It's Valentine's! And we talk 'Love' today.
Love, romance and passion have forever been synonymous with Bollywood. We love our love stories so much that every movie, whether an action flick or a slick thriller, produced in the Bollywood factories needs to have a huge helping of the old mushy feeling .Though there have been love stories of every color and form but memories of a few always remain etched in a soft, sensitive corner of our hearts till date. And from that very special corner of our hearts we bring you this list of sensitive love stories from the silver screen that not only left us spellbound but will also be cherished forever.
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JAANE TU YA JANE NA (Imran-Genelia)
The comical love story between two college-going friends left many of us laughing, giggling and crying at the same time.The simple yet touching love story gave us two lovable friends who never knew they loved each other during college and discovered their feelings for each other only after they leave college and start looking for their dream partners. A very different take from run of the mill love stories, JTYJN showcased the search for partners by the lead couple and how that makes them realize the truth and brings them closer. Little gems like Naseeruddin Shah’s funky portrait and the hilarious “RanjorkeRathore” ensured that the movie was an instant hit with the younger generation. The music composed by A.R. Rehman became popular and“Pappu” who“Can’t Dance Sala” can still make you shake a leg at a party!
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MUGHAL-E-AZAM (Dilip Kumar-Madhubala)
“Pyar kiya to darna kya..." became the theme song for lovers who revolted against families and society for love back in the 50s and forever after. This epic period film starring Dilip Kumar and Madhubala is one of the best love stories ever produced in Bollywood. The movie depicted the doomed love story of the affluent Prince Salim and his courtesan Anarkali. The wrath of Emperor Akbar, the revolt of the young prince and the heart tugging, sorry end to their tale made the movie an all-time classic. Dilip Kumar caressing a stunningly beautiful Madhubala with a feather remains one of the most romantic scenes ever filmed in India. The film's colour version was released in November 2004 and found a whole new generation of new, devoted fans to the classic tale of Salim-Anarkali.
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MILI (Amitabh-Jaya)
Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Mili remained one of the best movies made by mastero of the romance of everyday life. The movie is about the sensitive and beautiful love story between an effervescent Mili, played by Jaya Bachchan and a serious Shekhar, played by a brooding Amitabh Bachchan.The film shows how a recluse like Shekhar finds love in Mili and later discovers that Mili doesn’t have much time to live. It is Mili’s vivacity and positive outlook in spite of a rare disease that has left her with only a little time on earth that makes Shekhar (and all of us in the audience) fall in love with her fresh face, pig tailed beauty.
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VEER ZARA (Shahrukh-Preity)
The grandmaster of Bollywood love stories, Yash Chopra, took us beyond borders in this story about Veer, an Indian Air Force pilot, who falls in love with Zaara who belongs to Pakistan. The couple could never be united because of the opposition from Zaara’s politically strong family. It is after 22 long years, that a Pakistani lawyer played by Rani Mukherjee, tries to free Veer who has been languishing in a Pakistani jail and hears the heart wrenching story of Veer-Zaara. Shahrukh and Preity won audiences and critics alike with their sensitive portrayal.
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HUM TUM (Saif-Rani)
Hum Tum gave us a love story that we had seen so often in lives- the inexplicable love between two people who differ in almost every aspect of life and could not stand each other each other for a second when they first meet. Moreover this story of the unlikely couple of Rhea(Rani) and Karan(Saif) shows us their life over years when they are separated by time and distance. A tale spanning continents and decades, the love story tells us how this most unlikely of pairs find their soulmates in each other. Director Kunal Kohli has never bested his efforts in this movie where every little aspect of the movie, from Saif’s boyish charms to the tragic death of Rani’s husband (a cameo by Abishek Bachchan) has been etched with a master’s touch.
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SOCHA NA THA (Abhay-Ayesha)
This was the debut movie of director Imtiaz Ali, who is well on his way to become the Yash Chopra of our times, and displayed his knack for sensitive and subtle story telling. Abhay Deol and Ayesha Takia shined in this tale of broken arranged marriages and complicated relationships. Abhay’s transformation mirrors almost every other love-struck Romeo today. Infatuation versus love is something that most of us are still not clear about and Socha Na Tha gives a picture of it brilliantly in Abhay’s character.The story of the couple, who meet through their parents, refuse an arranged marriage, go back to their long time partners only to finally realize that they have, despite all odds, fallen in love with each other. Sounds improbable? Believe in the power of Bollywood when it comes to romance and watch this flick which just might be the best love story you have ever seen!
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DIL SE (Shahrukh-Manisha)
Love story of a deranged terrorist and a chain smoking AIR journalist doesn’t sound very “sensitive” at first. But it is Mani Ratnam we are talking of and he pulled off the story perfectly in this doomed tale of love, politics and pure passion. With the amazing music by A.R. Rahman and some train top “chaiyya-chaiyya” by a smoking hot MalaikaArora, Dil Se also gave us some very sensitive potrayls of human frailties and passion. Manisha was at the peak of her acting career and Shah Rukh was, well Shah Rukh! Forget the politics in the movie and watch it for the very unlikely, very likeable love story.
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BOMBAY (Arvind-Manisha)
Love has no religion. And all religions are basically loved. Mani Ratnam again gave us a classic story of the love between a Hindu boy and Muslim girl served with a twist. The two lovers from different religion fight against the society to reclaim their love and the real story of the movie only starts when they are married with two kids. Arvind Swamy’s brilliant role as an anguished father caught in the midst of the brutal Bombay riots touched every heart in the country. Rahman again gave us his best and Hariharan’s rendition of “Tu Hi Re” still gives us goose bumps.
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CHHOTI SI BAAT (Amol-Vidya)
A simple recipe of the love story of ordinary office going, local bus travelling, middle class people was garnished with generous helpings of quirky characters and clever storytelling and thus this amazing, simple and utterly loveable movie was born. Director Basu Chatterjee’s classic love story of the “aamaadmi” played by Amol Palekar and his hilarious attempts to woo his lady through the help of an unlikely love guru by the name of Colonel Julius Nagendranath Wilfred Singh (played brilliantly by Ashok Kumar) is an immensely likeable movie. Watch it if you haven’t seen it already. We bet that you will come back humming “Janeman” and thanking us for the tip!
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KATI PATANG (Rajesh-Asha)
Kati Patang is a tale of a girl Madhavi (Asha Parekh) with a broken heart and how she finds love in Kamal Sinha (Rajesh Khanna). But the later is unaware of her true identity. The movie revolves around the unusual circumstances in which she meets Kamal and both fall in love. She is torn between her heart and mind and starts avoiding Kamal fearing his resentment and hatred. The intense chemistry between the two and turmoil in their relationship makes this movie emotionally and romantically the best of our times.
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BARFI (Ranbir-Priyanka)
Bollywood doesn’t do love stories of deaf-mute and autistic people. Thankfully someone forgot to tell that to director Anurag Basu who made a movie where ever scene is to be loved and cherished by grateful audiences for long after. This year’s surprise hit romantic comedy gave us a love story that made us feel warm in the heart and fall in love with the characters and the beautiful locales of Darjeeling and old Calcutta where their astonishing tale is played out. Ranbir and Priyanka gave the best performances of their lives in the movie and the lovable crook “Barfi” jumped straight to the list of best Hindi movies ever made.
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PREM ROG (Rishi-Padmini)
This sensitive and arousing tale is about Manorama (Padmini Kolhapure), the chirpy only daughter of Chhote Raja Thakur and Devdhar (Rishi Kapoor), a poor orphan in the same village, who bids his childhood love a good bye and leaves for town as she leaves her paternal home awaiting a happy married life. But fate had thought otherwise. She is widowed within two days of marriage, alone and helpless she is also raped by her brother-in-law (Raza Muraad). Dev returns from town only to see Manorama in this pitiable state. He admits his feelings before every one and breaks all barriers to rescue her beloved from the cruel fangs of society. What awaits him is a bloody war between the right and the wrong.
So that was our dose of a lil Bollywood mush for you. All left to be done is to snuggle
up next to your loved one with a large tub of popcorn watching one of these movies
this Valentine's Day. And when that heady, sweet rush called romance takes over,
do tell us at Rockying
how it went !
