Middle Aged Love Stories: 5 Films that Discover New Dimensions of Love

Middle aged love stories in Bollywood? Are you wondering are there films which have shown romantic love exists even when you are not so young?

Yes, the image of romantic couples Hindi films usually presents is quite ageist. There appears to be a dearth of middle-aged couples falling in love in Bollywood stories. However, it would be wrong to say that the concept has been left untouched. Who doesn't remember the unconditional love between Raj Malhotra and his wife Pooja in Baghban? Similarly, in Life in a...Metro, we were left in awe over Amol and Shivani's love story.

Well, that's not all. Recently, the film industry explored the theme in few movies and if you think love fades away after marriage, a few movies here will prove you cannot be more wrong.

Five middle-aged love stories in Bollywood proving love accepts no boundaries.

1. Badhaai Ho 

Priyamvada and Jeetu are parents to two grown-up sons. One of them, Nakul is himself of "marriageable age". The movie breaks the taboo of couples giving up their sex life after being married for a long time. Nakul finds himself ashamed of his parents when he comes to know that they are expecting their third child. But he slowly realises that he was wrong and that his mother's pregnancy only proves how much she is in love with her husband. Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao nail it as Priyamvada and Jeetu. Read more on it here.

2. Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain

Set in Varanasi, this movie explores the changing relationships between a middle-aged couple. Kiran Batra's husband Yashwant is apathetic to her feelings when she decides to leave the house. But soon he begins to feel her absence. Then, he decides to woo her back by displaying the affection he has never shown in his life. Sanjay Mishra and Ekavali Khanna are impressive as the Batras.

3. The Lunchbox

The famous dabbawalas of Mumbai mistakenly deliver Ila's (Nimrat Kaur) tiffin carrier, meant for her husband to Saajan Fernandes (Irrfan Khan). While Ila is an unhappy homemaker living with her husband and daughter, Saajan is a lonely widower. An unusual friendship between them and they begin conversing through letters. Though they finally decide to meet, they never come face to face.

4. Shirin Farhad ki toh Nikal Padi

Shirin and Farhad ( Farah Khan and Boman Irani) are in their forties leading single lives amidst a fast dwindling community of Parsis. They have never had the chance to think about love. But life gives them an opportunity when they meet each other. An unconventional love story brews.

5. Pyaar Mein Twist

It might seem like a typical Bollywood love story where a man and a woman hate each other in the beginning and eventually fall in love. But the twist is that this time the couple in question  (Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia) are the parents of another much younger couple. When they decide to get married, their children disapprove, they then find themselves torn between their love for each other and the love for their children.

Suggested readings:

Same-Sex Love Stories Call For Acceptance, Not Fetishisation

Rediscovering 10 Intense Love Stories From Indian Mythology

Looking For Unconventional Love? These 5 Web Series Are For You