Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and love is in the air. Bollywood films have forever romanticized love stories to an extent that they often become our love goals. ‘Rahuls’ and ‘Prems’ of Bollywood have set standards which are just way too high. We’ve all seen and loved popular romantic movies, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, Dil To Pagal Hai and many others. But there have been others which probably didn’t get that much attention. These films were either not so popular back in the day when they released or were popular for other dominant themes they carried, but were love stories at heart.
Here’s a look at 15 such films that had some beautiful love stories and can be perfect for your Valentine’s Day weekend:
1. Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh (2005)
As most marriages in India go, this story was of one such arranged marriage which came with its own share of adjustments and compromises. The man (Rajpal Yadav) and woman (Rituparna Sengupta) meet through their parents and get married. Their love story was so cute and so not-in-the-face that you start rooting for the couple to live together happily. It also, sort of, re-instates your faith in arranged marriages.
2. Tum Bin (2001)
Pia’s (Sandali Sinha) fiancé is killed in a car accident and she is devastated. In the meanwhile, Shekhar (Priyanshu Chatterjee) enters her life to help her with the deteriorating business and they fall in love. Things turn south when she comes to know that it was Shekhar’s car that collided with her fiancé’s car.
3. Lootera (2013)
This tragic love story is of ‘Pakhi’ (Sonakshi Sinha) who falls in love with a con artist (Ranveer Singh). He is on the run from the police and Pakhi falls sick. Their beautiful & tragic romance is what good love stories are made of.
4. Socha Na Tha (2005)
Imtiaz Ali’s first film was a tale of two complicated people meeting in the most un-complicated manner and then discovering their love for each other in a rather gradual way. All those who have seen this film will know why this film is so special and yet underrated.
5. Wake Up Sid (2009)
While we remember this film as a story of an aimless boy who finds passion in his life, the film also has a sweet love-friendship story to tell. When Sid (Ranbir Kapoor) moves in with Aisha (Konkona Sen Sharma), they are just living together as friends, but gradually develop affection for each other. Even though Aisha thinks of him as an immature boy when they initially meet, they start seeing each other as more than just friends.
6. Raincoat (2004)
They were once in love and were engaged to be married. But things changed and they lead very different lives. The woman (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) is unhappy in her marriage and the man (Ajay Devgn) is struggling to gather money for his business. They reminisce about the love they had and still care about each other, even if they have to suffer for it.
7. Fire (1996)
Radha (Shabana Azmi) and Sita (Nandita Das) are married to two brothers and live in a joint family. Both their marriages are in trouble and they choose to confide in each other. They gradually fall in love and decide to be together. Their relationship is a sin in society’s eyes but they see it as a way of living happily.
8. Cheeni Kum (2007)
This film is the story of a 64-year-old man (Amitabh Bachchan) and a 34-year-old woman (Tabu) falling in love with each other. Things get complicated when he meets the girl’s father who is younger than him. The kind of love story this film had was a little unheard of, but somehow felt natural.
9. Zubeidaa (2001)
This film set in the 1950s is about an aspiring actress Zubeidaa (Karisma Kapoor) who marries a Hindu prince (Manoj Bajpai) to become his second wife. Her relationship with her husband is quite rocky and it leads to fatal consequences.
10. Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1994)
Sunil (Shah Rukh Khan) is in love with his band’s lead singer Anna (Suchitra Krishnamoorthi) and wants her to fall in love with him too. Chris (Deepak Tijori) comes back to town and confesses his love for Anna to complicate the equation. Sunil is a charming, sweet boy but still wants Anna to be with him. This one-sided love story takes him through a journey with his bandmates and family and is a must watch for everyone.
11. Pukar (2000)
Anjali (Madhuri Dixit) is in love with Jai (Anil Kapoor) and has always imagined their life together. But Jai sees her as just a friend and has fallen in love with someone else. Anjali, in a bid to help Jai ends up getting him in a lot of trouble and then takes it upon herself to save him and the city from a bomb explosion.
12. Sadma (1983)
A girl (Sridevi) meets with an accident and is left with the intelligence of a 7-year old. Somu (Kamal Haasan) meets her in a brothel and decides to look after her. Their relationship is full of love and affection but Somu is devastated when she is cured and does not even recognize him anymore.
13. Kareeb (1998)
Birju (Bobby Deol) falls in love with Neha (Neha Bajpai) but they come from different economic backgrounds and this becomes a problem for Birju’s family. Neha’s mother falls sick and she decides to move to a bigger city for her treatment. Birju follows her, gets a job and helps her ailing mother. Birju and Neha’s love is tested time and again and that forms the beautiful plot of the film.
14. Lamhe (1991)
Lamhe is the story of a young man, Viren (Anil Kapoor), who falls in love with a woman (Sridevi) but she’s already engaged to someone else. He never confesses his love for her but has a special place for her in his heart. Years later, the woman passes away but her daughter who looks just like her falls in love with Viren. This film was way ahead of its time when it released in 1991.
15. MP3 – Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar (2007)
This teenage love story of a boy and girl who meet in school and fall in love is rarely talked about. After some initial hiccups in their story, the couple unite at the Eiffel Tower. This movie is everything that young love is all about.