What is the best operating system suggested for desktop activities like browsing, movies, internet etc?

it's not so much an o/s you're shopping for but rather application programs.

For movies VLI is often suggested and you'll find that available on Windows as well as most Linux systems

for web browsing: Chrome, or Chromium if using FOSS;

for office use: LibreOffice also available on most Linux systems;

for e/mail, Thunderbird or Echelon or Claws

for Music: Audacious, VLI,

for Photography -- Gwenview, Shotwell, GIMP, Darktable ,,,

If working with Linux -- start with MINT 18 and experiment with various programs. if you like working with Linux move to MINT LMDE/2 Cinamon ( Debian Base rather than Ubuntu );

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Obviously it is my own one - for me.

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In the Windows world, it is now Windows 10, after a long and painful trial-and-error period. In Linux, my favorite is CentOS -very reliable and easy to work with.

why not make up your own mind...
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I think maybe you meant VLC rather than "VLI" for movies.

For audio, I'd highly recommend Clementine.

And since this is in the beginners' section, I'd second the recommendation for Linux Mint. It's got a lot of advantages, and ease of use and maintenance are two.

Any Linux will do all those things and more. You can see the sort of software available here:
http://linuxappfinder.com

As for the choice of distribution, we usually say you can't go far wrong with Mint. A good thing is that it has a beginners' manual that you can download here
http://linuxmint.com/documentation.php
As you can see, there are English manuals for two versions, Cinnamon and Mate. The difference is really between a fancier or a plainer user interface. You can see the difference on-line here:
http://renewablepcs.wordpress.com/ab...gnome-or-xfce/
For an older computer, go for Mate.

Same here!