Abstract
Abstract Romance, the essence of Sringara rules in popular cinema but finds new expression in the Bollywood romcom of the new millennium. It released the love story from the suffocating grip of conservatism and turned it into a caper about relationships, successfully Indianizing a winning Hollywood formula that was petering out. It has come a long way since the first commercial success (Hum Tum, 2004 inspired by When Harry Met Sally, 1989) and continues to be rewritten for the millennial generation with large production houses to back it. Unlike love stories of the 1990s (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Hota Hai, and others) which tried to depict romance in a globalized India and appease ‘traditional values’, the romcom broke with conservative norms about love, marriage, gender, and relationships. It foregrounded the female protagonist as a woman with agency and substance and not merely an object of male desire. The genre relied on the female star (Kareena Kapoor, Dipika Padukone, Anushka Sharma) and has accorded her space in a male dominated Bollywood pantheon. Though notable romcoms have been written and directed by men, heroes are aware of their flaws and emotional vulnerabilities while heroines are self-aware and confident. Contemporary attitudes to love, friendship, premarital sex, and live-in relationships are explored from the point of view of women.
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