22 best kisses in Bollywood and Hollywood history

True love’s kiss is a phenomenon any kid who grew up reading fairy tales is familiar with. It can wake up a sleeping princess from a hundred years of slumber, it can take a magical kingdom from darkness to that much-awaited ‘happily ever after’, and any movie buff will agree that a great kiss can also make the perfect ending for a movie, whether it’s intensely passionate, sweet and simple, or just plain funny. If you consider yourself a die-hard romantic, you already know the power of a perfectly shot, butterflies-inducing movie-style kiss. But if you haven’t checked out all of our all-time favourite kissing scenes from Bollywood and Hollywood, here’s a walk down memory lane.

Bollywood’s most romantic kisses

It hasn’t been too long since Bollywood introduced actual kissing into its scripts, and there’s no forgetting one of the first electrifying lip locks to ever take over India’s silver screens. Back in 2006, a beautifully bronzed and dewy eyed Aishwarya Rai Bachchan captured audiences’ attention with the emotional kiss she shared with co-star Hrithik Roshan in Dhoom 2, and there’s been no looking back since. Over the years in Bollywood, some of the most memorable on-screen kisses have grown to include Kareena Kapoor Khan and Shahid Kapoor‘s adorable embrace at the climax of 2007 rom-com Jab We Met and Alia Bhatt‘s kiss with Sidharth Malhotra in high school drama Student of the Year from 2012.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan in Dhoom 2, 2006

What makes each on-screen kiss special is the mood that it conveys, and if you’re all about passion, then there’s no missing some of the most recent kisses spotted in Bollywood movies. Fans will remember arguably the industry’s most romantic face, Shah Rukh Khan‘s first on-screen kiss with Katrina Kaif, for Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012), Yash Chopra’s last directorial venture. One of our favourites has to be Ranveer Singh‘s sensual moment with now-wife Deepika Padukone in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013). The movie was around the time their relationship allegedly began, and if you haven’t watched this captivating scene yet, you’re in for some goosebumps.

A look back at the best kisses in Hollywood movies

Over the years, Hollywood films have given us more than just a few swoon-worthy kisses. Back in 1939, William Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh created a magical moment together in Gone With the Wind with their loved-up embrace, and come 1961, the world rejoiced with Holly Golightly when she finally got her kiss in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. In 1997, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet proved that a good kiss can make you feel like you’re flying in Titanic and in 2007, the world watched Harry Potter fall in love for the first time when he kissed Cho Chang.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in Titanic, 1997

And then there are all those not-so-basic kisses that make one want to hit replay time and again. A simple kiss is always sweet, but who can forget that adorable spaghetti kiss in 1955’s Lady and the Tramp, Spiderman’s steamy upside down kiss from 2002 or Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams’ rain-drenched kiss from The Notebook (2004)? Catch up on some of the most romantic kisses in movies over the years via our slideshow.