Are BW directors/scripwriters clueless about modern day romance?

Being a 90s kid it surprises me we have not had a proper full blown Romantic movie in the last 5 years. Though the audiences crave for such movies. All hits/superhits in the last 5 years have been either Patriotic films or films about social subjects. Romance is definitely always the subplot but hardly the main plot. Barring a few films none even tried to portray the modern day romance. In 2000s we used to have multiple romcoms releasing almost every other Friday. Yup some of them got mixed responses and some of them bombed at the BO too but atleast they had good songs and someone was trying to tell a different story. There were films about mature romances, live in relationships, commitment phobics etc. But now it seems the directors or writers don’t understand how the genz perceives romance. Is it because they think that the social media has made the next generation incapable of passionate love? Or is it because they don’t want to take the effort to understand the issues that the young generation of today is facing in relationships. It surprises me. And leave romance no one is making good films even about more accepted and loved concepts like travel, friendship, family. BW has lost inspiration and innovation it seems.

I mean even in 90s people struggled to write romance.

Most modern romance would require writing conversation, as film industry we never wrote courting scene, building relationships scenes. Until now such scenes would never take place , remember when either hero or heoine realise they are in love a song appears , when girl agrees for love a song appears and we have to assumes they have falled in love and month have passed by.

Such scene in modern movies are tricky and require a good writer which are few.

There had been romantic movies after Covid but you're right, they didn't all generate the boxoffice success the makers certanly wished for.

I think, the isolation during Covid had a greater impact as imagined ... the former going-to-the-movies audience became more a watching-at-home-on-a-streaming-platform audience. In addition the ticket prices (+ snacks ones) have become a real challenge for those not earning much and also, most of the movies are more cineplex/urban ones.

Also the bashing/praise campaigns of movies/actors/actresses on social media have become a great influence

It seems to me that the changement of the movie-watching habits demands a rethinking relative to budgets, promotions, settings and stories told.

I fully agree with you about the travel-friendships-family part. But they should also be movies with exciting visuals made for the biiiig screen.

Why can not they just copy from kdrama? Seriously i would not mind.

Wasn't TBMUJ a love story or family story?

Most people say now scenes they showed in 90s or early 2000s would be offensive
watch

Off the bat,

Three of us, Teri Baaton Mein Aesa.., Kho Gaye Hum Kaha, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, Rocky Rani ki Prem Kahani, Lapataa Ladies etc.

All these movies explore modern romance from various angles and in different social settings. Social settings matter because they give a backdrop and context, which is what makes them modern-day romances. If you're talking about those cringy romances from the 2000s and '90s where actors were more focused on how many songs they had than the actual script, well, those times are over, and that's a good thing.

Originally posted by: FatalFlaw

Off the bat,

Three of us, Teri Baaton Mein Aesa.., Kho Gaye Hum Kaha, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, Rocky Rani ki Prem Kahani, Lapataa Ladies etc.

All these movies explore modern romance from various angles and in different social settings. Social settings matter because they give a backdrop and context, which is what makes them modern-day romances. If you're talking about those cringy romances from the 2000s and '90s where actors were more focused on how many songs they had than the actual script, well, those times are over, and that's a good thing.

Some films of 90s and 2000s definitely had problematic scenes (which were probably acceptable to people of that time) but many movies were amazing as well…They were grand, entertaining but also had beautiful love stories. Films like Taal, Kaho na pyaar hai, jaane tu ya jane na, Namaste London, Wake up sid etc were beautiful movies.

@bold - Much debatable. People loved to watch musicals. Music is also a form of cinematic art. Where emotions are portrayed through lyrics, dance and choreography. Not talking about cringe songs but good songs. If people didn’t like those movies and only movies with no songs then theatres would be full now for but that’s not true.

Originally posted by: _symphony

Some films of 90s and 2000s definitely had problematic scenes (which were probably acceptable to people of that time) but many movies were amazing as well…They were grand, entertaining but also had beautiful love stories. Films like Taal, Kaho na pyaar hai, jaane tu ya jane na, Namaste London, Wake up sid etc were beautiful movies.

@bold - Much debatable. People loved to watch musicals. Music is also a form of cinematic art. Where emotions are portrayed through lyrics, dance and choreography. Not talking about cringe songs but good songs. If people didn’t like those movies and only movies with no songs then theatres would be full now for but that’s not true.

Lara Dutta recently mentioned how things used to roll back in the 2000s. They'd be more concerned about how many songs to fit in and where to shoot them rather than the actual script. And honestly, if you look back at 99 percent of romantic movies from the '90s and 2000s, you'll see what she means. But things started shifting in the latter half of the 2000s with movies like Jab We Met, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Wake Up Sid, and others. This trend has just kept on evolving since then. Have you watcged Kho Gaye Hum Kahan? It's as modern romance as it gets with social media, influencers, and all that sh't. That's what modern love is all about for a lot of people now. Overly dramatic romantic songs and movies just don't cut it anymore. Sure, you'll find that kind of romance in Bhansali movies, but those are set in a whole different era.

Romance is timeless. That’s why a notebook, a titanic, a Romeo Juliet , a DDLJ , a Dil hai ke manta nahi, a MPK are still so watchable from the folks across the generations.A well done romantic movie is the one which doesn’t cater to just one generation or one class of people because romance is an emotion which is felt by everyone. All this excessive kissing, inorganic live ins, giving more importance to sex than the actual emotion behind it has killed romance in the movies. It’s not the songs or lack there of.