Kabhi Kabhie (1976)

I'm mentally prepared to be trolled, derided and umm... maybe ostracized even. But I need to say what I need to say. Kabhi Kabhie is Yash Chopra's most overrated film ever. Period. 

Brickbats... bring it on...

The other morning I got into an interesting conversation with a

neighbour. After the sundry exchanges about child tantrums, daily chores and the usual agonies of life in Modi's India, I quickly asked her whether she loves romances of the Yash Chopra kind. She started with a gushing take on Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and how it was her go-to film even a few years back. On correcting that the film was actually not Yash but his son's Aditya's directorial debut and perhaps his only watchable film, she revealed that it might not be as appealing today as it was earlier. Why? Because, as she put it, "Times were different then. We were different. I cannot relate to it anymore." This was my chance, my ticket to launch a tirade against a film over which I wasted three hours the previous night. Now why I did not abandon it midway? You see. I don't give up that easily. I'm a movie freak. 

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Dance, dance...(Dirty Dancing)

Everyone loves the underdog story. How a nondescript personality comes to the forefront and

snatches the glare from front rankers. Emile Ardolino's Dirty Dancing is one such instance. Apparently this 1987 low-budget romantic drama wasn't expected to run more than a week at the theatre, but strangely it went on to become a massive sleeper hit and was also the first film to sell more than a million copies on home video! However, if you watch this Patrick Swayze-Jennifer Grey movie today, this mammoth success will hardly come off as uncalled for. It's a film tailor-made to reap in the moolah. It's smart, simple, sexy, freewheeling, passionate, has a social message and yes... it has Patrick Wayne Swayze, the smooth smouldering dancer!

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Couple no. 55 (Mr & Mrs 55)

I have problems with Guru Dutt as a romantic lead. Though thoroughly taken by his brooding avatar (read: his angst-ridden persona in Pyaasa and as a simpleton in Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam), his lighter roles, I feel, paled in comparison. A month back, I watched Suhagan, a film where Dutt plays a middle-class professor marrying his student. Attracted to it by the song, Tu mere saamne hain, I sat through the film with much pain. Dutt's awkward expressions as the loverboy wooing his sweetheart spoiled the fun. Bharosa, another social drama featuring Dutt, was enjoyable only for Asha Parekh’s effortless portrayal of an ebullient village belle.
But, Mr & Mrs 55, my friend kept saying, was different.

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Dutt drama (Kissi Se Na Kehna)

I wonder whether Kissi se na kehna would have been as memorable without Utpal Dutt. For, who would have managed to look this flummoxed, befuddled and flabbergasted at the sight of a jeans-clad modern girl spewing English lines at top speed before her prospective father-in-law??? Or, as shocked and dismayed when another such girl grooves to some popular English track, right before him!! Or look as satisfied and at peace when he hears the simple Rama sing, Dhunde yashodha chahu orh? Or as satiated when he has eaten a plateful of delectable kachoris? Or, as disappointed and hurt when he learns of Rama's truth?
No one, right? Dutt's magic is totally unmatched. No one, yes, no one could have fitted the part of Kailashpati, the large-hearted, lovable father-in-law in this rollicking 1983 Hrishikesh Mukherjee romantic comedy.

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Bachelor party (Chashme Buddoor)

Whenever I happen to mention Sai Paranjpye's Chashme Buddoor during any conversation, there is a change in my mood. Almost instantly, I feel light and happy. My jaw stretches into a broad smile and my mind drifts into the lazy crazy life of Siddharth, Omi, Jomo and of course, Miss Chamko. That's why I call this 1981 romantic comedy, a moodlifter...
When my friends are in agony, I recommend Chashme Buddoor to them (provided the depression can be handled with a frothy film)! They turn up next day to thank me! That's the magic of this laugh riot. I love the way Delhi is caught on camera. Languid afternoons, verdant lawns, near empty roads, the capital looks extremely enticing. And, of course, there's Kali ghodi dwar khadi and Kahaan se aye badra. Yesudas and Haimanti Shukla create beautiful harmony!!

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Regal canvas (Rajkumar)

It's like watching one gala theatrical extravaganza. In K Shankar's 1964 hit, Rajkumar, everything is over-the-top, the makeup, sets, costumes, characters and story. But, never mind. It's one multi-coloured royal drama that will keep you hooked. That is, if you incorporate a certain willing suspension of disbelief. The rest, I assure, is like being part of an enthralling carnival.
The best part of the film, apart from the rollicking pair of Shammi Kapoor and Sadhana, are its songs. In fact, just when some implausible sequence is trying your patience, Shankar Jaikishen's music comes to the rescue. With seven chartbusters, Rajkumar is one potboiling entertainer.

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A hearty tale of love (Dil Deke Dekho)

Shammi Kapoor's called Roop in Nasir Husain's Dil Deke Dekho. An apt name. With that kind of a face, nothing else would do justice. He is a charmer, who slips into multiple roles with utmost dexterity. He is tall, strapping and cool, a loverboy who is hard to stay away from. He is a dutiful son, an passionate lover and a quickwitted comedian. So, Roop, the one with a beautiful face, effortlessly makes your heart skip a beat. He makes you laugh with his Professor Saamri gags, tickles your funny bone as Mirza Changezi and makes mush out of you as the smooth Roop or Raja. In the very words of Prof. Saamri, "Oh, tera kya kehna" or maybe, "Yeh aankhen nahin do teer hain"...

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Love in the lanes of Rome (Roman Holiday)

Thank God Cary Grant decided not to sign Roman Holiday. Thank God. For, I can't picture Grant vrooming on a Vespa with the animated Anya Smith pillion riding. No, I can't imagine Grant, or rather, anyone else, in the shoes of the earth-shatteringly handsome Gregory Peck!!! William Wyler's 1952 romantic comedy would have not been the same without the stunning pair of Peck and the cherubic Audrey Hepburn. For that, I thank God...
Roman Holiday is like sipping a cup of freshly brewed cappuchino in an Italian bistro. With the spring breeze playing with your tresses, the aroma of the beverage tingling your nostrils and the balmy sun soothing your back. The experience is supremely calm and rejuvenating. Just like the freshness of the debutant called Hepburn.

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Rules of the game (Chhoti si Baat)

Love's playing truant in your life? Seek Colonel Julius Nagendranath Wilfred Singh's advice. But, for that you have to watch Basu Chatterjee's Chhoti si Baat. And, after you've done that, I'm sure, you'll watch it again. Such is the delight of this 1975 roller-coaster romantic comedy.
The best part of this sweet film is its resemblance to every day life. Arun's story could have been the story of any man travelling with you in the bus, or train. You wouldn't even know what's in that man's mind. It's the same case with Arun (superbly subtle Amol Palekar). When he fancies himself to be like Dharmendra, and imagines wooing Prabha with Jaaneman jaaneman, he is just like us. Don't we sometimes step into the shoes and travel a zilion miles in dreamland imagining ourselves to be a celluloid diva spending tender moments with a dashing hero!!! Well, I do...

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Love thy neighbour (Tere Ghar Ke Saamne)

Didn't know Vijay Anand had this in him!!! A breezy, fun romance that is! Without his trademark suspense, sudden twists and nailbiting action... In 1963's Tere Ghar Ke Samne, he sheds his sleuth like qualities to give film lovers a joyful musical. And, he puts in the backdrop, a baseless rivalry between two good-natured neighbours...Though the film begins on a very Romeo-Juliet note, its end is predictable, and hence, immensely satisfying...

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Music, the food of love (Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon)

What made Nassir Hussain's pictures a box-office sellout? I say, fetching women, fabulous music, picturesque locales, smart heroes and a roughly tolerable plot. You get ample of that in the 1963 romance Phir Wohi dil Laya Hoon. The director etches a credible love story with plenty of song and dance, a menacing villian and fun situations in lovely Kashmir. Yes, you get to see the heavenly place before it got ripped apart!!!

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Obviously timeless (Casablanca)

"Here's looking at you kid," says Rick Blaine as he raises a toast to Ilsa, his love. Humphrey Bogart mouths this famous line four times in the two-hour drama and each time his eyes are as earnest as his tone romantic. The intensity of emotions and raw appeal turns me wobbly in the knees. And I feel, where have all these MEN gone?

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Love holds (An Affair to Remember)

Simplicity can be quite profound. That's why An Affair to Remember holds its ground even today. Because it is a magical concoction of simplicity, warmth and love. The 1957 Leo McCarey classic grips us with its tight storyline, sudden twists and mushy sequences. The music, especially the soulful title track composed by Harry Warren, lodges itself in your heart long after the end credits roll. The lead characters, Deborah Kerr and Carey Grant, instill your faith in romance. And the endearing Grandma is the perfect icing on the cake.
Grant's portrayal of Nickie Ferrante is immaculate. He is suave and has a heart of gold (amid his hectic schedule of pursuing beautiful women, he accomodates his regular trips to meet his ageing grandma). This ace almost wins over beautiful Kerr, who he meets while on a cruise.

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