What do recent films like Kalki 2898 AD, Jawan, Pathaan, Animal, KGF 2, Gadar 2, Tiger 3 and RRR have in common? For one, they are all blockbusters. But, more importantly, they are all action entertainers. This is a huge shift from the last decade, when romantic flicks ruled the box office. Today, love and romance have been replaced by hypermasculinity, action and high-octane juggernauts on screen. How and why did this happen?
A Bygone Era
The Indian audience has always loved a good romance story. From Ramayana to Mahabharata, love, sacrifice and devotion are deep-rooted values in Indian folk traditions and mythology. For ages, Hindi filmmakers gave audiences film after film with charming heroes and pretty heroines, who crooned beautiful melodies and wooed each other with coy looks and love letters. In a country where dating was still taboo, men and women saw romantic films as an escape to a fantasy world where they lived out their romantic desires vicariously. Actor couples on screen were a rage right from the 1960s to 1990s, like Raj Kapoor-Nargis, Dilip Kumar-Vyjayanthimala, Guru Dutt-Waheeda Rehman, Rajesh Khanna-Sharmila Tagore, Raaj Kumar-Meena Kumari, Dharmendra-Asha Parekh, Rishi Kapoor-Neetu Singh and Jeetendra-Sridevi. Producers clamoured to sign these iconic on-screen couples on for as many films as they could. Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh worked together on 12 films, while Jeetendra and Sridevi did 16 films together.
Even Shah Rukh Khan, one of the biggest stars in India and a brand ambassador for Indian cinema today, started his career with romance. His 1995 hit Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge ran for 365 days in a UK theatre and is the longest-running movie in Indian cinema. The Maratha Mandir theatre in Mumbai has been screening the film for 28 years now. Khan's subsequent films like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Dil To Pagal Hai further cemented his image as the ultimate romance hero, no matter the fact that the Jawan star himself says that love stories are his least favourite genre.
Rise Of The Action Hero
However, in recent years, there has been a shift away from romantic entertainers to action dramas. Heroic and larger-than-life, alpha male persona of action heroes has captured the imagination of the audience. Perhaps the visual spectacle that action thrillers offer, with fast-paced narratives, special effects, grand sets, and elaborate stunts, provides the audience with a certain thrill that's missing in romances. Hollywood has had an influence too. The rapid improvement in filmmaking technology has now allowed Indian filmmakers to produce high-quality action sequences that can compete with global action thrillers, attracting audiences who appreciate this visual and technical sophistication. Viewers in India want to see their favourite stars doing action-packed roles, fighting corruption, injustice, and social evils - all issues people face in real life. At the heart of these action flicks lie emotions that the audience resonates with deeply.
South cinema is still producing some romantic flicks with top stars, but their number has definitely dropped. In B-Town, the biggest stars are now undoubtedly gunning for action. Most of the recent romantic features, like Mr and Mrs Mahi or Do Aur Do Pyaar, have failed at the box office.
The New-Age Romance
So, has romance disappeared from Bollywood? Or has it just morphed into romantic comedies, romantic action, and romantic thrillers? Love and romance are still strong emotions that the audience connects with, but with changing times, the shifting nature of human relationships and cultural norms, and evolving gender identities, writing good films has become a much more complicated task.
Creating that perfect love story for today requires the right blend of the old and the new, and a few works have succeeded at that too: think shows like Made in Heaven, Little Things, etc. But DDLJ is definitely a lost era. Romance is in for a modern, deeper, and perhaps a Gen Z makeover.
(The author is a senior entertainment journalist and film critic)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author