Different Faces of Love - Part 1

Pyaar. Ishq. Mohabbat. All these terms represent the undying topic of love that all our Bollywood movies tend to bring forward. From Mughal-e-Azam to Race 2, from Anarkali to Barfi, love has always been the prevalent topics of our Bollywood movies. But not every love story has been the same. Sure, we've had those warring families and two star-crossed lovers' stories, but we've also had obsessive love. For every Love Story, we've had a Cheeni Kum. For every Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, we've had a Baghban. In this month of love, BollyCurry brings to you some of the different faces, the unique, and the loveliest hatke love stories over the span of 3 parts.

First up is Prem Rog. During a time when remarriage would be frowned upon, this movie brought forward a love story that was never heard of and considered taboo. Prem Rog introduced the concept of widowed remarriage. Married to a Thakur and widowed the very next day, Manorama, played by Padmini Kolapure, has forgotten how to smile, love, and live, until her childhood friend, Devdhar (Rishi Kapoor), re-enters her life bringing forward the idea of marrying her. The movie received many awards and nominations and became a silver jubilee blockbuster.I love you K...K...Kiran. Hear this and the first thing that pops up is an image of Shah Rukh Khan talking to Juhi Chawla's photo in Darr. A movie about obsessive and dangerous love, this movie has Shah Rukh Khan, as Rahul, playing a villainous role of an obsessive lover who will do anything and everything to get his love Kiran, played by Juhi Chawla, who was in love with and spoken for Ajay, played by Sunny Deol. Shah Rukh Khan is very convincing and easily persuades viewers that he should be sympathized with, rather than hated, but at the same time gave everyone the chills. The movie received accolades, was the third highest grossing movie of 1993, was declared a super hit at the box office, and won several awards.Love between the rich and the poor is the everlasting depiction in many movies. One such movie was Raja Hindustani. A taxi driver/tour guide, Raja Hindustani (Aamir Khan), meets and falls in love with Aarti Sehgal (Karisma Kapur). The two get married, but their marriage is short-lived as Aarti's stepmother starts to create disruptions in their married life until a pregnant Aarti leaves Raja and goes to her father. Raja then finds out about his son, kidnaps him, and runs away. Soon both figure out the truth and end up happily ever after. We at BollyCurry can only say that if you really love someone then you should trust them. Nevertheless, this movie became one of the most successful films of the 90s and received several awards.Ek ladka aur ladki kabhi dost nahi ho sakte hain. Our next theme of love is friends to lovers and we have two movies that became cult movies: Maine Pyaar Kiya and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Prem (Salman Khan) and Suman (Bhagyasree) are the children of two best friends who grew apart because of money. When they meet after many years, Prem and Suman first become friends after Prem says he doesn't want any other relationship, but soon both fall in love. The trials and tribulations they go through formed the rest of the story of Maine Pyaar Kiya. The movie became a huge commercial and critical success, with many awards.Kuch Kuch Hota Hai may have had a similar theme, but had a completely different storyline. Anjali (Kajol Devgn), a tomboy, and Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan) are best friends and are extremely close, until Tina (Rani Mukerjee) enters sweeping Rahul off his feet. Soon Anjali realizes she loves Rahul, but steps out of the way for her two best friends, but years later, Rahul's daughter, Anjali, is given the task by her mother's letters to bring Rahul and Anjali together. Salman Khan had an extended appearance in this movie as Aman, Anjali's fiance. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai not only won awards and accolades, but it was also the first Bollywood movie to enter UK cinema's top 10.In 2004, Yashraj Films brought about a huge change in the world of Bollywood love with Veer Zaara. A movie about unconditional love over a lifetime, the movie is about an indian pilot Veer Pratap Singh (Shah Rukh Khan) and a pakistani girl Zaara Hayaat Khan (Preity Zinta). The story starts when Zaara comes to India to fulfill her nanny's (who she dearly calls bebe) wish of taking her ashes to the same place where her ancestors' ashes were submerged, where she meets Veer. Both soon realize that they have fallen in love with each other, but Zaara is taken away by her fiance Raza (Manoj Bajpai) back to Pakistan before they can say anything. Veer goes after Zaara, but is arrested and falsely charged of being an Indian spy. He accepts the crime he is punished for to save Zaara. 22 years later, a young lawyer Saamiya Siddique (Rani Mukherjee) meets Veer and attempts to get him justice, thereby reuniting Zaara and Veer. The movie was critically and commercially acclaimed and received many awards for its unique and different story line.

Many of these movies are considered cult movies and they really should be. After all, it's not everyday that a Bollywood movie explores the topic of widow remarriage or love over decades. Today BollyCurry brought to you some of the much older movies. In the next part, we will explore other shades of love but until then love away!

Author: Shreya S.
Editor: Hershi J.
Graphics: Virina R.