When do you know it's Love?

Does the blog title remind you of the latest movie creating waves in Bollywood? After a really long time, I was excited about seeing a hindi movie. But I still could not put a finger at one place saying this is one reason for which I want to see 'Jaane tu ya jaane na'; AR Rahman, maybe I guess...Chaos reigned as I made my way to the match box sized Anuega.



A simple, nothing extra-ordinary story, the movie excels in the way in which it is presented. Watching this movie would be an enjoyable experience for many, am sure. More than going on narrating the story and spoiling whatever little is present in the movie as surprise element, I would rather prefer to focus on the theme of movie; love, friendship and intertwining of these two.

In Bollywood, this concept of a 'she' and 'he' eventually realizing that they are soul mates, made for each other, etc. has yielded rich dividends for the film maker. Yes,"pyaar dosti hai", the famous line from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is the torch bearer. There has also been a case of the other extreme wherein Hum and Tum were always at loggerheads before running into each other's arms finally. The movie was also a runaway success. Another category involving travellers eventually realizing their sole purpose in life was they were made for each other was seen in 'Jab We Met', difference being that the 'he' and 'she' here were relatively quieter and peace loving types unlike their counterparts in Hum Tum.

Our Kollywood's representation of love eventually taking the baton from friendship was seen in 'April Maadhathil'. The movie was a hit. Unnale Unnale, where a lover gives up her position to a friend due to her inability to get along with her boyfriend, thereby highlighting the importance of wavelength, met with modest success. No one would care to remember this movie 'Jolly' featuring Abbas and Kousalya, whose story line runs pretty much like April Maadhathil till climax, where in a crunch situation, the boy says that he is just a friend and can't betray the friendship for societal pressure?



Now this brings me to the crux of this blog. Along with the question "When do you know it's love", the question "Why does it have to be love" also intrigues me. It is like there are two creatures fighting inside me, let's call it Satan, canvassing for the cliched theme "pyaar dosti hai" and Lucifer, saying "No, platonic relationships can exist between guy and gal, Ladder theory is no pile of crap :-)". Usually they say when you are in love, rationality goes for a toss. However, with respect to the fight between Satan and Lucifer if even an iota of rationality prevails, it should be clear that the context defines which creature is the victor. I don't have any experience where Satan has dominated my decision making, so I'm not in a position to delve into this further.One thing I can say is that no one can say that Satan is completely wrong or Lucifer is completely wrong.



However, the public attitude towards 'Friendship rules' movies like 'Jolly' makes it a risky venture for anyone having a similar script to go ahead. Maybe Friendship blossoming into love looks more enchanting to viewers that movie makers are making it some kind of a formula for success. Maybe platonic relationships still remain an abstract concept to majority of our viewers. I have so many 'she' friends and guess I have been true to them. That doesn't mean I don't like the "dosti-to-pyaar" movies. Just that I feel the entertainment industry has been serving with overdose of one kind. Is the audience at fault for failing to appreciate movies like Jolly or is it the film industry's risk averse approach that has been making audience behave the way they are behaving? Sounds similar to "Egg or Chicken? Which came first?" :D