Romance lost forever...a tribute

- Pankaj Kumar Sinha           Let us know what you think about this article

The song ‘Dil Ka Bhanwar’ from the movie Tere Ghar Ke Samne was the epitome of a romantic song. Devanand and Nutan romancing in Qutub Minar was mesmerizing. There are no dance steps in the song but the way Devanand wooing Nutan with his expressions was so beautiful. This movie was made almost fifty years ago yet the song lives on forever. For me, Devanand was the first lover boy of Bollywood. He was such a handsome actor. The romantic scenes or songs of his film were wonderful to watch. He had great chemistry with all his heroines.

Shammi Kapoor will also be remembered for the songs of his film. ‘Yahoo, Koi Mujhe Junglee Kahe’ started the era of wooing lovers in highly dramatized fashion. He was our Indian version of Elvis Presley. Recently, we have been talking a lot about Gangnam style of dancing. But in those eras, it was Shammi Kapoor’s style of dancing. A lot of actors today also follow his style of dancing in our Bollywood movies.

To date, Rajesh Khanna is considered as the greatest romantic actor of Indian films. ‘Mere Sapno Ki Rani’ song from Aradhana made him an overnight superstar. Girls were falling for him. In those times, Rajesh Khanna’s smile was more than enough. You did not need great physique or be a good dancer. His charm was more than enough to woo the beautiful heroines in the film. For me ‘Pyar Diwana Hota Hai’ from Kati Patang was the high point of his romantic films. He used his charm wonderfully to woo Asha Parekh.

So far we have discussed romantic stalwart actors but Yash Chopra was a legendary filmmaker and was rightly dubbed the romance king. Nobody has shown romance better than him on screen. Today the media always refers to Mr Amitabh Bachan or Shahrukh Khan doing romance in his films. But for me it was the pairing of Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh in Film Kabhi Kabhi which was the most memorable. They were the best romantic pair on screen. Who can forget songs like ‘Pyar Kar Liya Tho Kya’ and ‘Tere Chehre Se’ from Kabhi Kabhi? They were young and vibrant.

Chopra is the one, who brought action star Vinod Khanna in a romantic role for the blockbuster film ‘Chandani’. The song ‘Lagi Aaj Saawan’ from Chandani was also one of the favorite of Late Yash Chopra. It was his films that opened the doors for us in the overseas market. In a hero dominated industry, he always had strong roles for his heroines. He made them look beautiful and got the best out of them. ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ is his last film releasing this Diwali starring Shahrukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma. This could be our last classic romantic film.

More Features ...