Bollywood has been passing off toxic and sexist acts as romance for decades, and we have unquestionably gorged ourselves on it. However, the genre has been cleansed in recent years, resulting in less objectionable content.
But can we really shake off the ideas we got from watching these well-liked romances as kids that we today regard as classics? Unlearning, however, is never a simple process.
And it most certainly isn’t given how thoroughly Hindi cinema has distorted our conception of romance, as these few scenes prove.
1. Dil
The scene in which the two main characters make light of rape is just one of the many troubling things that this movie has depicted throughout. In order to discredit Aamir Khan’s character, Madhu (played by Madhuri Dixit) accuses him of raping her. And it doesn’t end there; he kidnaps her and tells her that he will now show her what rape actually is. After that, can you imagine these two falling in love? We cannot, but Bollywood managed to.
2. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge hailed as one of Bollywood’s most romantic movies, wasn’t any less problematic. First of all, Raj (Shah Rukh Khan) believed that dangling a bra over a stranger’s face was the proper way to woo her. After he got away with it, he thought that lying to Simran (Kajol) about hooking up with her and thereafter attempting to charm her would make for the ideal meet-cute. What is this guy? Seriously!
3. Raanjhanaa
The entire plot of the movie centred around this guy (read: stalker) attempting to win the heart of a girl. However, the sequence in which Kundan (Dhanush) slits his wrist to force her to confess went beyond the point at which it could be problematic.
4. Gully Boy
This movie certainly praised Safeena’s (Alia Bhatt) willingness to continue beating any girl who casts a glance at Murad (Ranveer Singh) in an effort to make a woman look “badass.” And she continues to act in this way twice without showing any regret. Are all things fair in love?
5. Kabir Singh
Kabir Singh is unquestionably the most problematic movie on the list. In the movie, Kabir (Shahid Kapoor) repeatedly says and does unacceptable things. However, he reached a low point when, in a fit of rage, he slapped the girl with whom he purports to be madly in love.
6. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
In Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Rahul decides to go meet Tina at midnight in a pretty weird way. Even though this was viewed as a charming and harmless act, consider what would happen if this scenario occurred in real life. Unannounced, a man you’ve only met a few times chose to climb up your balcony. Romantic? Rather, quite creepy.
7. Toilet – Ek Prem Katha
In our Bollywood flicks, stalking has always been portrayed as romance. But Toilet was released in 2017, and we don’t expect it to prevail now. The woman, of course, does not object to that and actually finds it flattering.
8. Jab We Met
Even if Geet (Kareena Kapoor) does some extremely bizarre things in the movie, Jab We Met can still be considered a unique Bollywood romance. She did, however, exhibit a pattern when, instead of conversing to call off her engagement, she chose to kiss Aditya (Shahid Kapoor) to do so.
9. Tere Naam
Radhe and Nirjara’s entire relationship was anything but romantic. He develops an obsession with her and follows her around wherever she goes. You can spot a gigantic red flag from miles away in the way he first approaches her.
10. Dabangg
We have grown accustomed to seeing immoral behavior on screen, as evidenced by the popularity of the dialogue “Pyaar se de rahe hain rakhlo, warna thappad maar ke bhi de sakte hain.” The scene was allegedly intended to portray the male lead in a lovable sense, but it is just downright problematic.
11. Main Tera Hero
Some ingredients to impress a woman that only Bollywood can justify include pursuing her across a college campus, showing up wherever she goes, and creating a scene out of nothing. All of that is done by Seenu, who ultimately wins Sunaina. Watch this movie, guys, if you want to know what not to do.
12. Saawariya
Ranbir (Ranbir Kapoor), the protagonist of the film, pursues Sakina (Sonam Kapoor) obstinately and develops a one-sided romantic attachment to her. Some may say that stalking a woman all day is creepy, but it is referred to as romance in Hindi cinema.
Bollywood, please do better.