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The love triangle is not only a frequently used but also a highly effective story technique in Hindi cinema, having achieved tremendous results that have been an inspiration to many a lovelorn youngster as well as many a producer and scriptwriter.
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There are essentially two types of triangles made popular by Bollywood. The first is that of an unrequited, unvoiced love of one of the three i.e. just before A makes his move he finds out that B and C are already together. Too late � the second is the sacrificial kind. Where B and C want to be together but for the sake of something or the other (family, friends, obligations, movie makers always seem to manage to find some convincing reason), C sacrifices B to A. What needs to be mentioned of course is that in almost all cases the couple that end up together are the ones who love each other i.e. love triumphs over all eventually. Very frequently one of the protagonists of the triangle dies and in a sense that actually gives a relief to the audience who no doubt realize that it would be more difficult for him or her to live on without the love of his or her life.
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Then of course there are some exceptions to love triangles like Sangam where Vijayantimala is in love with Rajendra Kumar but marries Raj Kapoor and falls in love with the latter only to have an old love letter brought back into the picture to spoil what was till now a healthy relationship. And then there was Dillagi where I couldn�t actually figure out who Urmila really liked and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai where the hero gets both the girls albeit at a gap of some seven or eight years. Then there�s lesbian love triangle of Fire, which might become the inspiration for a sequel to Devdas now that the hero himself has died, leaving Paro and Chandramukhi to pick up the pieces � And there�s also the more recent Bharjatya film Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon where Kareena celebrates Valentine�s Day with Hritik and Friendship Day with Abhishek and Abhishek proudly proclaims that both he and Hritik have gained something (What the hell was that?)
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But let�s get back to the more conventional cases.
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Example of case 1: Kamal Hassan in Sagar �
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�Sach mere yaar hai
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Bas wahi pyaar hai
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Jiske badley mein koi to pyaar de
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Baaki bekaar hai
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Yaar mere�
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Example of case 2: Amitabh Bachchan in Kabhi Kabhi �
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�Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayal aata hai
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Ke jaise tu mujhe chahegi umar bhar yuhi
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Uthegi meri taraf pyaar ki nazar yoonhi
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Main janta hoon ki tu gair hai magar yoonhi
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Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayal aata hai"
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Tragic, isn�t it? Bollywood did attempt at one point to lighten the load of the protagonist had the scriptwriter chosen to allow the so-called �loser� in love live on. Like Juhi Chawla dropping in on the last scene of Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na giving the audience a sense of relief as well as hope for Shahrukh Khan. But that was something of a short-lived phase.
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Of the more recent Hindi movies, the genre of the Johar�s and the Chopra�s have off late allowed the third party to just leave smiling, understandingly. And that may well be the most difficult to depict for a filmmaker. Like Karisma Kapoor or Akshay Kumar being so understanding in Dil To Pagal Hai, Rani Mukherjee in her miniature role in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham and of course Preity Zinta (eventually) in Armaan.
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What is it about love triangles then that make the concept so appealing to the general Indian public? Is it that they can associate with at least one of the protagonists or is the joy of seeing a superlative meaningful sacrifice or loss being dealt with, with dignity?
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Though most of these movies essentially deal with the issues, problems, and scenarios before two of the three officially get together, there comes once in a while a Silsila, which also talks about the what-happens-after.
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My favorite love triangle movie till date is Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. What makes this movie so amazingly brilliant is the effectiveness of the filmmaker in ensuring the audience�s ability to empathize with each of the three protagonists. You understand Nandini�s (Aishwarya Rai) misery so completely that all you want to do is see her go back to Sameer (Salman Khan) and then the characters and story unfold so beautifully that all of a sudden you realize that no, you actually want her to stay with Vanraj (Ajay Devgan). The more difficult the choice, the more amazing the scripting and storyline and that much more amazing the ability to be able to justify and explain the character�s choices. Mr Bhansali certainly doesn�t need any more awards for this one but if I had one to my name I would certainly present it to him.
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Love triangles have been around for a really long time, and no doubt they are here to stay. Its basic concept is an evergreen idea that filmmakers try to build on and conclude in different ways.
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So what is it then that�s going on right now in the minds of the makers of Kal Ho Na Ho? An out and out love triangle, it�s rumored that Shahrukh plays a terminally ill character in this movie. I can already see it now � the love, the pain, the choices, the sacrifice � the story of a lifetime (they say) � in a heartbeat.
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