You will obviously notice in the title of the post I've mentioned 'films released since I came to this planet'. Well many romantic, passionate, earth shattering movies had been released when I was in Jupiter, but frankly speaking I would have not listed more than three of those if I had to list 'my favorite top 10 romantic films of all time'. The reasons would be
1. I am not a die-hard romantic movie watcher. So out goes 'Pakeezah' and all the similar kinds
2. If the movie doesn't stay with me after watching it's not worth it. So 'Mughale e azam' doesnt make any sense to me as after watching it for the fifth time, the only thing that stays with me is the song 'Pyar kiya toh darna kya' and the mirror shot in the song.
3. If I cant relate to a love story, it doesnt work for me. Well its a little tricky, because I dont relate to most of the love stories. This is the benefit of doubt category, where there are some brilliant Yash Chopra films, but I somehow couldn't relate to those.
For me romantic films should make you feel the love, you want to relive the moments which are happening in the film and at some point during the course of the film you wont even know when there are a few teardrops rolling down your cheeks. And the ten movies which has given me these exact feelings more or less are...
NO. 10: DILWALE DULHANIYA LE JAYENGE (1995)
Well, at least 15 million Indian women would want to stab me to death because of putting this at no. 10. Well for a generation growing up on Trashy Hindi movies, DDLJ was a revelation. This film is like a religion to many romantic souls, I've know several people who know all the dialogues by heart. The scenes have inspired many filmmakers to write scenes for their movies and many young hearts to propose to their loved ones.
Why I love it
Come on, its actually a brilliant film. The moments are so good that even Lata Mangeshkar's unbearable voice (She is a great singer, no doubt, but her voice didn't suit Kajol at all ) doesnt make any difference while watching the film. The journey factor added a different element to it and obviously Shahrukh Khan doing what he does best.
My favorite moment
The whole palat sequence. I mean how many times I have wished that happens to me too. Alas! all the time I just look like a stupid guy standing in the middle of nowhere, looking at someone going away.
NO. 9: JAB WE MET (2007)
I have seen this movie almost four five months after this was released. And I was blown away by the enormous possibilities this movie had opened. I feel, that I like the love stories which had the elements of journey in it. This film has an uncanny feel good factor, which makes our lives seem beautiful. I mean after a tired days work, you come back home and watch this movie, I guarantee you will feel refreshed
Why I love it
Kareena, Imtiaz Ali, brilliant dialogues and a great support cast. Surprisingly, though I dont relate to the story much, but the moments keep me glued onto it and feel good about Geet and Aditya's happy ending.
My favorite moment
Well the most favorite moment would be Tarun Khanna screaming " Kyun jaun main ganne ke khet mein? kya rakha hai ganne ke khet mein, nahin dekhna mujhe ganne ka khet". But that's not a romantic moment. So I would opt for the scene where Aditya is encouraging Geet to blast all her emotions to Anshuman over phone. That was brilliant
NO. 8: SOCHA NA THA (2005)
Another Imtiaz Ali genius. A classic tale of love realizations and feeling helpless at love. I bet 70% of youth in India goes through the same dilemma which Viren (Abhay Deol) had went through in this film. This is a film about an average Indian young man, but this is not an average love story by any means. Its very practical and very realistics. Well Abhay Deol seems to be quite confused as far as romancing in films are concerned. He was also confused in Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara as well as in Aisha.Why I love it
Abhay Deol and Ayesha Takia. Brilliant chemistry between them. The way Imtiaz has treated this film, it didnt seem like his first film. A new cast, new director, new approach towards love, thats what makes this film a must watch.
My favorite moment
When both of them elope just before the end. The emotions were so real that I always thought I would elope one day . Alas!!
NO. 7: SAATHIYA (2005)
Yes yes I know it is Alai Payuthe, I also know that Madhavan had done a much better job than Vivek Oberoi. But its the same love story, and if I dont mention Saathiya in my favorite
romantic films' list, then it would be a sin. Probabaly this is the only Yashraj film which has made an impact on me in the last 15 years. I watched Saathiya almost twelve times, among which four times in a theatre. I loved the film that much. This film is made of a gamut small but significant moments, but thats what made this film brilliant.Why I love it
Rani Mukherjee never acted better than she did in this film. Like Socha na thha, this film also was very real and dealt with real characters. This was probably the last glimpse of the brilliance called A.R. Rahman. What we are getting from him post Saathiya is not even 30% of what he used to be once. Music was impeccable and did justice to the screenplay, which eventually gave me goosebumps at certain scenes. For once, Vivek Oberoi looked the part he was playing. (Yeah yeah, apparently he did that in Company too)
My favorite moment
Aditya (Vivek) jumps on to a running train and when Suhani (Rani) asks him to jump off the train. Very sweetly he says "train rukegi toh kud jaunga". Fine moment...
NO. 6: TAAL (1999)
Can you tell me if there's one romantic soul in the whole country who hasnt been moved by the song Ishq Bina, when the video first came out. I dont remember waiting so long for any
other movie for that long. People talk about Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam when they talk about new age love triangles, but for me, Taal was the ultimate love triangle. I watched this film on the first day first show, then second show and then next day night show. Taal had a huge impact on the way I look at romantic films.Why I love it
I remember buying the audio cassette of Taal twice, the first time I had used it so much that the prints started skipping. Music is the best part of Taal. Rahman had got everything right for this album. Secondly beautiful backdrop for the movie helped it look good on screen and off course Anil Kapoor. In the post Dev Anand era, no one looked as flamboyant as Anil Kapoor did in Taal.
My favorite moment
Undoubtedly, the video of the song Ishq Bina. The play with the shadows, Aishwarya in that white dress, Akshaye Khanna with his identical smirk. Elegant indeed...
NO. 5: DIL SE (1998)
Love can be dangerous too, and no other film (not even the Bhatt camp erotic thrillers) can portray that better than this film. Before this film released, the names attached with it had created a stir amongst all film lovers. Unfortunately I was not allowed inside the theater when I first went to watch this film as this was an adult film and I was not allowed to drink by then. So I had to wait for few months till the VHS released.
Why I love it
Tough question, everything was brilliant in this film (oh! except the horrific bomb blast vfx in the end). Santosh Sivan's each shot, chiaroscuro lighting, shadows, locations, dialogues, music. Everything made me fall in love with this movie. The premise created all the difference for me, it was something in between dangerous and unrequited love, and that worked brilliantly. Monisha Koirala expressed with her eyes and the silence was so loud that at times it was trippy. Once again A.R. Rahman created some tunes which always haunt me whenever I hear them. Especially Ae Ajnabee
My favorite moment
The first time when Amar (Shahrukh) sees Meghna (Monisha), on the railways station, with the glass of tea in his hand. I dont remember how many times I have seen pretty girls at stations and I remembered Dil Se.
NO. 4: JAANE TU YAA JAANE NA (2008)
You might stop reading once you read the next line. I love Imran Khan. There are some roles in some Hindi films that only he could pull off. I would put my money on Imran if there is a comparison debate between Imran and Ranbir Kapor on who would have been better for 'I hate love stories' or 'Break ke baad'. No one could do those roles better than Imran.
He should stay away from doing Kidnap-esque movies or the films which breaks away from his lover boy attitude., at least for the time being. Similarly Jai in jaane tu ya jaane na can only be Imran and he single handedly pulled off one of the best debut films of all time. This movie is somewhat similar to Genelia's debut film 'Tujhe Meri Kasam'. But JTYJN is much more vibrant, much more dynamic and much more romantic than Tujhe meri kasam. The premise of best friend romance is always a very intriguing one, but Abbas Tyrewala (A little birdie said Aamir Khan) handled it brilliantly. Why I love it
Most of my girlfriends had been my very close friends ( well, thats a different story that they no longer stayed friends after they dated me), so I absolutely love the idea of fromance (friend romance). JTYJN was perfect that way. It was about college students but not at all a college romance, which I loved. Imran, like I said was custom fit for this role, Genelia is always pleasant and her one smile makes me fall for her everytime. The progression of the story, the supporting cast, the narrative made me fall in love with the movie in no time.
My favorite moment
Airport scene undoubtedly.What makes it funnier is Murali Sharma on the walkie.
NO. 3: REHNA HAI TERE DIL MEIN (2001)How many times this has happened to you that you go to watch a movie without even hearing the name of it and come out under a spell of that movie? How many times this has happened to you when your friends have forced you to watch a movie and you end up watching it more than twenty times in your life?
Well for me RHTDM happened. And I was bowled over. Yes it is a very simple story, yes it is a very done to death love triangle, but how many of them do you remember? how many of them you remember scene to scene, dialogue by dialogue. With RHTDM, I do that, and thats why it's at number three
Why I love it
Have you seen the pain on Madhavan's face? have you seen the glare in his eyes when he sees Dia Mirza? Madhavan is probably one of the best actors of our time. Rehna hai tere dil mein is all about him, and he made sure we notice that. I fell in love with him, I felt the pain when he couldnt get a chance to tell the truth, I got disturbed when Saif came in between. Madhavan has showed the different emotions of love, all in this one movie. All Dia did was looked pretty and presentable. But Rehnaa hai tere dil mein wouldnt have been as marvellous without Harris Jayaraj's music. Zara Zara, Dilko tumse pyar huwa, Sach keh raha hai deewana, these gave me goosebumps. And the RHTDM theme is the best OST ever made for a Indian romantic movie.
My favorite moment
"Ek
ladki dekhi bilkul bijli ki tarah ... one flash ... ek chamak aur main
apna dil kho behta ... bas ab ek hi tamanna hai ... rehna hai uske dil mein". Madhavan's voice still echoes in my ears.
NO. 2: LOVE AAJ KAL (2009)
When I came out of the mutiplex after watching this film, there was something inside that was telling me that I want my love story to be like this. I also wanted to love someone but
didnt want to realize that I've loved her. At that exact point my girlfriend called me, so all my thoughts got diverted on how would I explain not taking her to the movie. But jokes apart, 'Love Aaj Kal' had put many things in perspective as per romantic movies are concerned. It is very believable, very today, very young yet traditional, and emotionally very accurate.Why I love it
Deepika Padukone... The very fact that it starts with them growing apart yet getting closer is enough for me to like the movie. Plus there is Deepika Padukone. The doubts of Saif, the intercut with Rishi kapoor's love story, and the constant disbalance between professional and personal life because of unfulfilled love. Yet again the journey element by Imtiaz Ali. Whenever I watch this film I become Saif (No, I dont say waaaoow), and get engrossed till the film is over. There is a kind of unexplainable romanticism in unfulfilled love and no other film shows it better than Love Aaj Kal. Also there is Deepika Padukone...
My favorite moment
Actually there are two. One is the next day after Deepika got married she realised that this is not the way it should be and her all going psycho with Rahul Khanna. And the other one is when she breaks down when Saif comes to Delhi and profess his love for her.
NO. 1: TUM BIN (2001)
Tum bin jiya jaaye kaise/ Kaise Jiya jaaye tum bin/ Sadiyon se lambi hai raatein
Sadiyon se lambe huwe din/ Aa jao lautke tum/yeh dil keh raha hai
When I say this is my most favorite film of all time, dont be surprised. Not many people have seen this film, but whoever did, loved it. And I dont know any soul who hasnt cried after seeing this film. Four new faces, a new director, new music director and the result was mindboggling. Surprisingly none of the actors became stars later, director Anubhav Sinha went on to make big budget action and so called super hero films, music director Nikhil-Vinay have vanished without a trace. So what was in Tum Bin? It was an unusual yet very very mature love story. It didnt have the fun element of jaane tu ya jane na, neither did it have the confusion element of Love Aajkal, nor the vibrance of RHTDM. Tum bin was emotional fragments knit together in a very, very matured story. Supported by an apt soundtrack and a very promising and talented Priyanshu Chatterjee
Why I love it
I dont just love it, for me Tum Bin is a benchmark for romantic movies. Tum Bin is a movie that I want to remake for the next gen viewers, maybe 20 years from now. Priyanshu Chatterjee had shown so much of promise in the film, we dont even remember the wooden Himanshu Malik and blink-n-miss Rakesh Bapat (who is now known as Rageysh Vashisht, bledy numerology, I tell you). Sandali Sinha did her best to look the part but it was Priyanshu who made Tum Bin my favorite romantic film. Music was brilliant and perfectly blended with the screenplay. Koi Fariyaad still haunts me everytime I hear it.
My favorite moment
There are umpteen, but I want to mention only two. One is when Priyanshu leaves the 100 dollar bill on the bridge. And the other one would be when he tells Sandali " Jaanta hoon aapko sahare ki zaroorat nahin hai, main sirf saath dene aaya hoon." That's been my go to line for quite sometime.
THE ONES WHICH I MISSED
Choosing ten favorite is no easy task, had to ignore some other good films too, but a few are worth mentioning. Lamhe, Wake up Sid, Kuchh Kuchh Hota hai, Ranjhana, Khamoshi ( Mr. Bhansalis only watchable film by far) and for some strange reason Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa.
That sums up my list. To all the readers, I want to mention that this is a list based on what I feel and its totally my perspective. This shouldnt stop you from going 'aww' over the outrageous 'Dil to paagal hai' or the intolerable 'Mohabbatein'. This is your life, your choice and you have all the right to watch and love whatever you like. On that note I sign off today. Will be back soon, with another list, or another poem or anything that I would want to share.
