Hunky Dory, happy and extremely commercial, that is how you can sum up the entire flavor of romance and Valentine’s Day. I belong quite on the lines of dark and twisty range of Meredith Grey like characters. Love for me is cinema, and good love stories is something out of the blue, more real, more grey, more fractured and doesn’t necessarily end happily. Mainstream romantic films doesn’t save room for unrequited love.
Koimoi compiles for you 10 remarkable love stories which doesn’t comply with the regular ideas of love and yet are every bit mind-blowing.
Sadma:
Sadma Movie Poster
Kamal Haasan and Sridevi’s love didn’t make sense to you? Yes, for most that was a defected love story. The hero was more of a babysitter for the adorable, child-like Sridevi. But the moving, turbulent climax of Sadma will leave you shaken up. Romantic films don’t do that. They are mostly froth, hearts and bubbles. Sadma ranks on the top position for being one of my earliest memories of understanding why Kamal Haasan cries when Sridevi can’t recognize him in the end.
Mr and Mrs Iyer:
Mr and Mrs Iyer Movie Poster
The woman has in her lap a small baby. The man she meets on the trip is a Muslim. Stuck in volatile area, amidst the repercussions from Hindu Muslim riots, they were two absolutely strangers whose bond don’t even get close to strings of physical but is volumes more beautiful than the mundane ones we watch in rom-coms. Rahul Bose and Konkona Sen Sharma’s subtle romance is epic and despite the two not living happily ever after, the story of their love goes beyond the tapestry of recognized and understood socially stamped relationships.
Lamhe:
Lamhe Movie Poster
In many ways, this film of Yash Chopra was way more defining one for his career than Silsila. If Chopra risked on defying the stereotypes with Silsila, with Lamhe he furthered it into a dimension so dangerous that commercial cinema still shirks from matching it. Wrapped with hues of incest, the story was unusual for the considerable age gap between the couple in question but also that the man had been in love with the mother and then falls for the daughter years later. Even today Bollywood is not bold enough to try something like that and hence the beauty of Lamhe remain just as unaltered.
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna Movie Poster
In a conversation I had with Karan Johar I had told him KANK was his best commercial effort till date and the filmmaker looked bemused. It will be easier to say it was Kuch Kuch Hota Hai for its success or My Name Is Khan for its magnanimity but KANK hails for its honesty. Johar for the first time proved he has a deep understanding of human characters. It all made sense to me atleast, how a woman (Rani) can be unhappy despite having a perfect husband like Abhishek. Love isn’t about being with someone perfect. It made sense to me when Rani makes love with SRK so passionately when she was almost dead in bed with Abhishek. Once again, Abhishek was very perfect but Rani had not found perfection with him. I could also fathom why two bitterly negative people find love with each other. And for me, Rani and SRK’s romance was more beautiful than any other candyfloss tale Johar has ever said.
Shuddh Desi Romance:
Shuddh Desi Romance Movie Poster
Jaideep Sahani wrote an exhilarating film which Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra performed to perfection. Apprehensive of commitment, shaky, young recognizable characters, I love this films for the out of the blue characters who keep running out on each other only to fall back into each other’s arms. It refrains from getting formulaic and maintains its sprightly energy for most part. Also I like the ease with which it depicts sexual attraction without making a fuss about it. Fiesty, ferocious and just as charming.
Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu:
Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu Movie Poster
And in a full fledged romantic comedy, comes a climax so stark that you sit up and check if it is really a Dharma Romance you are watching. From What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas story emerges two people, barely known to each other, married in a drunken state. The guy falls in love with her over time and Kareena ensures that she is just perfectly vivacious to make you believe that. However, when she describes how all her life she has been into one relationship or the other, and she needs to give herself a break before taking a leap into another futile and menaningless affair, is commendable. The doe-eyed Imran Khan knows in his heart, sooner or later, it will work out between them and though the climax didn’t tell us that, even we knew it would happen for them.
Dedh Ishqiya:
Dedh Ishqiya Movie Poster
I wish they had called the film Lihaaf but definitely Abhishek Chaubey reminded us of the boisterous Ismat Chugtai, in the most warm way possible. The romance of Begum Para and Muniya is delicately done, never getting over the top and yet when the climax is revealed, the beauty of their intimacy is awe striking. Huma Qureshi’s glee when she goes to visit Madhuri Dixit speaks more than words and with their shadows merging into one, Naseeruddin Shah’s dumfounded yet overwhelmed reaction tells us way more beautiful love story than we had bargained for.
Rockstar:
Rockstar Movie Poster
Ranbir Kapoor’s pining was painful and at one point in the film his character had claimed that mera dil toota hai, to which his friend says agar dil toota hota toh tu yaha baith ke samose nahi kha raha hota. And then when his heart really broke inch by inch, bit by bit, it’s painful, beatiful and perhaps cannot be lucidly put to words.
Barfi!:
Barfi! Movie Poster
Many had criticized Anurag Basu for blatantly lifting scenes from films. All said and done, there is no denying that Barfi! was a fantastic movie. And the reason why it was so precious is Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra’s fantastic chemistry and wonderful performances. Anurag Basu’s understanding of romance had always been very unusual as evident from his films like Life In A Metro and Gangster but Barfi! was innocent and delightfully decadent.
Cheeni Kum:
Cheeni Kum Movie Poster
When the too old and too young fall for each other. 64 year old Amitabh Bachchan and 34 year old Tabu are drawn to each other in the uncanniest of ways. Quite a proclaimed brat that Bachchan was, Tabu in her warm ways matches up to the much older man with wimpish perfection. She knows how to put him right and Bachchan falls for that quality in the woman who finally after 6 decades of his life knew how to tame him.
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