Epic Romances × Reality Check

Roses are red, violets are blue, romance films can be money-spinning cathedrals of love, but we’ll try not to spoil it for you. 

Did anyone write 365 letters to you, one for each day of the year? If yes, then count yourself lucky, if not, then also count yourself lucky; there is a full, unanimously cheesy day open to your interpretations. This Valentine’s day let’s get the reel rolling and watch how sometimes, it only happens in the movies. 

Films have a broad spectrum of romance that they explore, and some of these films tend to wobble on the foundations of unbelievable stereotypes. The classic ‘Notebook’, for instance, is an exceptional, sensitive romantic, nonetheless, only limited to cinema screens. 

If you often day-dream about true love and ‘the one’, we know how important romantic movies are to you. Everybody deserves a happy ending, but ‘happy’ is subject to change, and so is ‘ending’.

Even so, this Valentine’s we want to walk you through some movies based on events and stories that will redefine love relationships for you, which  are not chocolate-coated strawberries with unrealistic expectations that one can only experience in fantasy.

The Vow – Inspired by the true story of love and belief 

The Vow shows us how romantic relationships are often diminished to just physical attraction and completely undermine the true bonds of love and affection that two people share for each other. 

One of the most integral part of the story revolves around  Leo’s marriage vow to Paige, “I vow to fiercely love you in all your forms” that comes to test when Paige meets with an accident and loses her memory. That is when this story portrays those bonds of a relationship that couples often overlook. The bonds of patience, respect, belief, and space to grow, showing that these are the characteristics of fierce love in all forms .

The aim is not to show ‘how love wins all’  but how it can only win when you support it with maturity, respect for one another and provide space for their individuality to grow. 

Discalimer: The Reality bomb

DDLJ is a bollywood cinematic masterpiece, and why shouldn’t it be, apart from casting some of  the industry’s talented actors, it portrays a perfect dream couple with a meet-cute. The biggest ‘however’ here is that it evidently bows down to patriarchy; how a woman constantly needs permission from her father and lacks the agency to confidently make her decisions.

Even with all the flaws, DDLJ gave us the satisfaction with its hard-to-forget tunes and a wholesome ending, implying that Simran and Raj are finally together. When it’s looked at in comparison to other films, with a more interpretative ending, DDLJ seems to be leaning toward an only-in-dreams kind of story, overlooking most of the struggles.

The real obstacles that life throws at us conveniently disappear in a romantic movie, and rightly so, because it is a movie. Finding your valentine is more than just a long eye contact and not as easy as the wikihow guide explains it. If you are a cinephile but for romantic films, you would notice a pattern in the way the events unfold.

Usually after a long date and an equally short conversation, the love is in the air; time moves faster, and most probably it starts to rain. To establish a strong bond with someone, you need to give it time and learn about them.

What is common between a year and the film industry? October.

One such cinematic experience can be felt when you watch Shoojit Sircar’s October. It is famously described not as a love story but rather a story about love. The tale of yearning and longing, an oscillating pendulum between desires to be in love and to be loved .

October feels real, personal, and talks about finding freedom, loving people and cherishing memories. The love relationship is not hyped with unrealistic set ups along with an overtly built up storyline. It is basic, just like everyone else. It may not end in the same typical story ending with all characters happy and living their dream, but puts the truth of love in front for all viewers.

So all relationships may not be perfect, but the truth is imperfections are synonymous to relationships. The very combination of conflict, joy, distress, calmness, and love makes them worth living. Embracing them is what makes them beautiful.

The Denouement 

Relationships are tough, they have uneven edges, they require compromise and forgiveness and time. But just because movies give you an idea of the fantasy-type love should not stop you from directing your own story or recreating a couple of sheer romantic scenes. 

Although, do remember ‘love does not have to be perfect, it just has to be true’, and sometimes it doesn’t always go as you planned but that is okay for the platitude says that you have got yourself (and your rom-coms).

Authors:

Nandini Rao

Shivangi

Editor: Simi Sharma

Visual content:

Amit Abhishek