It’s no secret, I love Bollywood. I love it despite – and because of – all it’s clichés, random song/dance sequences, and corny dialogues. I’ve often wished that my life would be just like a Bollywood movie, which is why it’s so upsetting that the majority of my favourite Bollywood scenes will, in all likelihood, never occur in reality. Take a look at some of Bollywood’s best scenes – that will not happen in real life!
1) Gazebo scene; Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
This is one of my favourite scenes in Bollywood, which makes it all the more depressing that it probably can’t happen in real life. It’s just too convenient – having it rain, having the umbrella blown away, having a gazebo just there for you… and then of course magically hearing music when the guy plays the air piano. You know what’s a good alternative, though? When John Abraham recreates that same scene for Priyanka Chopra in Dostana. That could happen – and better happen – in my life. Who’s listening?
2) Train scene; Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
The DDLJ climax scene is of course among Bollywood’s most legendary scenes. It’s the one that’ll make you sit on the edge of your seat, egging Kajol on, wanting her to run just a little faster so that she can finally make it. Except… really? Any sane guy would probably just jump off the train and buy tickets for the next one that comes along. Or, he’d pull the chain to stop the train and pay the fine. Either way, small price to pay for love, right? 😉
3) Airport scene; Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na
I thought this movie was adorable, and there’s something about the airport-chase concept that’s such a Bollywood fixture that it puts a smile on your face even though it’s overdone. But… yeah, airport chase scenes don’t actually happen in real life. And even if they do, I can’t imagine the guy riding up on a horse, managing to dodge airport security, making his way through a baggage scanner, and then singing a classic romantic song to tell the girl he loves her.
4) Vande Mataram; Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
While I loved every frame of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, this one still makes me laugh out loud. How funny (and really, impossible) that as soon as Hrithik Roshan arrives in London, he finds desi girls doing traditional dances on the streets (where he has to stop and dance, of course) – and then the kicker, goris wearing dresses the colours of the Indian flag to walk beside him.
5) Pretty Woman; Kal Ho Naa Ho
I love everything about this song – from the music to the dance steps to Shah Rukh’s orange pants, this song is, in my book, perfect. A perfect example, that is, of how only Bollywood can get away with these sequences where the hero dances atop cars (or trains, as the case may be…), where everyone standing on the street knows the right dance moves, and where randomly bustin’ out a rap portion is perfectly acceptable.
6) Hotel Decent; Jab We Met
Jab We Met is one of those movies I can watch again and again – and the Hotel Decent scene is pretty much my favourite from the movie. Yet, I can’t imagine anything like it happening in real life: missing a train for the second time, running into the guy again, finding yourself at a shady hotel, asking for only one room and then not realizing that the receptionist thinks you’re a prostitute… that’s been picked up on a train, no less.
7) Woh Ladki Hai Kahaan; Dil Chahta Hai
Heehee. Only in Bollywood can two friends go to watch a movie and suddenly find themselves transported into the song, which makes them realize they’re actually in love with each other. And then, you know, somehow everyone in the cinema hall has delved into their mind and simultaneously break out into the step from the song they imagined… 🙂
The thing about all these scenes, though, is that I wouldn’t change a thing about them. Yeah, these things won’t happen in real life. So what? Films are meant to be entertaining and are supposed to be our ticket into another world. Personally, I’d gladly live in any world where the couple dances in the rain to an air piano, or where bursting out into song-and-dance randomly is the norm. So when I get a chance to delve into this world for 2 and a half hours every Friday, the last thing I plan on complaining about is implausibility. 🙂
What are your favourite Bollywood scenes that won’t happen in real life?