SCREEN
Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother and Andy Dwyer from Parks and Recreation
Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Andy (Chris Pratt) are the exact opposites of each other — Barney is a clever, sarcastic, emotionally immature man who loves to date many women and has no idea how to be a father, while Andy is a warm and silly ball of sunshine who settles down with April and makes us want to hug him! Barney is the perfect brother to teach Andy to be a little less naive and Andy can teach Barney about how to be a more communicative and mature person. That’s our Bro Code for the two!
Eleven from Stranger Things and Penny from The Big Bang Theory
If anyone needs a big sister, it’s Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), a traumatised young child. Penny (Kaley Cuoco), with her street smarts, her fearless attitude — remember when she took on Sheldon’s bully?— and her warm heart, would be the perfect person to protect and love Eleven. We love the idea of them sipping hot chocolate and telling each other scary or funny stories!
Anjali from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Naina from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Anjali (Kajol) and Naina (Deepika Padukone) were both misfits in their school, though in opposite ways — Anjali loved to be a tomboy, while Naina was quiet and studious. If they are siblings, they can assure each other that there’s nothing wrong with them, and that it’s perfectly okay for girls to be a jock or a nerd! We all need to hear sometimes that boys who like us only after we have changed ourselves are not worth thinking about, and through their sisterhood they could remind each other of that.
Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad and Joey Tribbiani from F.R.I.E.N.D.S
Jesse (Aaron Paul) had a difficult life and Joey’s (Matt LeBlanc) childlike cheerful attitude can help him get over his past. We already know that the two have a similar goofy sense of humour and they both love to play the joker, so we think they’ll get on like a trailer, that is, a house on fire! Perhaps Joey could even share some of his blue lipstick with Jesse.
Don Draper from Mad Men and Lady Mary Crawley from Downton Abbey
Although they come from different times and different countries, Mary (Michelle Dockery) and Don (Jon Hamm) both have a lot in common. They’re both quite ambitious and selfish, also confused about whether to follow their hearts or their brains, and they both share terrible secrets in their past, which they are eager to forget. We think the two could comfort and advise each other, especially because Mary has a supportive family that could give Don a home. Don could help Mary to manage the estate, as she loved to do, with his management and creative skills.
The 13th Doctor from Doctor Who, PK from PK and Spock from Star Trek
We all know that the 13th Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) is going to be a badass and anything but clueless, and Spock (Zachary Quinto) has learnt some valuable lessons about expressing emotions from his friend, Captain Kirk. These two can show PK (Aamir Khan) — the one who is always assumed to be drunk because of his bizarre behaviour — how to go about behaving like a human being, as every good sibling should. They can even help each other find their way through space and time, and if PK loses his remote again, Spock could beam him up into the TARDIS and they’ll be on their wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey way!
BOOKS
Agent Carter from Marvel Comics’ Captain America and Elizabeth Bennet from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
No one knows more about boyfriend troubles than Elizabeth Bennet, and no one can handle obnoxious monsters — like the Bingley sisters — better than Peggy aka Agent Carter. The two badass women would understand each other perfectly and Lizzy would finally have a sister whom she could truly rely on.
Professor Calculus from Herge’s Tintin and Professor Shonku from Satyajit Ray’s Professor Shonku series
What could be more fun than to have a sibling who is interested in the exact same things that you are? The two inventors would create absolute mayhem together! Shonku is far less forgetful than Calculus. As the more mature brother, Shonku will certainly be able to look after Calculus, while Calculus can safely be his slightly barmy self. His craziness will not only be tolerated but also understood by our wise prof.
Sherlock Holmes from Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series and Mitin Mashi from Suchitra Bhattacharya’s Mitin Mashi series
Feluda and Byomkesh would just be adoring little brothers of Sherlock, but Mitin Mashi, as an elder sister, wouldn’t hesitate to break some of Sherlock’s more archaic beliefs about women. She would be just as quick as him at cracking the problem at hand, too. She could also help Sherlock explore Calcutta as expansively as he has explored London!
Harry Potter from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series and Frodo Baggins from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings
These two protagonists could have really used some sibling love to keep them company on their quest! Of course, Harry had Ron and Hermione, and Frodo had Sam, but given that they were the ones carrying the burden of their terrible fates, we feel like they could have really understood each other as brothers. Aren’t all troubles halved when shared, especially with your beloved bro?
The Little Prince from Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince and Klaus Baudelaire from Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
Remember when the narrator of The Little Prince said that grown-ups are the only “rational” people who can’t really perceive anything out of the box? Klaus Baudelaire knows too much about this. As one of the kids whose life is dogged by misfortune, his creative thinking, based on all the books he’s read, is the only thing that has saved his family on many occasions. The little prince could help Klaus retain his faith in humanity (as if!), and Klaus could create a spaceship for the Prince to return to his home planet. The orphans, and Beatrice Snicket, could finally be safe and happy with their new brother.
Dracula from Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Frankenstein’s Monster from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Both of these monsters are alone in the world, and who likes that? Frankenstein’s monster has no one to look after him after his own creator rejects him, and although Dracula has three women living with him in his castle, he doesn’t really have a family. Frankenstein’s monster could show Dracula how to be kinder to people, since all he longs for is kindness and acceptance. Dracula could provide him with not just a home but an entire castle, and some sibling love too!
