The clichéd description of all love stories ultimately having a happy ending has been our go-to guide for the longest of time. Films have always made us believe that love conquers all and that happy endings are always around the corner. However, that thought has been altered and questioned too by several Bollywood and Hollywood films where two supposed soul mates may not necessarily end up together. To the utter disappointment of its viewers, especially hopeless romantics, this change of course in the conclusion of a romantic film or the universal favourite genre rom-com has made us think of stories that are flawed. It makes us look at the concept of love and the varied emotions and hurdles involved in it, from a different perspective.
Titanic(1997)
Highlighting the story of the sinking Titanic in 1912, Rose- (Kate Winslet) and Jack’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) story is an eternal romantic classic that one can’t get enough of even in this generation. Two people from different social classes fall madly in love with each other. However, devastation occurs when the ship hits an iceberg. While a lot of people were rescued on small boats, a vast percentage died in the tragic incident. Rose and Jack are stranded in the freezing water, Jack somehow helps Rose to get on top of a wooden plank and soon Rose realises that Jack is dead. She fights to keep her promise to him and survives and keeps the Heart of Ocean pendant with her which would always remind her of this experience and her love for him.
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016)
A classic story of unrequited love, Ranbir and Anushka's characters made everyone miss their best friends and how. A friendship is torn that it invariably leads to one of the two developing feelings and in this case, it was the guy. A heartbroken Ayan (Ranbir Kapoor) struggles to get over his feelings for Alizeh (Anushka Sharma) despite her getting married to the love of her life right in front of him. The second half of the film keeps showing him grappling with his feelings as he tries to move on with someone else but realises he's not over Alizeh. When he returns and meets her he gets to know that she is suffering from cancer. The last few days are spent in complete bliss and Ayan finally lets their solid friendship reign and let his love go peacefully.
Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (2012)
Set against the backdrop of Valentine's week, the story revolves around two strangers who bump into each other while going to meet a therapist. As fate would have it, they end up spending the night together - partying around and before they know it they're married and it's the biggest drunken mistake they've made. They decide to take an annulment, however, the Rahul (Imran Khan) falls in love with the free-spirited Riana (Kareena Kapoor Khan) in the course of spending that period. The movie had a twisted end where friendzone is glorified. Riana loves Rahul but only as her best friend. The ending shows them coming to accept it whereas the boy continues to secretly be in love with her and hopes she falls in love with him too.
La La Land (2016)
The modern world has truly moved past the old-school romance and today pursuing your dreams even if your relationship is at stake, is acceptable and there’s nothing wrong about it. This film questioned the philosophy that surrounds the concept of love and shed light on the importance of chasing one’s dreams and why sacrifices and compromises are a part and parcel of that process. Mia (Emma Stone) and Seb (Ryan Gosling) were meant to be together but weren’t, as the girl lands an audition in Paris, their relationship exists in a void where there’s no perfect title to it. They do love each other but as careers and success comes into the forefront they realise how fragile their unnamed relationship is and decide to tread on paths that seem right even if they can’t be with each other The ending sees them saying a thousand things just through their eyes, while their love is there, they can't be with each other.
Meri Pyaari Bindu (2017)
Abhimanyu (Ayushmann Khurrana) and Bindu (Parineeti Chopra) have been neighbours since they were five years old. Opposite personalities, while Bindu is a free-spirited girl who keeps hopping from one relationship to another and is very ambitious about her career as a singer, Abhi is deeply committed and madly in love with his childhood friend who he's grown up with. Destiny brings the two together back in Mumbai and this time they're both in love with each other, however, Bindu chooses her profession over him and declares she's unable to be happy. Abhi finally lets her go and becomes a successful erotic horror novel writer. It is after years when he comes back to Kolkata to get rid of his writer's block, he meets Bindu again who has found her Mr. Right and has a daughter too. They seal their love story with one last dance in the rain, with she always being his Bindu to him, and he being her safety net.
Lootera (2013)
Adapted from The Last Leaf, the film has Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha in the lead. Pakhi(Sonakshi Sinha), daughter of a rich aristocratic zamindar falls in love with a conman Varun(Ranveer Singh) pretending to be an archaeologist. The second half of the film sees Pakhi living alone recovering from her heartbreak and also a deadly disease - tuberculosis. When the local police ask her for help to catch Varun, she refuses to do so. Varun confesses to her how he's never forgotten her and decides to stay back for her till her health improves as she believes she will breathe her last the day the last leaf falls from the tree outside. Varun leaves once her condition is improving but is killed in an encounter with the police. Pakhi goes out to see just one leaf still intact on the branch and realises that Varun used to stick it every night to keep her hope in place.
A Star Is Born (2018)
Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) is a seasoned musician who falls in love with Ally (Lady Gaga), a struggling artist. She’s lost all hope in her career but the guy reinstills it within her even though their relationship keeps singing no matter how hard they try. Eventually, Jackson commits suicide and Ally is heartbroken, unable to find meaning in anything. His friend informs her that it was his choice. The ending is bittersweet as Ally finds out that Jackson loved her immensely and was working on a love song for her which he unfortunately never finished.
October (2018)
Another story of unrequited love. Both Dan (Varun Dhawan) and Shiuli (Banita Sandhu) are trainees at a five-star hotel. Dan has a crush on Shiuli but it’s not made very clear in the beginning whether Shiuli reciprocates to that feeling. On an unfortunate night at a terrace party, Shiuli slips in front of the third floor and falls and slips into a coma. But her last words are - “Where’s Dan?” That question keeps haunting him. As Shiuli is discharged from the hospital and returns home, she suffers a heart attack and dies. She was named Shiuli because of her love for the flower and how she used to collect it as a child, this is revealed in a later scene. Shiuli’s family moves to Trichy but Dan carries that Shiuli plant with him as a token of the unconditional and unrequited love she had for her.
Not all love stories have a happy ending but then the perception of what makes them perfect also varies from person to person. They can be beautiful love stories but not end the conventional way, thus proving that flaws too are a part of it.
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