By
Tanveer Zaidi (Actor-Author-Educationist)
Let’s talk about love, If you ask me then I would say that it is a complex emotion that can be a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment. It can also be a set of behaviors and actions that show care and concern for others. Love can be expressed in many ways, including through words, acts of kindness, or spending time together.
If you wanna know “can love be passionate or companionate?” Yes, my take is, of course, yes! This kind of love is an intense longing for someone, while companionate love is a deep attachment with emotional intimacy and commitment.
If you wanna know the important aspect of authentic love.
Then, Love can bring joy, happiness, and a sense of safety and security.
Love can also lead to sadness, heartbreak, jealousy, and stress.
Love can help people feel bonded and committed to each other.
It can help people feel safe and protected.
It can also help people feel closeness and intimacy with others.
Love is a common theme in the creative arts; for example, in Bollywood’s movies, the important ingredient is often ‘love’
Love is a central psychological experience.
I started the discussion by asking, “Have you fallen in love, or are you looking for love?” However, these two are phrases that can refer to either a sexual interest or relationship building, depending on how it is used and the audience. When a movie or film depicts a man or woman in a bar looking for a sexual partner, the meaning is clear: looking for love is a sexual reference. But if a man or a woman has decided that they are looking for a long-term or a marriage partner, then looking for love refers to relationship building, a relationship that at some point is expected to include sexual intimacy.
Unlike many things in life, love is not something tangible. We feel it. It motivates us. It makes us feel safe and connected, but its existence is not something that we can see or know that we have found except through the words and actions of others. The truth is that looking for love is not looking for love at all. It’s looking for sex, or it is looking for a primary relationship or partnership. If we are looking for a primary relationship, then looking for love takes the form of relationship building. It becomes important to share time and build experiences that prove our caring and the caring of another to be dependable. If it is simply an expression of sexual interest, then once sexual interest has been satisfied, the partners will drift away.
The notion that looking for love is somehow love is misleading. Something that makes dating, at least in Western culture, a minefield of confusion. Love is not a function of sexuality. It is the bond of relationship. Yes, falling in love is a crush on someone who possesses attributes that we see as sexually attractive. But the primary focus of crush is not a sexual experience; it is about establishing a caring relationship that is dependable. Falling in love welcomes the possibility of sexual touching, but only if it occurs without risking or derailing the future of a relationship. The primary focus of crush is relationship building because relationship means survival to our evolutionary brain. Sexual interest takes a secondary role, one that sparks our interest in a relationship, but it is readily put aside forever or until the conditions are right.
Let me tell you what love and dating mean. It means that looking for love is a misnomer, something that adds to our confusion about love and how it works in our lives. Looking for love implies that we simply need to look for it, and we will find it. But love requires time and experiences to prove the dependable caring and the willingness of two people to see value in a relationship. Of course, the feelings of crush or falling in love can provide us with a powerful motivator to seek a relationship, but in the end, it requires work and some risk-taking to build and secure a caring relationship. As for sexual interest, again, it’s not love. It’s the combination of eroticism and hormonal fluctuation. In the right circumstances, sexual touching can be an expression of love, but not necessarily. Sometimes, sex is just a pleasurable activity that addresses boredom or desire. Looking for love is a phrase that is often used in modern Western culture, no doubt because social science, having no clear explanation for love, has lumped it in with sexuality. But when you understand how love works in terms of survival and social connection, it is clear that looking for love is a phrase that adds more to our confusion about love than understanding and should be ignored.
In Bollywood movies, love is often portrayed as a powerful, all-consuming force, frequently involving dramatic circumstances, romantic gestures, and overcoming significant obstacles, often culminating in a “happily ever after” ending.
Bollywood romances often feature intense emotions, dramatic storylines, and significant challenges that the characters must overcome to be together.
Expect elaborate romantic gestures, such as serenading with songs, long-distance relationships, and grand declarations of love, often set against beautiful backdrops.
Love stories frequently involve societal barriers, family disapproval, misunderstandings, or even war, emphasizing the strength of love to endure.
Music and dance are integral to Bollywood films, and romantic scenes often feature lively songs and dance sequences that express the characters’ emotions and deepen the romantic atmosphere.
Bollywood movies typically conclude with a happy ending, where the lovers are united and live happily ever after, reinforcing the idea that love conquers all.
Few Romantic Bollywood Movies:
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak-1988
In the Bollywood adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, handsome young Raj Singh (Aamir Khan) and beautiful Rashmi Rajput (Juhi Chawla) embark on a passionate romance. Unfortunately, their respective families are the bitterest of enemies. Desperate to be together, the two try to escape their families by fleeing to the countryside. But their feuding clans are not far behind, both equally determined to put a stop to their illicit relationship.
Maine Pyar Kiya-1989
After Suman’s father leaves her in the care of another family while he travels abroad, she falls in love with Prem. However, for them to marry, Prem has to prove to Suman’s father that he is not the same as his dad.
Krrish-20013
Krrish is the story of one-sided love.
The film stars Hrithik Roshan, Vivek Oberoi, Priyanka Chopra, and Kangana Ranaut. In the film, Krishna Mehra, also known as Krrish, and his scientist father, Rohit Mehra, face an elaborate conspiracy orchestrated by the mad scientist Kaal and his gang of mutants, led by the ruthless Kaya.
Kangana Ranaut as Kaya: Kaal’s left hand and Krishna’s one-sided lover. Kaya is Kaal’s most trusted secretary and former girlfriend, who is created by fusing the serum of a woman and a chameleon. She is instrumental in Kaal’s scheme because of her ability to shapeshift into anybody whenever she wishes.
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999
In Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, a woman, Nandini, played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, falls in love with a carefree musician, Sameer-
Salman Khan, but is forced into an arranged marriage, and her husband, Vanraj-
Ajay Devgn, ultimately helps her reunite with her true love, Sameer, after discovering her feelingNandini, a young woman, falls in love with Sameer, a carefree Italian student who comes to study music with her father.
Nandini’s family disapproves of her relationship with Sameer and arranges her marriage to Vanraj, a lawyer from a respectable family.
Despite her love for Vanraj, Nandini continues to yearn for Sameer, and Vanraj, upon discovering her feelings, decides to sacrifice his own happiness and helps her reunite with her true love.
The film explores themes of love, sacrifice, and societal expectations, with the climax focusing on the selfless act of Vanraj, who enables Nandini to be with her true love.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge-1995
Baldev, Simran’s father, discovers the truth about Raj.
Shah Rukh Khan and Simran’s-
Kajol’s relationship and initially opposes their union.
On the eve of Simran’s wedding, Raj and Simran discuss eloping, but Raj chooses to win over Baldev’s heart instead.
In a dramatic climax, Raj and Simran reunite at the train station, and Baldev, seeing their love, finally agrees to their marriage.
The film ends with a montage of Raj and Simran’s honeymoon, celebrating their love and the triumph of true love over tradition.
Film Ishq Samandar-2016
In Ishq Samandar-2016 we witness a story about a student Titli-Tanishq who falls in love with her coach Utkarsh-Tanveer Zaidi, but Utkarsh was in love with her dead wife Shraddha-Divya Dwivedi on the other hand Jivesh-Dinesh Soi likes Titli, but Titli want to live and Die for music coach Utkarsh, later the characters face challenges, in their relationships.
In Veer-Zaara-2004, we saw a love story that spans continents and generations, with the characters Veer-Shah Rukh Khan in an intense love with Zara-Priety Zinta facing imprisonment and other obstacles to be together.
Jab Tak Hai Jaan-2012
You might have seen ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ it’s a romantic drama about a man Samar-Shah Rukh Khan and a woman Meera-Katrina Kaif, they are in love, Samar met with an accident, Meera thought the accident happened because of her, and she prays to God to recover Samar and she promises to leave her boyfriend forever, but their love endures.
Bollywood is known for telling stories of love in multiple forms with melodious songs and mesmerising dances to entertain the audience.
