When we’re talking about the greatest Bollywood love story movies of all time, we’re talking about two of the most bankable story arcs that Bollywood has been prolific in over the years: those of tumultuous romance and complicated marriage. Therefore, talking about the greatest Bollywood love stories of all time is in a way talking about the best of what Bollywood on the whole has to offer… So let’s do just that.
Here is our countdown for the top Bollywood love story movies of all time, starting with #49:
49. Ishq
Ishq is a 1997 tale about two businessmen (wealthy businessmen) who absolutely despise poor people and everything to do with them. Unfortunately for them, their children Madhu and Ajay share no such prejudices, and fall in love and romance Raja and Kajal, who are decidedly poor. When the fathers get a wind of this, they try their best to separate them, but love is a stronger force than they realize…
48. Namastey London
Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif and Rishi Kapoor form the formidable cast of this lovely story. Jazz (Kaif), a thoroughly British girl, is taken to India by her father for the purpose of being married off to an Indian boy, but Jazz has other ideas. He arranges a marriage for his daughter, but both the bride and groom have different plans…
47. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
A classic love triangle presented by none other than Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Nandini (Aishwarya Rai) has to choose between Sameer (Salman Khan), from whom she learned how to love, and Vanraj (Ajay Devgan), who taught her what the principles of love are. The characters are excellent, Aishwarya is a joy to watch and those of you rooting for Sameer might just end up feeling a bit for Vanraj as well.
46. Dil Chahta Hai
Farhan Akhtar’s assembled cast of Aamir, Saif and Akshaye Khanna proved to be a master-stroke as all three men gave us some of the most real depictions of what being a young man in India is about. The three are the best of friends, but when one of them falls for a much older woman, will their friendship be able to handle it?
45. Parineeta
This is the sort of movie that grandmas insists we watch every time they’re telecast on the TV, which is like five times a week. Still, if you want to see why Vidya Balan is the absolute tour de force that she is today, Parineeta gives us a good indication. The storyline is complex, the characters are many, and all we can say is that this is one love story that is worth your time, and will hit closer to home that you probably realize.
44. Hum Tum
We’ve seen it a million times before, but it’s not like we don’t want to see it a million times again! Proud couple (Saif and Preity) meet on a plane, cannot stand each other’s personalities, go about their lives, fate happens, they meet again, hate each other still, but less, things change again as life goes on, they meet again and this time the circumstances are ripe for love.
43. Chalte Chalte
The second movie on this list that involves a character named Sameer in a love triangle, Chalte Chalte is the story of how wealthy and soon to be famous Priya (Rani Mukherji) and middle class Raj (Shah Rukh Khan) meet. Raj is smitten by her, but Priya has to get on with her life which involves a soon-to-be solemnised marriage to Sameer. What can Raj do?
42. Ghulam
Aamir Khan is Siddharth, a boxer who doesn’t actually box instead choosing to spend his time with his friends in the particularly rough parts of Bombay. Alisha (Rani Mukerji) also figures in this Mumbai life that is spent fearing gangsters, rides with a motorcycle gang, and gets together with Aamir leading to a reformation.
41. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
SRK and Anushka Sharma are a married couple, but the large age gap between them, as well as a generation gap of sorts means there is very little if any romance left in the marriage. Taani wants to go on a dance reality show, but fears her husband isn’t hip enough and that her friends will laugh at the way she will inevitably and humiliatingly lose. Surinder overhears these reservations and decides that a makeover and some dance lessons are the order of the day.
40. Fanaa
Kajol plays Zooni (a blind Kashmiri girl) who is romanced by Rehan (Aamir Khan) who’s philandering nature had earned him quite a reputation. Zooni’s friends and well-wishers warn her against this serial womaniser, but Rehan promises to show Zooni the world the way in which it was meant to be seen – full of colour. Is this a trick or is it love?
39.
Five quirky people go on a road trip to find “Fanny” a girl that one of them loves. The performances by the likes of Pankaj Kapoor and Naseeruddin Shah are fantastic, as is the character and acting of Deepika Padukone who delivers an excellent performance after four back to back hits a couple of years ago. Arjun Kapoor holds his own here and the movie isn’t your standard Bollywood fare, but well worth a watch.
38. Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania
This charming movie gives us Varun Dhawan as Humpty Sharma and Alia Bhatt as Kavya, two headstrong and carefree north Indian youngsters. When fate happens to make them meet, Humpty decides she is the one for him.
37. 2 States
Based on the novel by Chetan Bhagat, this movie brings together Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor as two people from the northern and southern extremes of the country. When the two meet and fall in love, they decide they want their parents consent before getting married. Unfortunately, the parents don’t reconcile just as easily.
36. Highway
The classic case of Stockholm syndrome – Alia Bhatt has been kidnapped and taken away from her fiancé. Unfortunately, she is the daughter of a rich and powerful businessman so ransom is out of the question. And soon, the girl begins to bond with the captors, and stats enjoying the sense of freedom.
35. Hasee Toh Phasee
Parineeti Chopra and Siddharth Malhotra seem like an unlikely couple, a fact that they explore in the film, but just as Siddharth sets out to prove his love for Parineeti’s sister, 10 years after their first meeting, the old acquaintances suddenly seem to be growing a lot closer.
34. The Lunchbox
This movie stars Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui and for cinema lovers that is definitely a must-watch. But in case you’re wondering, Mumbai’s dabbawalas make a mistake with delivering a lunchbox and an almost retired widower and an unhappy housewife connect through notes in a lunchbox.
33. Raanjhanaa
This is quite a tale and an attempt to summarise it in just a few words isn’t really doing it any justice. A small town boy, Kundan, falls in love with a town girl who dreams of city life and all that it has to offer. Breaking through the class divide has never been more challenging and important.
32. London Paris New York
Aditi Rao Hydari is completely different to Ali Zafar, whom she meets for one night each in the three cities listed in the title. The duo are attracted to each other because of their differences and the movie shows us how they come of age.
31. Tanu Weds Manu Returns
Tanu Weds Manu (2011) first gave us this dynamic and unlikely duo who overcome all odds to tie the knot. Four years later, we get a follow-up and there has been a slight change – they are on the brink of separation. Tanu Weds Manu Returns is thus both a critique of marriage and a celebration of it, showing how the two manage to rekindle their passion and find love once more.
30. Band Baaja Baaraat
Band Baaja Baaraat is the story of how a couple happen to meet, set up a business and set up a few rules of which the most important one is – do not fall in love with the person you do business with. Their wedding planning business hits it big and Ranveer Singh does not reciprocate Anushka Sharma’s love. Ultimately though, it is their silly rules jiski bajegi band, because the two realise there is no escaping each other.
29. Tere Naam
Radhe (Salman) and Nirjara (Bhoomika Chawla) have a heck of a story here, she’s upper class, he decidedly isn’t; she’s polished, he’s rough and has a temper; they fall in love, her parents aren’t amused and Radhe gets into a fight where an injury to the head leads to amnesia. Will Nirjara’s re-entry into his life mean better for him or worse?
28. Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai
Hrithik and Ameesha Patel fall in love, but she’s of a higher social standing than he and so marriage is out of the cards. Hrithik’s friends help him to try and make something of himself so he can marry his love, but he dies an untimely death. Ameesha is sent by her father to New Zealand to try and recover from her heartbreak, where sheets someone who looks exactly like Hrithik.
27. Mili
Amitabh Bachchan is more than somewhat critical of the new neighbourhood he has moved into. He resents all the noise that the children make since as a quiet and reclusive man he prefers solitude. Any chance of having that here though is removed once Mili, his neighbour, comes into his life. As Amitabh grows more and more smitten, he decides to propose only to find out that this happy go lucky girl with a sunny disposition has only a few months to live.
26. Dil To Pagal Hai
Rahul, Ajay, Pooja and Nisha are the characters played by Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar Madhuri Dixit, and Karisma Kapoor. The plot is well complicated but entirely believable and that’s what makes the movie a good watch.
25. Raja Hindustani
Aamir Khan sets out to rescue Karisma Kapoor, whose father, step-mother and step sister are inherently opposed to their union. The stubborn Karisma insists and marries Aamir, only to find that the family has accepted them… But is it all a ruse to break the two apart?
24. Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa
Shah Rukh Khan and Suchitra Krishnamoorthi – when was the last time you heard that combo? Anyway, the two are in a band and SRK is in love with her while she is in love with Chris (Deepak Tijori). SRK tries to break them up but is caught and expelled from the band by Suchitra. However, Chris’ parents are arranging his marriage elsewhere…
23. Ek Duuje Ke Liye
Kamal Haasan acts in another modern retake of Romeo and Juliet with an Indian twist as he finds himself in love with a highly different woman, with both sets of families strongly opposed to the affair, and who banish the couple from even speaking to each other for a year.
22. Silsila
Starring Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri and Rekha and directed by Yash Chopra, the film tells the tale of how one brother decides to marry his deceased brother’s pregnant fiancée over his own love, only to discover years later, that his vows aren’t enough to keep him from the love he once let go. This is a must watch movie if you haven’t already.
21. Kashmir Ki Kali
The story of how a rich man, Shammi Kapoor, pretends to be poor to woo a poor but proud Kashmiri girl played by Sharmila Tagore.
20. Pyaasa
Guru Dutt is a poet, something that his brothers think has no value, which drives him to drink. Dishevelled, disorderly and lonely, he finds himself befriending a prostitute who helps him publish his work by asking her rich and powerful clientèle.
19. Pardes
SRK, Apurva Agnihotri and Mahima Chaudhary star in this movie which is like an opposite of another famous movie about NRIs and love, but we can’t remember its name right now. Anyway, Americanised Rajiv (Agnihotri) has to find an Indian girl (Mahima) and Arjun (SRK) is sent in a s the matchmaker. Unfortunately, Rajiv’s American vices prove to be too much for Mahima, and Arjun seems to be falling in love with Mahima.
18. Rangeela
Jackie Shroff, Urmila Matondkar and Aamir Khan make up this love triangle, with Mili (Urmila) out to prove herself in Bollywood, caught between her lover back home and a famous movie star.
17. Dev D
The modern take on Devdas and one of Abhay Deol’s finest acting performances so far. When things go awry between him and his childhood sweetheart, Dev takes to drink and drugs to handle the pain, only to find himself in a brothel and in the company of a prostitute most different…
16. Lootera
Starring Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha, it tells the tale of a visiting archaeologist who excavates a piece of land owned by a particular zamindar. The zamindar’s daughter falls for the scholar, who romances her only to disappear. Left bewildered and broken, she must unravel a web of deception before she may find redemption.
15. Ishaqzaade
Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra are from rival families (Hindu and Muslim), but as the fight between them continues for supremacy, they share a romance that no one must know about.
14. Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone are fresh out college when they first meet, and in their late twenties when they meet again. A sharing of dreams, aspirations and things passed by sees them growing closer.
13. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla are two persons in love and their fathers cannot stand each other. Yet another Indian take on Romeo and Juliet, and our favourite.
12. Jab Tak Hai Jaan
SRK, Anushka and Katrina star in this love story that sees a young immigrant fall in love with an NRI who wants anything but a brown immigrant. Distraught, the young man joins the army in a highly dangerous bomb squad, and a journalist who approaches him to cover the squad’s journey falls in love with him.
11. Kal Ho Naa Ho
SRK tries to set up his serious neighbour whose life has taken an upswing since his arrival with his friend Saif Ali Khan. Pretty Zinta, the girl whose father’s suicide almost tore the family apart has found a renewed faith in life after SRK moved in, but SRK has a secret that keeps him from her…
10. Maine Pyar Kiya
The wonderful Salman, the refreshing Bhagyashree, the highest grossing film of that year… Everything points to Maine Pyar Kiya being an enduring classic.
9. Barfi!
Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Ileana make for as much of a star cast as you’re likely to get, and the story that involves societal pressure, norms, how love can be subdued for a while and never defeated, as well as the putting of another’s happiness before your own make this a veritable Bollywood classic.
8. Aashiqui 2
Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor make for a lovely couple as Rahul, a singer who has lost everything due to his addiction to alcohol meets Arohi, a girl whose talent impresses him and who he vows to make into a star…
7. Mohabbatein
Narayan Shankar’s (Amitabh Bachchan) daughter commits suicide when he refuses to let her marry the man of her dreams. That same very man whom his daughter loved joins as a teacher in the school that Bachchan is the principal of, and promotes mingling and love betweens pupils, the very thought of which makes Bachchan nauseous. Will young hearts be broken or will love prevail?
6. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Anjali loves Rahul, but Rahul loves and marries Tina. They have a baby and name her Anjali. Tina dies, baby Anjali finds out that dad had another admirer named Anjali that her mum knew about, and vows to unite the two. Watch!
5. Mughal-E-Azam
The story of Prince Salim and Anarkali and their everlasting love that brought civil war and nearly ruined an entire empire.
4. Veer Zaara
Love so great that it knows no India-Pak boundary.
3. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
An ensemble star cast, an adopted son who wishes to marry a girl his father disapproves of, the estranged brother, and family tradition. K3G has it all.
2. Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!
Prem (Salman) and Nisha (Madhuri) meet each other as their siblings wed, and immediately hit it off. Then disaster strikes, as Nisha’s sister dies and she is asked to marry the elder brother. A few twists and turns later, it all ends on a good note.
1. DDLJ
1995 in Bollywood circles has come to be remembered as the year of the now legendary Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, and for hit pairing of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. The uncomplicated story revolves around two NRIs who meet and fall in love overseas, only for the girl’s dad to insist she keep her betrothal promises back in India, prompting Shah Rukh to go on the mother of all quests to get her back. A true Bollywood classic.
Image Sources: 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, <a href="http://therednews.com/News/2455/film-ek-