We all grew up watching Bollywood movies and learned our ideas of love and romance from these movies. I mean, we all remember: “Hum ek baar jeete hai, ek baar marte hai, shaadi bhi ek baar hoti hai…aur pyar ek baar hi hota hai», dialogue by heart. We’ve all been inspired by those movies about what a perfect relationship should be like. Our idea and thoughts about love are always a reflection of the conditioning we received by looking at them.
However, the movies we grew up watching weren’t exactly progressive and reinforced pre-set gender roles and stereotypes. So, here is the list of five Bollywood movies that, despite being problematic, we still love.
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
The film featured Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, one of Bollywood’s most legendary screen couples, Rani Mukerji’s amazing performance, Karan Johar’s beautiful visuals, Salman Khan‘s appearance, the typical Indian mother like Fareeda Jalal and very memorable characters like Anjali among other things. The songs from the movie are still very fresh in our minds because they just refuse to get old. If you ask someone to share their favorite lines from the movie, they’ll answer right away. Although it is difficult to choose one, because there are many iconic dialogues in the film.
“Pyar dosti hai… agar woh meri sab se achchi dost nahin ban sakti, to main usse kabhi pyar kar hi nahi sakta… kyun ki dosti bina toh pyar hota hi nahin… simple, pyar dosti hai.
“Kuch kuch hota hai Rahul, tum nahi samjhoge.”
Hum Aapke Hain Kaun
Undoubtedly, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun will always be a romantic comedy that 90s kids will associate with our childhood and Sooraj Barjatya, who has always endorsed love in his films. The chemistry between Nisha (Madhuri Dixit) and Prem (Salman Khan) was appreciated by many. Their love exploded into a family setup and like all clichéd love stories, they saw obstacles but lived happily ever after. Entertaining dance numbers like Didi Tera Devar Deewana and Joote Do Paise Lo to the sad as Mujhse Judah Hokar, the movie had songs for every mood.
Dil to Pagal Hai
Dil To Pagal Hai made us all think that someone, somewhere is for us. It was a movie full of dance, drama, romance, and some of the most iconic songs we still sing today. Shah Rukh Khan was India’s favorite loverboy at the time, which made us fall in love with him all over again with his character. The movie was relatable for many people as it was about the character of Nisha (Karishma Kapoor) whose love is not reciprocated, and Nisha also wonders if she is so bad that her friend doesn’t love her back. The scene that was loved by many was how her friend Rahul apologized to her for not loving her back and did everything to comfort her. It’s quite rare to see one-sided love treated with such delicacy, which is why this film is still fresh in our memories.
Dil Se
The film was full of endearing romantic moments. The movie taught 90s kids to confess their feelings before it’s too late and when it comes to matters of the heart, don’t wait for the moment. The film does not follow the conventional “guy meets girl, they fall in love and live happily ever after” plot. It was a film about battle, trauma, loss and sadness. While this is serious political drama, there are also wonderful moments that celebrate love. Amar and Meghna’s romance has a poetic beauty, like a divine connection that brings their love to life. If we talk about Dil Se and don’t mention the beautiful songs, it would be unfair. The song Dil Se portrays the true meaning of love and AR Rehman’s beautiful melody stole everyone’s heart and it is still etched in our hearts.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
This is the best modern love story India has to offer. DDLJ is the longest running film in the history of Indian cinema, and it made SRK and Kajol the most popular on-screen couple in Hindi cinema. Raj and Simran became #CoupleGoals for 90s kids even before social media. The film managed to touch millions of hearts thanks to its unforgettable characters, intriguing narrative and legendary music. The film had problematic scenes, such as Raj making advances to Simran when she was clearly not interested. However, the final scene with Simran sprinting towards Raj on a moving train brings a smile to many people’s faces.
