Weeks before the controversial Ae Dil Hai Mushkil was to be released, various media houses began to do what they did best. To decipher the film plot. And it wasn’t a difficult job. Keeping Bollywood’s past record in mind, there were only two routes this obvious storyline (as can be gauged from the teaser) could have taken – a complicated love triangle, a la Kuch Kuch Hota Hai 2.0 or infidelity-- basically, the now-decade-old Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna repackaged.
In what was a pleasant surprise for us, this was not the typical Karan Johar we grew up watching. Well, almost!
But what Karan and his film did attempt is to take a step closer towards keeping at least some things real. If you think about it, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is about this century’s most famous Bollywood-begotten question: Can ek ladka aur ek ladki ever be just friends?
Somehow KJo and a part of Bollywood have sat back, straightened their torsos and said: Why turn the ‘friendzone’ into something apocryphal? What’s so bad about making and being friends?
Now, if we were still living in the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai era, our answer to the question of whether a boy and a girl could ever be friends would have been ‘no’. They could only be friends until the girl gets a crazy-ass makeover. At this point, the boy’s hormones go cuckoo and say: ‘Pyaar dosti hai’! Awwww! And the two lived happily ever after and we all went home happy and satisfied. Paisa vasool!
In 2016, Bollywood thankfully realised that all relationships need not be romanticised. A relationship could be as simple as just being a dost. Something Alizeh tried explaining to Ayan time and again – what they share is love even if it’s not physical/sexual. Love tedha hai but every relationship need not be tedha!
Or what Shyra keeps telling Dharam in their soon to be released Befikre, “Hum kyu nahi ek dusre ko ‘I love you’ jaisi stupid batein bolegen? Kyuki sab emotional ho jata hai… Senti ho jata hai... Masti ka the end ho jata hai.”
That’s right; friends don’t always have to turn into lovers. It isn’t just about loving your family but also about loving your friends as family. That’s the reality of life.
In this big bad world, sometimes “lurve” is not enough to keep us occupied. All we need is a friend who will listen to us. Just like Shah Rukh Khan was all ears in Dear Zindagi. SRK also kept the sanctity of the professional relationship intact despite both him and Alia expressing their feelings towards one another. Because at the end of the day, zindagi ka naam dosti hai!
It’s not just Karan but Bollywood that has come a long way; it has made itself comfortable in the space between love and friendship. From “Ek ladka aur ek ladki kabhi dost nahin ho sakte” to “Pyaar main junoon hai, dosti main sukoon hai”.
Well said! Here’s to your newly budding dosti with friendzones. Cheers!