Valentine week - 3

I would like to share my taste of movies, in this theme, romantic movies till date. The list is pretty common too. Enjoy them this time of the year.

“She did. You are the miracle” 

The sad movie adoption of book by Nicholas Sparks, “A Walk to Remember” is the best love story I have ever seen. People who read the book found movie not impressive. I read the book later and felt the movie had a dynamic approach and spirit of young love. However, both are worth exploring. The beginning of their love story is with a wonderful kiss and a date followed.

Moving on to Bollywood, it took a while for me to decide on my favorite. It might not be common. It actually is controversial. It is not the usual suspect of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge or Kuch kuch hota hai or any such romance of SRK. It is Love Aaj Kal. I have more friends who just don’t dislike but hate the movie than who like it. It is an outlaw. Very few Indians can digest a newly wed woman running away. That is the love epiphany for her actually. I felt the true essence of the movie, what the director was putting forward can be summed up in the line, “Ek-o-ek kahani, bas badle zamana” Times change, people are now more practical. They have choices, even in people. But still the concept of monogamy and inertia in love is alive and it will be, in my view.

Romeo & Juliet, Devdas & Parvathi, Heer & Ranjha whoever died for love, would have chosen to live together at any cost and fought for it if they had a choice.

If I turn now towards my mother tongue, I have three all-time favorites. It is the routine list. One would be, Cheli of Gautham Menon. It is a beautiful, simple love story with awesome cast. The love epiphany for the male protagonist occurs immediately after he sees the girl. This happens when you have preset ideas of a perfect someone and you encounter him/her in a way just like you imagined. The plot is pretty romanticized but life in it is the elegance with which it is screened.

Another is the beautiful “Priyuralu Pilichindi” of two couples. It is the remake of “Sense & Sensibility” or could be called Indian adoption of book “Sense & Sensibility” of Jane Austen. It contrasts the idea of love between two sisters. It also has the sub-theme of women empowerment. It was great watching such gorgeous actresses and handsome actors work together with enchanting music. Love epiphany in this is pretty complicated. But you can see it in the case for younger sister more clearly.

The final choice in Tollywood would be “Sakhi”, the heights of romance from Mani Rathnam. It has the freshness of love and also has ingrained love epiphany with a phone call and also in the climax. Well, I got to say; I am disappointed that all my choices of Telugu movies are actually the remakes of Tamil versions.

I see many people feeling that romantic movies are easy to make. It is true. You just need three parts, a meeting for girl and the guy, a reason for parting or conflict and a climax, happy or sad. Well, you can see this is common theme for all the above but yet it is not enough. It takes immense chemistry and sensibility for making a Titanic or DDLJ after all.