, not jokes that are trying to be funny.
We want moments that stay with us long after the credits roll.
Most importantly, we want character development.
The way Janardan Jakhar became Jordan.
The way Aditya and Geet changed during the course of the movie.
The way Ved stopped walking on the path that others chose for him.
Those stories worked because they were not trying to mirror internet culture.
They were trying to understand human nature.
And that is what makes them timeless.
Years pass. Trends change. Slang becomes outdated. Fashion evolves.
But a good story survives all of it.
Because no matter how much the world changes, people still struggle, love, fail, dream, rebel, heal, and grow.
That is what we are looking for.
Not relatability.
Stories.
