Flying high, plunging deep
When it comes to Hindi cinema, love has oft times been about rebelling against and transcending the caste, class and religious divides. It plays out in the romantic ditties shot on different means of transportation. Love after all, like life itself, is a journey. From a cycle ride on which Mumtaz and Dev Anand take the vow of togetherness forever (‘Ae Maine Kasam Li’, Tere Mere Sapne) to a motorbike on which Rajesh Khanna and Hema Malini perch fearlessly and dangerously in love (‘Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana’, Andaz). A Rakesh Roshan looks forward to meeting his soulmate for the first time, while singing ‘Aaj Unse Pehli Mulaqat Hogi’ on a ride atop the horse (Paraya Dhan). If there is a horse can the tonga be far behind? We have Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala singing ‘Maang Ke Saath Tumhara’ in Naya Daur and Dharmendra and Hema Malini having a lovers’ tiff in ‘Koi Haseena Jab Rooth Jaati Hai To’ in Sholay. Train rides are, perhaps, most conducive to finding love, but when it comes to Bollywood, it is not just about the ground beneath the feet. There is air and water too; to fly high and plunge deep into love. Dharmendra teases Hema Malini in the name of love across helicopters in ‘Pyaar Ke Is Khel Mein’ in Jugnu, while Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Aman serenade each other in a gondola in the Venetian canals in The Great Gambler.
However, love on four wheels has a charm entirely its own. Like the ingenuity of amorous exchanges between a Jeep and a train, remember Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore in ‘Mere Sapno Ki Rani’ in Aradhana? Imtiaz Ali’s films are all about journeys — of individuals and their relationships. And hence the Jeep drive across snow-laden mountains when the woman in love, Kareena Kapoor, bursts into a joyful song and dance with ‘Ye Ishq Haaye’ in Jab We Met. As does Rajendra Kumar, years ago, in a Jeep ride through a very green highway in ‘Kaun Hai Jo Sapno Mein Aaya’ in Jhuk Gaya Aasman. The Jeep was again the crucial vehicle in which Shashi Kapoor sang ‘Keh Doon Tumhe’ to Neetu Singh in Deewar.
The self-liberation found by Waheeda Rehman in love outside a stifling marriage gets expressed in a hay-laden truck in the classic from Guide — ‘Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai’.
The personal car has bred its own special romantic moments on screen. Shammi Kapoor with Sharmila Tagore in An Evening In Paris, singing ‘Deewane Ka Naam To Poocho’, Feroz Khan and Sharmila again in Safar in the song ‘Jo Tumko Ho Pasand Wahi Baat Karenge’, Dev Anand and Zaheeda in Gambler and the peppy ‘Choodi Nahin Ye Mera Dil Hai’ and my most favourite, the lovely and languid ‘Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho’ sung by Navin Nischol to Priya Rajvansh in Hanste Zakhm. And in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, beyond the cars, it was the entire garage that became the playground of love. Tough to beat that.
Top gear
Director Gautham Menon’s universe has always featured road romances. His Achcham Enbadhu Madamaiyada featuring Simbu and Manjima Mohan taking off to discover love and life is but the most recent of the filmmaker’s fascination for wheels. He made Suriya ride an old-fashioned Bullet to woo Simran through the streets of old Madras in Vaaranam Aayiram (remember the ‘Mundhinam Parthene’ number?), and got Kamal Haasan to ride a Bullet and sing a duet (the popular ‘Partha Mudhal Naale’) in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu.
Bikes and cars have played an important role in a few of Tamil cinema’s popular films over the years. Dhanush shared an intense relationship with his Pulsar in Vetri Maaran’s Polladhavan, a film that also threw light on the bike spare parts thefts that happen in Chennai. Vijay Sethupathi has had a couple of trysts with the wheels — an entire song (‘Neeyum Naanum’) in Naanum Rowdy Dhaan featured him and Nayanthara on the road, while Pannaiyarum Padminiyum revolved around a fascination for a vintage Premier Padmini. Earlier, Kamal Haasan shot the melodious ‘Unna Vida’ number in Virumaandi with him and his love interest riding through the night on a humble TVS 50.
Paiyaa was another hit flick that featured an entire road journey, and the hero (Karthi) falling for the girl during that trip. The trailer of the actor’s upcoming Dev, scheduled for release this Valentine’s Day, suggests that the bike has a role to play in the scheme of things. It looks like road trips and romances will continue to stay alive on the big screen.
Enduring journeys
A road trip from Vizag to Kanyakumari on a Royal Enfield Thunderbird, filmed by Dan Macarthur with music by AR Rahman. Sounds good, doesn’t it? In director Gautham Menon’s Sahasam Swasaga Saagipo (the Telugu remake of Achcham Enbadhu Madamaiyada), the Thunderbird is Naga Chaitanya’s first love. “Me and my RE,” he exclaims. There’s even a song (‘Shokilla’) dedicated to the bike. Later, he and Manjima Mohan embark on a road trip to Kanyakumari, to the lilting ‘Chakori’ (lyrics by Ananta Sriram, sung by Sathya Prakash and Shashaa Tirupati) and ‘Taanu Nenu’ (by Vijay Prakash to the lyrics of Ananta Sriram). They traverse highways, pause by towns in Tamil Nadu and finally witness sunrise in Kanyakumari. The journey cements their romance. Then, he offers to drop her home — all the way to Kolhapur in Maharashtra. This film didn’t work at the box office, but ‘Chakori’ and ‘Taanu Nenu’ were chartbusters and continue to be loved. A comment on the YouTube video of the song has a movie lover stating that he named his bike ‘Chakori’ after the song.
A 1960s Royal Enfield was in focus in director Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Arjun Reddy (2017). The bike theme has quite a following. Lyricist Ananta Sriram’s song ‘Emitemitemito’, composed by Radhan, features Vijay Deverakonda and Shalini Pandey in the early days of their romance, before the film turns into an angst-ridden, tumultuous journey of the protagonist.
Telugu cinema hasn’t had too many road trip movies. But occasionally, romance plays out during a car/bike journey. The song ‘Meghalalo Thelipomanadhi’ (by Mano and Gayatri Ganjawala to the lyrics of this year’s Padma Shri awardee Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry) from Gulabi (1995), produced by Ram Gopal Varma and directed by Krishna Vamsi, continues to be an all-time favourite. J D Chakravarthy and Maheshwari journey through the winding roads of a hill station on their bike, as the upbeat music plays on.
Director Sekhar Kammula’s Godavari (2006) unfolded on a Godavari river cruise, where Kamalinee Mukherjee and Sumanth rediscover themselves during a fun-filled and introspective journey steeped in the cultural ethos of the region.
If you’re looking for an iconic romantic song, it doesn’t get better than ‘Lahiri Lahiri Lahiri Lo’ from Mayabazar (1957), where Savitri (as Sasirekha) and Akkineni Nageswara Rao (as Abhimanyu) are on a boat, giving in to the gentle rhythms of the song by Ghantasala and P Leela. Mayabazar, and this song, have legions of fans spanning generations.
Steering the love life
When one thinks about romance on wheels in Malayalam cinema, probably the first movie that comes to one’s mind would be the Dulquer Salmaan-starrer Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi (2013). Though the romance does not bloom on the bike per se, it’s more about how his stylish and sturdy Royal Enfield takes Kasi (Dulquer) and his friend Suni (played by Sunny Wayne) to win the former’s love back, all the way from his hometown in Kerala to the picturesque mountainous Tawang in the north-eastern borders.
In Kali (2016), again Dulquer aces it as an angry young man at the wheel in a red Volkswagen Polo opposite Sai Pallavi. Though his anger management issues create fissures in his personal and domestic life, his adroitness with the steering helps him overtake some serious hurdles on his way.
In Azhakiya Ravanan (1996), the lives of rags-to-riches, success-hungry Shankar Das (Mammootty) and his wife Anuradha (Bhanupriya), who marries the protagonist against her wishes, take a different direction during a ‘honeymoon’ car trip to Ooty. In the Mohanlal-starrer Narasimham (2000), Induchoodan (Mohanlal), who drives a cherry-red, open-roofed Mahindra Jeep, much in line with the macho character, bumps into Anuradha for the first time in the film, while she waits for a ride home after her yellow Maruti Zen stops on a flat tyre.
Up in the air
While Kannada cinema has its share of love on wheels, in Bayalu Daari, the hero romances his lady love from a chopper with the melodious song, ‘Elliruve Manava’. Ananth Nag plays a pilot on a sortie, who instead of concentrating on the job at hand chooses to looks for his love, played by Kalpana, on her huge estate. Instead of worrying about altitude or air traffic, the young pilot sings a song, and when he finds Kalpana, towards the end of the song, he playfully manoeuvres the chopper closer to her and tries to scare her. Kalpana looks more amused than frightened.
Then there is Eradu Kanasu, where Dr Rajkumar immortalised the scooter. In fact, the films starts off with him riding the scooter singing the song, ‘Endu Ninna Noduve’ to his love played by Manjula. He not only rides the scooter while romancing the leading lady, but also uses it throughout the film. He plays a young professor and the scooter is his mode of transport through the film.