Love lessons from Piku and Rana and others of that ilk

Be it the nothing-more-than-just-sharing-the-dining-table chemistry between duty-bound Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan in Piku or the size-defying nuptial of Ayushmann Khurana and Bhumi Pednekar in Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Bollywood love, that almost never strikes the screen without whiffs of cool breeze flirting with the heroine’s aanchal while she croons for her hero on top of a cloud-clad hill or maybe amid beaming blooms, is up for a make-over and how!

Piku, as her father describes in the movie, is a financially, emotionally, sexually independent, and not to forget, non-virgin woman, who had an interesting bout with her good-looking friend and colleague Syed (Jisshu Sengupta). And just when one was about to imagine both of them together in the film, there breezes in the forlorn owner of a cab company Rana “non-Bengali” Chaudhary (Irrfan) taking the story off on a tangent which ended only to begin with a casual courtyard badminton session between Piku and way-older-looking Rana.

Girls & boys! Taking romance to a new level, this is new Bollywood love sans any sensual touch, smooches and sex.

While it can be tough to have a feel of it in real life, the following not-so-usual jodis sure teach you a thing or two about the changing definition of love where age and size hardly matter:  

Dum Laga Ke Haisha

The pair: A horizontally-challenged wife, a school drop-out husband

What we learnt: What can possibly happen between a conjugally-unhappy cassette shop owner Prem (Ayushmann) and his well-rounded and well-educated wife Sandhya (Bhumi)? Big fights. And then a lovely patch-up that sees them dance to the tune of Kumar Sanu just like it happened in the glorious ‘90s. Love can only get fatter (read bigger)!

The Lunchbox

The pair: An older widower, a desolate housewife

What we learnt: A lonely housewife Ila (Nimrat kaur) and her virtual friend Saajan (Irrfan Khan) taught us how love can also find room in a tiny little dabba. There’s no denying, the way to a man’s heart can also be through a lunchbox!

Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi

The pair: The 40-something lovebirds

What we learnt: Flirting at forty and yet so flawless at it! Living together is knowing what’s beyond 36B. That’s what lingerie salesman Farhad (Boman Irani) and his ladylove Shirin (Farah Khan) teach us.

Wake Up Sid

The pair: A college going boy, a way smarter and slightly older woman

What we learnt: What happens when a messy college kid and an older mature woman become roommates? Well, all her good things start rubbing off on him. But is that all? The chemistry between Sid Mehra (Ranbir Kapoor) and Aisha (Konkona Sen Sharma) is not the ordinary candyfloss tale yet so wonderful!

Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh

The pair: A husband who looks puny when walks arm-in-arm with his taller and gorgeous wife

What we learnt: She is way taller than him. Veena (Rituparna Sengupta) is too beautiful to be the wife of a middle aged simpleton Mithilesh (Rajpal Yadav). But she adores him so much come whatever may.

Cheeni Kum

The pair: A 64-year-old bachelor, His 34-year-old beau

What we learnt: You are greying and yet have not found your match? Fret not. Buddhadev Gupta (Amitabh Bachchan) found his love at 64. Your Nina Verma (Tabu) may be on her way.

Dil Chahta Hai

The pair: An older divorcee, Her young lover

What we learnt: Sid (Akshaye Khanna) and Tara (Dimple Kapadia) are not your usual lovebirds. He is a young artist who is ridiculed and derided by his friends and family for pursuing the older divorcee-alcoholic. Though theirs is not a pulpier-than-ripe-banana saga, it is no less soaked in love.