Love stories never go out of fashion in Bollywood. What really changes with time is the way romance is handled by filmmakers. Paradigm shift in the mindset of the audience and changing equations of relationships in society make filmmakers come up with out-of-the-box themes.
Last week's Hasee Toh Phasee has started what promises to be a damburst of romantic comedies all set for release this year. More than a dozen films by new- age directors (a few of them first-timers) are trying to give a fresh twist to simple mush, a Bollywood staple for years.
Ad- man- turned- filmmaker Vinil Mathew and scriptwriter Harshvardhan Kulkarni together handled a basic love story with finesse in Hasee Toh Phasee . A slight drift in the storyline presented unusual drama with Parineeti Chopra and Siddharth Malhotra in the lead, which was enjoyed by the urban multiplex audience.
" The rom- com may sound like one of the easiest genres to pitch in the market but it is one of the toughest to convert into a film since innumerable love stories have already been made. Every possible angle has been exploited and there are few conflicts left to explore, to surprise the audience," said Mathew.
Debutant filmmaker Devika Bhagat tried to toy with an unusual romantic angle in the Abhay Deol- Preeti Desai starrer One By Two recently. Although the film tanked, the romance between the lead cast was handled differently, as the two lovers do not meet till the end although their stories keep overlapping owing to circumstances.
Author Chetan Bhagat agreed to part with rights for a screen version of his bestselling novel 2 States: The Story Of My Marriage only when he was ensured that it " will not be handled in a typical Bollywood style". " I am curious to watch the film because the story is based on my personal life and relationship," Bhagat told Mail Today in an interview. Although debutant director Abhishek Verman doesn't plan to tamper with the content, he plans to imaginatively adapt it on screen. The film features Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt.
Farhan Akhtar and Vidya Balan star in Shaadi Ke Side Effects directed by Saket Chaudhary. The director, returning six years after Pyaar Ke Side Effects , aims at taking the rom- com to a different level because his new film deals with fresh romance in a marriage.
The writer- filmmaker gives the male point- of- view on marriage. "Most love stories we see on screen have cool packaging but the audience also looks for that extra something that stays with them for a while. Crisp scripting to create quirky characters, good content and genuine emotions are most important for a rom- com," added Mathew.
Imtiaz Ali, who dealt with the typical Bollywood romantic genre in a fresh manner with his 2007 hit Jab We Met , stresses on a tight script to create lovable moments.
Apart from Jab We Met , he has given love varied twists in Socha Na Tha , Love Aaj Kal and Rockstar , and will explore the genre again in Highway , starring Randeep Hooda and Alia Bhat.
Although Jab We Met apart, none of his films is a romcom, Ali says the approach to creating characters in love stories is mostly the same.
" The characters and the emotions must be brought alive in the story first. Only then can they be translated on screen," said Ali in an interview.
Keeping in mind the large percentage of young audience awaiting tangy twists in love plots and fresh content, many big production houses have floated separate units to churn out cooler content. Yash Raj Films floated Y films to produce Luv Ka The End , Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge and Mere Dad Ki Maruti while UTV's UTV Spotboy Production aims at making films targeted for the youth.
Viacom 18' s Tipping Point Productions, which earlier produced Shaitan , plans to shift to the romance space.
Hasee Toh Phasee
Vinil Mathew's film starring Parineeti Chopra & Sidharth Malhotra
The film is a coming- of- age love story that revealed crackling chemistry between its lead pair. Parineeti credibly played a mad scientist given to extreme drug- induced antics while Sidharth was perfect as the soft- natured Delhi boy who can't help falling in love with the sister of the girl he has been courting for seven years. While the story ultimately gets a predictable ending, Harshvardhan Kulkarni's script is unique in the way it creates quirky situations and characters.
2 States
Abhishek Verman's film starring Arjun Kapoor & Alia Bhatt 2
Based on Chetan Bhagat's bestseller 2 States: The Story Of My Marriage , the film is among the awaited rom- coms this year. Bhagat scripted his personal experiences of an inter- caste wedding set against a campus background and the film is likely to retain the flavour. Arjun plays Delhi boy Krish Malhotra while Alia gives a spin to her glam image by trying out the geeky Tamil girl Ananya. Debutant director Abhishek Verman doesn't plan to tamper with Bhagat's basic story.
Shaadi Ke Side Effects
Saket Chaudhary's film starring Farhan Akhtar & Vidya Balan
The sequel of the 2006 crossover hit Pyaar Ke Side Effects has Vidya and Farhan playing a couple struggling to rediscover romance after few years of wedding. The script tries to elevate the rom- com genre by highlighting romance in a marriage.
Farhan as the husband tries addressing marriage jitters typical among urban men while Vidya as the wife presents the coming- of- age mindset of married woman. The film will be a contemporary take on modern- day Indian marriages of working couples.
Main Tera Hero
David Dhawan's film starring Varun Dhawan, Nargis Fakhri & Ileana D'Cruz
The quirky love triangle will have all essential elements and comic moments associated with a David Dhawan film. The film is a Hindi remake of the 2011 Telugu rom- com Kandireega and Dhawan plans to give it an Archie comic feel in order to make the film more relatable to the young audience. The film brings together the father- son combination of David and Varun for the first time. The mad comedy is set in Bangkok and Mumbai, and will have plenty of situational comedy.
Bewakoofiyaan
Nupur Asthana's film starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Sonam Kapoor & Rishi Kapoor
The film is based on romance in the times of recession. Scripted by Habib Faisal, the film gives a contemporary twist to the age- old plot of a poor boy falling for a rich girl and the subsequent hurdles he has to face from her parents. The slice- of- life drama brings back Ayushmann in his trademark happy- go- lucky Delhi- boy avatar, just as he was seen in Vicky Donor . He plays a lover hit by downsizing at the workplace.
Rishi Kapoor plays Sonam's overprotective, moneyminded father.
Total Siyapaa
E. Niwas's film starring Yami Gautam & Ali Zafar
The film is a cross- border romance set in London. While innumerable films have been made on Indo- Pak themes, this film uses the premise to set up a funny tale of love. Made on a shoestring budget of ` 8 crore, the film tries to capture the instant reactions of middle- class Indian parents of a girl trying to come to terms with a boy from Pakistan.
Pakistani singer- actor Ali Zafar plays the hapless boy visiting his girlfriend's parents in India and the film is about the chaotic situation it leads to.
Last week's Hasee Toh Phasee has started what promises to be a damburst of romantic comedies all set for release this year. More than a dozen films by new- age directors (a few of them first-timers) are trying to give a fresh twist to simple mush, a Bollywood staple for years.
Ad- man- turned- filmmaker Vinil Mathew and scriptwriter Harshvardhan Kulkarni together handled a basic love story with finesse in Hasee Toh Phasee . A slight drift in the storyline presented unusual drama with Parineeti Chopra and Siddharth Malhotra in the lead, which was enjoyed by the urban multiplex audience.
" The rom- com may sound like one of the easiest genres to pitch in the market but it is one of the toughest to convert into a film since innumerable love stories have already been made. Every possible angle has been exploited and there are few conflicts left to explore, to surprise the audience," said Mathew.
Debutant filmmaker Devika Bhagat tried to toy with an unusual romantic angle in the Abhay Deol- Preeti Desai starrer One By Two recently. Although the film tanked, the romance between the lead cast was handled differently, as the two lovers do not meet till the end although their stories keep overlapping owing to circumstances.
Author Chetan Bhagat agreed to part with rights for a screen version of his bestselling novel 2 States: The Story Of My Marriage only when he was ensured that it " will not be handled in a typical Bollywood style". " I am curious to watch the film because the story is based on my personal life and relationship," Bhagat told Mail Today in an interview. Although debutant director Abhishek Verman doesn't plan to tamper with the content, he plans to imaginatively adapt it on screen. The film features Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt.
Farhan Akhtar and Vidya Balan star in Shaadi Ke Side Effects directed by Saket Chaudhary. The director, returning six years after Pyaar Ke Side Effects , aims at taking the rom- com to a different level because his new film deals with fresh romance in a marriage.
The writer- filmmaker gives the male point- of- view on marriage. "Most love stories we see on screen have cool packaging but the audience also looks for that extra something that stays with them for a while. Crisp scripting to create quirky characters, good content and genuine emotions are most important for a rom- com," added Mathew.
Imtiaz Ali, who dealt with the typical Bollywood romantic genre in a fresh manner with his 2007 hit Jab We Met , stresses on a tight script to create lovable moments.
Apart from Jab We Met , he has given love varied twists in Socha Na Tha , Love Aaj Kal and Rockstar , and will explore the genre again in Highway , starring Randeep Hooda and Alia Bhat.
Although Jab We Met apart, none of his films is a romcom, Ali says the approach to creating characters in love stories is mostly the same.
" The characters and the emotions must be brought alive in the story first. Only then can they be translated on screen," said Ali in an interview.
Keeping in mind the large percentage of young audience awaiting tangy twists in love plots and fresh content, many big production houses have floated separate units to churn out cooler content. Yash Raj Films floated Y films to produce Luv Ka The End , Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge and Mere Dad Ki Maruti while UTV's UTV Spotboy Production aims at making films targeted for the youth.
Viacom 18' s Tipping Point Productions, which earlier produced Shaitan , plans to shift to the romance space.
Hasee Toh Phasee
Vinil Mathew's film starring Parineeti Chopra & Sidharth Malhotra
The film is a coming- of- age love story that revealed crackling chemistry between its lead pair. Parineeti credibly played a mad scientist given to extreme drug- induced antics while Sidharth was perfect as the soft- natured Delhi boy who can't help falling in love with the sister of the girl he has been courting for seven years. While the story ultimately gets a predictable ending, Harshvardhan Kulkarni's script is unique in the way it creates quirky situations and characters.
2 States
Abhishek Verman's film starring Arjun Kapoor & Alia Bhatt 2
Based on Chetan Bhagat's bestseller 2 States: The Story Of My Marriage , the film is among the awaited rom- coms this year. Bhagat scripted his personal experiences of an inter- caste wedding set against a campus background and the film is likely to retain the flavour. Arjun plays Delhi boy Krish Malhotra while Alia gives a spin to her glam image by trying out the geeky Tamil girl Ananya. Debutant director Abhishek Verman doesn't plan to tamper with Bhagat's basic story.
Shaadi Ke Side Effects
Saket Chaudhary's film starring Farhan Akhtar & Vidya Balan
The sequel of the 2006 crossover hit Pyaar Ke Side Effects has Vidya and Farhan playing a couple struggling to rediscover romance after few years of wedding. The script tries to elevate the rom- com genre by highlighting romance in a marriage.
Farhan as the husband tries addressing marriage jitters typical among urban men while Vidya as the wife presents the coming- of- age mindset of married woman. The film will be a contemporary take on modern- day Indian marriages of working couples.
Main Tera Hero
David Dhawan's film starring Varun Dhawan, Nargis Fakhri & Ileana D'Cruz
The quirky love triangle will have all essential elements and comic moments associated with a David Dhawan film. The film is a Hindi remake of the 2011 Telugu rom- com Kandireega and Dhawan plans to give it an Archie comic feel in order to make the film more relatable to the young audience. The film brings together the father- son combination of David and Varun for the first time. The mad comedy is set in Bangkok and Mumbai, and will have plenty of situational comedy.
Bewakoofiyaan
Nupur Asthana's film starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Sonam Kapoor & Rishi Kapoor
The film is based on romance in the times of recession. Scripted by Habib Faisal, the film gives a contemporary twist to the age- old plot of a poor boy falling for a rich girl and the subsequent hurdles he has to face from her parents. The slice- of- life drama brings back Ayushmann in his trademark happy- go- lucky Delhi- boy avatar, just as he was seen in Vicky Donor . He plays a lover hit by downsizing at the workplace.
Rishi Kapoor plays Sonam's overprotective, moneyminded father.
Total Siyapaa
E. Niwas's film starring Yami Gautam & Ali Zafar
The film is a cross- border romance set in London. While innumerable films have been made on Indo- Pak themes, this film uses the premise to set up a funny tale of love. Made on a shoestring budget of ` 8 crore, the film tries to capture the instant reactions of middle- class Indian parents of a girl trying to come to terms with a boy from Pakistan.
Pakistani singer- actor Ali Zafar plays the hapless boy visiting his girlfriend's parents in India and the film is about the chaotic situation it leads to.
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