2 Best Movies to Watch by Suhasini Mulay

Staff & contributors
At first glance, Dil Chahta Hai is an ordinary ensemble romcom. There’s some guys, there’s some girls, and they fall in love in their own special way as befitting the general archetype of protagonists we’ve seen in other romcoms. But to the film’s credit, it’s made pretty well. Many viewers can appreciate the catchy songs, the charismatic leads, and the spectacular way writer-director Farhan Akhtar stages each number, but what makes his debut work is how in tune it was with modern Indian youth, and the way it grounds all three love stories through the friendship of three young men fresh out of college. Dil Chahta Hai balances its romantic drama with the support of friends, similar to how relationships work in real life.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Aamir Khan, Ahmed Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Ayub Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Farhan Akhtar, Mandala Tayde, Preity Zinta, Rajat Kapoor, Rakesh Pandey, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Kulkarni, Suchitra Pillai, Suhasini Mulay

Director: Farhan Akhtar

Rating: Not Rated

History is rife with marriages made for practical alliance, but the ones that are more memorable are the ones made hand-in-hand with true love. Jodhaa Akbar may not start out with love at first sight, but director Ashutosh Gowariker reimagines the titular couple of the Mughal Empire with all the production value and all the slow-paced, step-by-step building of a romance that strengthened the kingdom. With Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan slashing their swords in place of flirting, Jodhaa Akbar transforms historical fact into a captivating epic romance, even though the film is quite long, and the accuracy is slightly dubious.

Genre: Drama, History, Romance

Actor: Abeer Abrar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Amin Hajee, Amitabh Bachchan, Ashutosh Gowariker, Gurmmeet Singh, Haidar Ali, Hrithik Roshan, Ila Arun, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Nikitin Dheer, Poonam Sinha, Pramod Moutho, Rajesh Vivek, Raza Murad, Rucha Vaidya, Sonu Sood, Suhasini Mulay, Surendra Pal, Yuri Suri

Director: Ashutosh Gowariker

Rating: Not Rated, PG-13