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While I do not watch too many films, these romantic movies are my favourites, not just because they have been so well made, but because each of them is toed with some personal memories.
I am not a movie buff. In fact, when I was a child, I preferred to read a book than watch the weekend movies on Doordarshan with my family. Some of the movies bored me to death, some were too disturbing to watch, and some of them were too violent.
But although I do not call myself a romantic, a handful of romantic movies from 5 different languages did touch my heart. Being really picky with movies, only the movies with a good story that are made well with natural performers make it to my list. Not all of these are purely romantic movies. Some of them are romantic comedies and some are dramas. It takes a group of truly skilled actors, directors, musicians and technicians to make a great movie, and I truly believe that not everyone can tell an interesting story the way these directors have, and not everyone can act as natural as these actors could. Without further ado, let’s see what is on my list. Shall we?
It is hard to pick a favorite from this list as I like them all. If I have to pick the first one, then it has to be Mouna Ragam, a Tamil-language movie directed by Mani Rathnam. It is about a young woman Divya (Revathi) who loved a young man, Manohar (Karthik), but loses him to a fatal police shooting. Soon after, to honor the wishes of her parents, she reluctantly marries Chandrakumar (Mohan). The rest of the story is about how Divya realizes the good nature of Chandrakumar and starts falling in love with him.
As usual, Revathi’s acting was impeccable. However, the surprise factor was Mohan’s dignified and subtle acting. To be frank, I am not a big fan of Mohan but I think he did prove his potential in this movie. Last but not least, Karthik as Manohar. What can I say about Karthik? He became a heart throb after this movie, and a lot of girls, including me, had a huge crush on him. I don’t know of any girl from the South who did not love the “Mr. Chandra Mouli” scene.
The next one on my list is Alaipayuthey, again a Tamil-language movie directed by Mani Rathnam. Unfortunately, either Mani Rathnam is losing his brilliance in direction or I have set the bar really high, or it may just be my unique kind of interest in movies, as none of his recent movies have impressed me. This movie, though is a gem.
The story revolves around an aspiring entrepreneur and a software engineer Karthik (Madhavan) and a medical student, Shakthi (Shalini) who fall in love and get married secretly against the wishes of their parents. It is a simple story, but handled really well by the director, and supported with ease by the lead performers, Shalini and Madhavan. One common thread between all the movies in my list is that all the lead actors are natural performers. This movie is no exception. The bonus, of course, was the excellent soundtrack by none other than A.R.Rahman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez_XsttP9Es
Fidaa, a telugu-language movie directed by Sekhar Kammula is the next one on my list. A fairly recent movie, it is set in the rural and beautiful Banswada in Telangana for the major part of the story.
The story is about the love-hate-love relationship between feisty Bhanumathi (Sai Pallavi) from Telangana and a soft spoken Varun (Varun Tej) from the US. Sai Pallavi as Bhanu perfected the Telangana accent even though she did not know a single word of the Telugu-language before acting in this movie. Her accent and her dancing were the highlight of this movie, not to mention the melodious sound track. I became an ardent fan of hers after watching this movie. Amidst all the actresses who do not have an iota of acting talent in them and who do not make an effort to learn the language if it is not their mother tongue, Sai Pallavi is a breath of fresh air. She has immense talent and I am sure she will go places.
The next one, of course, is Om Shanthi Oshaana, a Malayalam-language movie directed by Jude Anthany Joseph.
This movie is about a young, bright and bubbly girl, Pooja (Nazriya Nazim) who falls in love with a compassionate young man, Giri (Nivin Pauly) and the story traces the course of her romance. It is a charming love story with a beautiful message to youngsters to get their priorities straight. The director mixed the right amount of humor and delivered a refreshing movie in the backdrop of serene and picturesque Kerala. The realistic performance of the lead actors Nazriya and Nivin as well as the supporting cast made this movie a delight to watch.
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, predominantly in English, with a mix of Hindi, Tamil and Bengali languages, directed by Aparna Sen, is the next one on my list.
Meenakshi Iyer (Konkana Sen), a young Tamil Brahmin woman meets Raja Chowdhury (Rahul Bose), a liberal Muslim reporter, in a bus during her journey back to her in-laws. On their way, they encounter Hindu extremists looking to hurt Muslims and Meenakshi tries to save Raja from them by letting them know that Raja is her husband. The rest of the movie revolves around the delicate relationship between Meenakshi and Raja. Both Konkana and Rahul gave a stunning performance, especially Konkana who is an extremely talented actress and was a natural in her performance as the Tamil Iyer girl. I can write an entire article on how good of an actress Konkana is but I have to finish this one first.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaumVQai9qo
Next on my list is Roman Holiday, a classic English movie directed by William Wyler. It is a dreamy love story set entirely in the timeless and romantic city of Rome.
Frustrated with her royal and sheltered life, Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) runs away during a goodwill tour of Europe and meets an American journalist-reporter, Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) who is covering her royal tour in Rome. How the princess falls in love with the reporter forms the plot of the story. The last scene in the movie was so moving thanks to the subtle yet phenomenal acting of both Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. If you haven’t watched it, I highly recommend that you watch.
DDLJ short for Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, a Hindi movie directed by Aditya Chopra is the next one on my list. This one is close to my heart as this was the first movie I watched with my soon to be husband on our first date before our wedding. The darlings of Hindi cinema, namely, Shah Rukh and Kajol were the lead actors in this movie and they delivered an exceptional performance.
The plot revolves around Raj (Shah Rukh) and Simran (Kajol), two young non-resident Indians, who fall in love during a vacation in Europe. Simran’s father had long before arranged the wedding of Simran with this friend’s son. The story is about how Raj and Simran overcome the difficulties and finally convince Simran’s father of their love for each other. Although, this is like any other boy meets girl Indian movie, the songs, the actors, the picturization and the timing of this movie around my wedding made this movie extra special.
Vaseegara, a Tamil movie directed by K. Selva Bharathy is the next one on my list.
The story revolves around Bhupathi (Vijay) who moves to the city in search of a job and moves into the house of his father’s friend, Viswanath. He falls in love with Priya (Sneha), Viswanath’s daughter, who is already engaged. How he wins the affection of Vishwanath and the rest of his family, and how he ends up marrying Priya forms the rest of the story. Vadivelu’s comedy and the excellent performance of Vijay and Sneha made this movie a delight to watch. Although the story is not complex, the director did a terrific job in turning a simple story into an entertainer by mixing humor in the right places.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKvhS_FFpMM
Titanic, the epic movie that was once the highest grossing film is next on my list.
Directed by James Cameron, this movie needs no introduction. The sheer magnificence of the sets, the costumes, the special effects and the amazing performance of all actors involved made this one of the spellbinding movies to watch. The fictitious story revolves around Jack (Leonardo Dicaprio), and Rose (Kate Winslet) who are members of different social classes, who fall in love aboard the R.M.S. Titanic ship during its ill-fated maiden voyage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iRajLSA8TA
Who wouldn’t be touched when they hear “Our love is like the wind. I can’t see it, but I can feel it” from the movie, A Walk to Remember? Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks with the same name, this movie directed by Adam Shankman may not completely fit in with the other movies on my list due to its tragic ending, but it does have all the ingredients that I look for in a movie, good direction, realistic performers, great story line and a great sound track.
The story is about an aimless high school senior Landon (Shane West) who falls in love with a pious and an intelligent young woman Jamie (Mandy Moore), who he and his friends often made fun of. How they fall in love with each other and how Landon deals with the news that Jamie has terminal illness forms the rest of the story. Although a bit tragic, I liked the movie surprisingly, and I loved the soundtrack even more.
There, that’s my list. I have watched each one of the movies on my list at different points in my life and each one brings back a beautiful memory. I am sure there will be new movies that will be added to this list in the future, but some of the older movies on this list are special as they bring back fond memories and continue to touch my heart till this day.
Movies touch our heart, and awaken our vision and change the way we see things. They take us to other places. They open doors and minds. Movies are the memories of our lifetime. We need to keep them alive – Martin Scorsese
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I am a software architect and a mom blessed with 2 wonderful kids. I love reading, writing, gardening, taking long walks with good friends, trying new recipes, and I am a die hard fan of read more...
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