PremiumFrom Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to Kho Gaye Hum Kahan – How friendship has evolved in Bollywood films
Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is winning accolades for its nearly true portrayal of Gen Z, but what stood out for me is how their friendship does not take romantic detours at any point in the movie.
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kho Gaye Hum Kahan
Last Updated: 03.23 PM, Jan 04, 2024
Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, that dropped on Netflix last month, has struck a chord with the audience. Starring Ananya Panday, Adarsh Gourav and Siddhant Chaturvedi, Kho Gaye Hum Kahan follows three friends as they chase their dreams and navigate their careers in Mumbai with the social media having a bearing on every aspect of their lives. The movie is winning accolades for its nearly true portrayal of Gen Z, but what stood out for me is how their friendship does not take romantic detours at any point in the movie.
Now, this is very different from the tales of friendship that Bollywood has been serving us over the years. The 2023 movie is so refreshing, especially for a millennial, who grew up with Karan Johar’s 90s rom-coms and early 2000s. So, let’s take a look at how friendship has evolved in the B-Town over the years.
1. Rahul-Nisha in Dil To Pagal Hai
This was 1997, when the master filmmaker Yash Chopra threw a romantic angle between Shah Rukh Khan’s Rahul and Karisma Kapoor’s Nisha who are not only friends but also work together at a dance troupe. Enter Madhuri Dixit as Pooja and we get a love triangle to swoon over but the friendship takes a hit.
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2. Rahul-Anjali in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
The very next year after DTPH, Karan Johar made his debut with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai where we got to see the desi version of Best Friends Forever. SRK was back as the cool Rahul and Kajol played the spunky Anjali, who realises her love for Rahul after Rani Mukerji’s Tina joins their college.
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3. Pooja-Tina-Raj in Mujhse Dosti Karoge!
Mujhse Dosti Karoge!, written by Aditya Chopra who had given us the evergreen Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, looks at how the friendship between three friends blossoms into romance over the years. Rani Mukerji, Kareena Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan play Pooja, Tina and Raj who have been friends since childhood. Raj falls in love with Tina believing that she has been writing mails to him regularly, when it was in fact Pooja who had been mailing him, setting off another love triangle tale in Bollywood in 2002.
4. Naina-Rohit in Kal Ho Naa Ho
Naina and Rohit are friends, but Rohit likes her more than that. Preity Zinta played Naina, who learns to smile and falls in love after Shah Rukh Khan’s Aman turns up as her neighbour. Aman coaches Rohit (Saif Ali Khan) on how to turn his friendship into love with the famous ‘che din aur ladki in’. Karan Johar wrote Kal Ho Naa Ho but the film was directed by Nikhil Advani. The film was released in 2003.
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5. Imaad, Ahana and Neil in Kho Gaye Hum Kahan
Fast forward to 2023, and we are gifted with Kho Gaye Hum Kahan that features three 20-something friends Imaad, Ahana and Neil. They have a clear understanding about their relationship with one another, even when they struggle in their own respective love lives. Imaad and Ahana are roommates who interact freely without the burden of any romantic feelings. True, the trio’s friendship takes a hit after Imaad jokes about Neil’s love life during a standup comedy show, but they weather the storm and emerge stronger together. From the beginning to the end, their relationship does not attain any romantic hues in this movie on Gen Zs and it is great to see Bollywood finally catching up with the times. The movie is directed by Arjun Varain Singh, who also co-wrote the film with Zoya Akhtar, and Reema Kagti.
OTT platform - Netflix