A still from Silsila. (courtesy: YouTube)
Happy Valentine's Day! It is a day to celebrate love in all its glory and we think there is no better way to mark this day than by revisiting some of Bollywood's most iconic romantic dialogues. Indian cinema has always had dialogues with immense recall value. From classic tales of unrequited love to epic romances that defy all odds, Bollywood has gifted us with moments that scream romance and these scenes are almost always amply supported by strong dialogues. So popular are these dialogues that they are now part of our regular lives. On Valentine's Day, here are 10 iconic dialogues that continue to make our hearts skip a beat.
1. Pyaar toh bahut log karte hain, lekin mere jaisa pyar koi nahin kar sakta, kyon ki kisi ke paas tum jo nahin ho – Kal Ho Naa Ho
Translation: Many people love, but none of them can love the way I do. Because no one else has you.
Aman, a dying man [Shah Rukh Khan] is helping his friend Rohit [Saif Ali Khan], profess his love to Naina, another friend [Preity Zinta]. The catch? Both men love the same woman. To help Rohit in his declaration of love, Aman snatches Rohit's diary believed to be filled with love notes but the pages are empty. So Aman uses his own words to read off the blank pages. Thus, two men profess their love to the same woman at once and we get a romantic scene for the ages.
2. Itni shiddat se maine tumhe paane ki koshish ki hai, ki har zarre ne mujhe tumse milane ki saazish ki hai – Om Shanti Om
Translation: I have persevered so hard to attain you, that every particle of the universe has conspired to unite me with you.
This line delivered by a drunk Om Prakash Makhija [Shah Rukh Khan, again] from Om Shanti Om is love declared in all its glory. It has also been used over the years to describe ambition, hope and the pursuit of happiness by fans who have accepted the dialogue with open arms.
3. Kuch kuch hota hai, Anjali, tum nahi samjhogi / Pyaar dosti hai – Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Translation: Something inexplicable happens, Anjali, you wouldn't understand/Love is friendship.
These dialogues from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai have become an indelible part of pop culture. While the first dialogue has Shah Rukh Khan's Rahul struggling to put into words the vastness of the feeling of love, in the second dialogue the same Rahul simplifies love to its most nascent form – friendship.
4. Pyar soch samajh kar nahin kiya jaata ... Bas ho jaata hai – Dil Chahta Hai
Translation: You don't plan and mull over falling in love...Love just happens.
This dialogue from Dil Chahta Hai has been a favourite for years now, thanks to how simple yet profoundly true it is. It comes as a learning for one of the characters, who has always been a sceptic when it comes to romantic relationships.
5. Aapke paaon dekhe. Bahut haseen hai. Inhe zameen par mat utariyega, Maile ho jayenge – Pakeezah
Translation: Your feet. They are beautiful. Don't place them on the ground. They will be tainted.
This classic line and the scene attached to it is considered one of the greatest moments of romance on celluloid. The beauty is that the scene only features the woman [Meena Kumari], who is the object of love and desire. The words of praise come in the form of a letter, placed at her feet, like one would submit offerings to a deity. The letter begins with an apology for laying eyes on her feet and is signed, “humsafar” which translates to a companion as well as a fellow traveller.
6. Sachi mohabbat zindagi main sirf ek baar hoti hai… aur jab hoti hai, toh koi bhagwan ya khuda usse nakamayab nahi hone deta – Veer Zaara
Translation: True love happens but once in a lifetime … and when it does no God or higher power allows it to fail.
Shah Rukh Khan as Veer Pratap Singh in the epic romance Veer Zaara makes his bold declaration and proves its veracity with his actions for the rest of the movie.
7. Mai aur meri tanhai, aksar yeh baatein karte hain, tum hoti to kaisa hota, tum ye kahti, tum wo kahti, tum is baat pe hairaan hoti, tum us baat pe kitni hansti, tum hoti to aisa hota, tum hoti to waisa hota – Silsila
Translation: Me and my loneliness often converse about how it would have been, had you been here. You would say this, you would say that. You would have been surprised by this, you would have laughed at that. Me and my solitude often converse about how it would have been, had you been here.
These words by Javed Akhtar delivered in Amitabh Bachchan's baritone are the cinematic benchmark for expressing love and loss. In Silsila, this serves as a declaration of affection between estranged lovers married to different people. While the circumstances are grey, the words are pure gold.
8. Agar yeh tujhe pyar karti hai toh yeh palat ke dekhegi ... palat ... palat! – Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
Translation: If she loves you, she will turn around… turn around…turn around!
Another classic Shah Rukh Khan moment, this dialogue and scene gave an entire generation the ultimate meet-cute, “now we are dating” moment. It is simple. If the girl likes you, she will turn around and smile. If she doesn't, she will continue to walk away. It's a stretch, some would argue, but SRK and Kajol add oodles of charm to the scene and it helps.
9. Taqdeerein badal jaati hai, zamana badal jaata hai, mulkon ki tarikh badal jaati hai, Shahenshah badal jaate hai … magar is badalti hui duniya mein mohabbat jis insaan ka daaman thaam leti hai … woh insaan nahi badalta – Mughal-e-Azam
Translation: Destinies change, eras change, the fate of countries change and emperors change … but the only entity that remains unchanged in this transient world is he who has been enveloped by love.
If that heavy-duty line is not enough, let us add that it is being declared to an enraged emperor by his son, a prince, who is in love with a courtesan. Doesn't get any better.
10. Jab koi pyaar me hota hai, toh koi sahi galat nahi hota – Jab We Met
Translation: When one is in love, there is no right or wrong
The fairly simple line is delivered by Kareena Kapoor's Geet to Aditya, played by Shahid Kapoor, in the romantic hit Jab We Met. The only catch is that she is talking about his mother who has abandoned Aditya and eloped with her lover. So the essence of the line is lost on him at the time but it sticks with him and helps him along in his journey of self-realisation.
What's your favourite dialogue from a film? Tell us in the comments.