Hindi cinema has often been accused of glamorizing provocative issues like stalking or assault, or non-consent in the name of love & love stories. The essence has enriched and changed over the years (for the better, of course), but all was not lost even during the darkest times of Hindi cinema.
And the few films that Iโm going to mention here have dealt with the emotion of love with utmost sincerity, respect, and sensitivity it deserves. These love stories might or might not be of the lead characters, but have lifted the spirit of the movie with immense dignity and passion. And Iโm not even touching the wave of Parallel Cinema in the 70s & 80s that transported the Hindi movies to the shore of World Cinema. This list is mostly of commercial films driven by star power.
1. Chandravati & Rambharan Mahto (Mrityudand, 1997)
An annotation on the social & gender injustice, director Prakash Jha valiantly infused so many nuanced layers to Mrityudand that it instantly became a very singular experience for the viewers. The film was a marriage between commercial & what we used to call โparallelโ cinema.
With melodious, popular songs and a commercial, legit, gigantic movie star (Madhuri Dixit), Mrityudand was a winner. But what carved the determined impression on my fragile mind was the tender, unexpected, unmitigated, and yet, almost inaudible love flowering between the middle-aged Chandravati (played deliciously by Shabana Azmi) and Rambharan (played with equal brilliance by Om Puri).
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The texture of their romance was so real and transparent that you could almost touch it. It was a doomed romance from the word go, which was marred by ferocious social stigma and the structured moral internment, designed by society. And they both were very well aware of it, but when your heart speaks to you, you LISTENโฆnothing else matters. Their love was enormously liberating, not only for these two characters but also for the audience; an extremely rare feat achieved on celluloid with just emotions and not with words or action.
The kind of compassion and indulgence writers, directors, and actors dealt with this romance with was very intermittently seen before in the commercial Hindi movie space. And what makes it even more astonishing is that this was a love story between two middle-aged people from a remote village in the state of Bihar. Watch it to believe it!
2. Geeta & Mohan Bhargava (Swades, 2004)
Geeta (played assuredly by the debutant Gayatri Joshi) is irrefutable, one of the strongest female characters to come out of Hindi cinema. A lone fighter, untouched by urbanization, Geeta is a highly educated girl, living in a small village by choice, and whose confidence is alarmingly attractive. The lucidity in her vision and her ability to stand by everything she believes in make her instantly likable. Hence, it comes as no surprise that she was very vocal about her feelings for Mohan (played with absolute restraint by Shah Rukh Khan).
The palpable undercurrent of their love had been flowing since the very beginning of the movie, but she turned it profound with her confession. So unassuming and instant was the confession that it took everyone by surprise, including Mohan! There was no anticipation, no frills attached, just plain โmain tumse pyar karne lagi hoonโ (โIโve fallen in love with youโ) out of the blue, in an otherwise quiet, mundane nightโฆjust like that.
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Throughout the film, their romance never took the front seat or dissuaded the script from its true spirit. Never ever in a widely released Hindi film, the lead actor & actress are shown to be razzing about urbanization, about issues at the grassroots level of rural India. Swades did it and did it with aplomb. And thatโs why the romance between Geeta & Mohan is so effective because it never digresses from the inner fabric of the film.
Throughout the movie, their romance categorically bloomed but never out of proportion. Restrained, mature & practical, their love was all things essential. Their silent, intense love finally finds its voice after two and a half hours into the film, and not by him but by her. Yes, it is as beautiful as it sounds. Go check it out.
3. Tara & Ved (Tamasha, 2015)
Okay, so this one is from the times when Hindi cinema started making blockbuster movies about a perpetually constipated old man who also proudly declares at a party that his daughter is not a virgin! So, including a love story from 2015 is not too much of a stretch because by then, Hindi cinema had metamorphosed, along with its audience. But Tara & Vedโs chemistry was too potent to be avoided in any list about love stories.
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The beauty of this romance lies in its dichotomy of being poetic and, at the same time, relatable. We all have fallen hard for someone, only to realize later that they are NOT who we thought they were. That catastrophic feeling of loss, betrayal, and profound guilt was so gorgeously woven into the screenplay via Tara. And we all have a Ved, either in us or in our group. He is someone whose passion has been burdened by life, and he has concurred & surrendered to it quietly. These emotions are so relevant that the dreamy approach of their love story makes total sense.
Tara is the person in Vedโs life who we all wish and want in ours. She makes him realize his optimum potential, his true calling, and he acknowledges it with all his heart and devotion. Though I caught up with this gem a little too late, it instantly made me want to fall in love again!
4. Naheed & Oscar (Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., 2007)
Finding your person is never easy, more so if you are middle-aged and with children and live in India. Phew! Of course, things are slowly but surely changing, though the struggle is still on, and so it was for Naheed & Oscar.
After they lost their respective spouses to death, they eventually found much-needed solace in each otherโs company. And the thread that binds them together, you ask? Grief, mammoth despair. Naheedโs (played with panache by Shabana Azmi) husband and two children died in a car accident, and Oscarโs (played with utmost nuance by the always reliable Boman Irani) wife committed suicide, and he is now estranged from his only daughter.
We meet them after Naheed & Oscar have recently gotten married. Though they are the target of relentless mocking from everyone around them, they intend not to get bothered by their tormenting past and be together for the most substantial part of their lives, the ending. Their altruistic yet rebellious love for each other, their maturity, which comes with the enriching life experiences, and of course, their raw, excruciating past, make this an inspiring love story for the legends.ย Naheed and Oscar have to be one ofย Hindi cinemaโs most poignant and endearing couples.
5. Chitra & Subir (Abhimaan, 1973)
The love triangles, unrequited love, and sacrificial characters are the verbatim essence of the word clichรฉ in the Hindi cinema. Thousands and thousands of films have revolved around such themes, and we still continue to do so. But rarely ever do you come across a jewel that takes the clichรฉ out of the word! And Abhimaan is one such jewel in the crown of Hindi cinema.
Allegedly based on a real-life artist couple and extremely close to A Star Is Born in its theme, Abhimaan is a love story of a singing couple that was stained by ego, jealousy, and insecurities. Embellished with the intense, raw, and piercing performances by the upcoming stars, Amitabh Bachchan & Jaya Bhaduri, this film is a requisite love story for any romantic, anywhere in the world.
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But what I want to focus on here is the third angle of the triangle. Subir (played by Amitabh Bachchan) is a singing phenomenon that has captured the imagination of the entire nation. And Chitra (played with utmost conviction by the legendary Bindu) is his friend, his confidant, and a would-be-lover.
Though it was never boldly expressed in words, the passion of her feelings for him was particularly evident in her eyes & her body language. But she chooses to poignantly wrap her emotions and graciously step aside when he falls for Uma (played by then Jaya Bhaduri). This was one of the most agonizing & graceful sacrifices of love ever portrayed in Hindi cinema.
What makes my heart ache even more & makes Subir & Chitraโs equation even more bracing is when she returns to offer her earnest, compassionate friendship when his inner demons possess him. Even though itโs been explicitly conveyed in the movie that Chitra is the Paro to Subirโs Devdas, it is done with such delicate, affectionate, authentic, and ingenious moments that it feels unprecedented. If you havenโt yet, go explore the magic of the virtuoso of Hrishikesh Mukherjeeโs craft.
