Stan Goldberg would have been 83 today - May the 5th. The comic book artist who passed away in August last year was famous for his long association with Archie Comics, having brought to life the characters of Archie, Betty, Veronica and the Riverdale gang for decades in both comics and newspapers. Archie and his triangular love story with Betty and Veronica has influenced many storytellers in Bollywood.
Here’s a look at some of the popular filmi popcorn love triangles inspired by Stan Goldberg’s characters.
1. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Undoubtedly the most popular of them all and filmmaker Karan Johar has in more than one interview admitted to being heavily influenced by Archie comics for his directorial debut.
I used to love Archie comics. If you see Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, it’s really that. It’s Riverdale High with all the colours for no reason... I was a huge Archie fan... Shahrukh plays Archie, Rani Mukerji plays Veronica and Kajol plays Betty. And the Principal looked like Weatherbee and Ms Grundy was Archana Puran Singh.
– Karan Johar
2. Dil To Pagal Hai
Centered around a dance troupe, the characters of Yash Chopra’s musical love story were again inspired by Archie and friends. It had Shah Rukh Khan fantasizing about an imaginary lead dancer for his show, Madhuri dreaming about a knight in shining armour who would sweep her off her feet and Karisma breaking into a dance now and then while silently pining for SRK. It also had Akshay Kumar as a Reggie like character who likes to show-off that he can actually fly in and out of Switzerland for a song.
3. Mujhse Dosti Karoge
After playing Veronica in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Rani played Betty in this one. The first half of the plot centered around the mother of all misunderstandings - a mistaken identity over letters. Kareena was vivacious and oh-so-modern in her part as Veronica, while Rani dutifully played Betty as the coy girl-next-door. Hrithik was the quintessential Archie who had to choose between the two girls.
4. Aaina
What if Betty and Veronica were sisters? That’s the twist Aaina gave to Archie’s triangular love story. The casting for Betty and Veronica was perfect - Juhi Chawla as the demure, homely Reema and Amrita Singh as the spoilt, ambitious Roma. Only Jackie Shroff as Archie seemed to be the odd man out in this one.