Overthinking The Top Five Question

“What are your top five books/movies/TV shows/comedians/endangered animals?”

I get asked these questions a lot and chances are so does everyone else who has been alive for long enough.

This question has a curious effect on me. Immediately after I get asked it, my mind goes completely blank. A nervousness starts creeping upon me. My throat goes dry, my eyes pinch up and worry marks the forehead. I start stalling – I say, ‘umm’ and ‘errr’ and ‘Hmm, good question. Lemme think about it…’. My mind throws up some answers but I always feel like I’ll be judged for them.

‘I can’t say the tiger is my number one most endangered animal. It’s too mainstream. Is there like a niche bird or a hip insect that will convince people that my tastes are more diverse and esoteric?’

Quite often, put on the spot, I spew a list that is, basically, a mix of three types: things I feel nostalgic about, things I know are universally loved and things that I just experienced recently.

So if you asked me my top five movies today, I’d say:

1. Jurassic Park – Childhood Favourite. Nostalgia max.
2. Shawshank Redemption – IMDB number one, so why not.
3. Pulp Fiction – Universal Acclaim, artsy but popular. I’m edgy, okay.
4. Avengers: Infinity War – Recent Watch. Brain function faltering.
5. Bharat – Recent Watch, but why the fuck is it in the list, brain?

The top five list is an interesting and illuminating question if you have the time and the inclination to introspect. It offers a chance to stop the endless consumption of content, and for once, reflect on their merits and the effects they had on you. It’s a question that also puts the spotlight on your taste and forces you to ask, ‘Is Govinda’s 1998 film, Dulhe Raja, really my favourite Bollywood comedy movie of all time?’ It makes you rummage through the catalogue in your mind and dust the experiences off and inspect their worth.

In the process you discover a few things. You find out how you’ve changed as a person. The lists change as much as you do. Till 2018, Game of Thrones, was at the top of my list of greatest shows ever, but after season 8, it’s gone beyond the wall. Other things, stand the test of time. U2 still remains the dominant soundtrack of my life. And sometimes, it makes you realize how far you’ve strayed from your original favourites: I consistently rank P. G. Wodehouse as one my favourite authors but I haven’t read a Wodehouse in a few years. Maybe I’ll rediscover him and retain the joy or maybe he gets replaced – as all things do, over time.

The important thing to realize is that the lists are never static and things always change. And that is a good thing. Except when you have to change your list of endangered animals because some of them went extinct. That sucks.