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Dilip Kumar and Madhubala
Hindi cinema's ultimate lovers
A look through the annals of movie history

Deepa Gahlot

Since Devdas and 'the ultimate lover' is the flavour of the week, it would be pertinent to recall some great film lovers down the ages.

Not the usual Ranjha-Majnu types, nor necessarily heroes from romantic blockbusters, but just men in the movies who would --- if they existed --- have made some lucky woman very happy.

Men who were unselfish, noble, tender and devoted; men who didn't have to flaunt brawn or machismo to be admired. A couple of them may have had self-destructive tendencies, but none drank himself to death. A personal list of ten favourites would include:

Deedar: Dilip Kumar has played intense romantic characters in several films (Andaz, Jogan, Devdas) but in Deedar he was the epitome of passionate, unwavering love.

In this Nitin Bose film, he played a blind man who gets his sight back only to see his childhood sweetheart (Nargis) married to someone else. Today it sounds silly and masochistic that he should blind himself again in a fit of heartbroken despair, but then this kind of worshipful love is unimaginable.

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Mughal-e-Azam: Dilip Kumar again, plays the legendary Prince Salim, who stands up to the might of his father Emperor Akbar when his love for the beautiful courtesan Anarkali (Madhubala) is thwarted.

This K Asif epic had some beautiful romantic scenes and songs, and an unforgettable blood-and-thunder performance by Dilip Kumar.

Aah: Raj Kapoor has also played the great romantic in many films, but there was something sweet, innocent and poignant about Aah (directed by Raja Nawathe), in which he first has a long-distance romance with Nargis through letters, and then tries to sacrifice his love when he discovers he has tuberculosis (which, in those days was considered a terminal disease).

A few complications later, the true lovers are united.

Waheeda Rehman and Dev Anand Guide: It was shocking for the times, but Raju, the protagonist of this Vijay Anand classic, falls in love with a married woman (Waheeda Rehman) and rescues her from a sterile, loveless marriage.

He encourages her to dance, becomes her friend, manager and one-man support system. He defies his mother, her husband and social norms to be by the woman who needs him, even though the romance ends in disaster for him.

Mamta: In this Asit Sen hit, Ashok Kumar plays one of those noble souls who, due to a misunderstanding, is unable to marry the woman (Suchitra Sen) he loves, but devotes the rest of his life to her.

When she is forced to become a courtesan, she leaves her daughter to be raised by him, and when she is accused of murder, he does his damndest to save her. A man like that could be considered a miracle.

Anupama: This Hrishikesh Mukherjee film belongs to the leading lady Sharmila Tagore, but Dharmendra is the gentle schoolteacher who falls in love with her and draws her out of her shell of pain and solitude.

Dharmendra looked smashing in simple clothes and wore an expression of such angelic charm that every woman in the audience must have wished for a man like that in her life. In this film, and Phool Aur Patthar in which he plays a thief who a beleaguered widow (Meena Kumari), Dharmendra was at his romantic best.

Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore Amar Prem: Rajesh Khanna dressed in Bengali costume and wearing a cheerful demeanour that belies his miserable life, befriends an unhappy courtesan (Sharmila Tagore).

They share a platonic relationship, but their love is not easily to define or understand. Amar Prem, Aradhana, Kati Patang and Safar are among Rajesh Khanna's most romantic movies.

Mili: Amitabh Bachchan was always the man's man and romance was hardly his forte, but in Mili, he played the kind of man most women would be attracted to. Lonely, enigmatic, hiding the wounds of a traumatic past, he falls in love with the bubbly heroine Mili (Jaya Bachchan) and stays resolutely by her side even when she is diagnosed with cancer.

Sadma: Kamal Haasan played a kind-hearted man who rescues a retarded young woman (Sridevi) from a brothel, and gives her all the care and love in the world.

When she recovers and forgets him, and he desperately runs after her train trying to make her remember --- that scene must count among the most heartrending moment in films.

Sargam: Rishi Kapoor with his cherubic face and benign eyes was made to play dream lover.

In Sargam he plays a benevolent drummer who helps a mute woman (Jaya Prada) find her feet as a dancer and escape a horrible match, and then move away from her life because he believes he is not right for her.

Fortunately, this romance is not doomed. In Prem Rog too, Rishi played a the selfless, silent admirer of Padmini Kolhapure, who pulls her through the ordeal of rape and widowhood.

Earlier column
E-mail Deepa Gahlot

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