This Old-School Bollywood Gem Is the First Movie That Made Me Cry
Being a huge Bollywood fan, I still understand that sometimes Indian movies can be a little too much. But you just can’t help falling in love with them.
As long as I remember, Bollywood was part of my life. My mom was watching those movies, my grandfather was singing songs from the iconic Awaara movie, even my little sister inherited this love towards colorful yet dramatic Indian movies.
But while most of them have some family or romantic or any other drama going on, the first movie that really made me cry was 2003 Kal Ho Naa Ho. The name of the movie in English means Tomorrow may never come, and that thought alone makes you realize how deep it’s going to be.
What Is ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ About?
The movie follows titular Naina, played by Preity Zinta, an introverted and lowkey depressed young woman, whose world turns upside down when she meets Aman, portrayed by one and only Shah Rukh Khan.
Aman is full of life and joy, and at first, she is not buying his attitude and thinks he is making fun of her. However, soon enough, she starts embracing her life with her newfound passion, all thanks to Aman. And it is when she starts slowly developing feelings towards him.
The third titular character in the story is Rohit, Naina’s best friend. And at one point we see Aman trying to make them fall in love with each other, and frankly that feels odd, because he clearly has feelings towards Naina himself. It’s then we realize that Aman is terminally ill and wants to make sure that when he is gone, Naina is in good hands.
Needless to say, finding out that Aman is not going to survive breaks you, because even though on a rewatch you realise you could have predicted that plot twist, the first viewing never brings you hints. And it goes against the main Bollywood theme, which is usually “love conquers anything.”
There are several devastating scenes in the movie. For example, the one on the bridge, when Aman and Naina embrace their love only for a brief moment.
Or the wedding scene, where we clearly see Naina struggling to accept her life as a future wife to Rohit. The ending of the movie is another emotional disaster, making you see how hard it is for all three of them to say goodbye.
The movie is a real tearjerker, and the choice of soundtrack helps you process every romantic scene in it.
You can stream Kal Ho Naa Ho on Netflix.
