Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

Billy Crystal as Harry, Meg Ryan as Sally; directed by Rob Reiner

Harry Burns and Sally Albright are two people leading completely separate lives, content with their respective partners. They meet for the first time, fresh out of college, on a drive from Chicago to New York and instantly dislike each other. But as their paths intersect at various points of their lives, friendship — and eventually love — blooms.

The most critical question raised by the dark and depressive Harry is whether a man and a woman can be friends without sex getting in the way. While Sally argues a vehement yes, through the course of the film she proves herself wrong, to most satisfying results.

Most romantic line: I love that you get cold when it’s 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour-and-a-half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts — Harry to Sally.

As Good as it Gets (1997)

Jack Nicholson as Melvin Udall, Helen Hunt as Carol Connelly; directed by James L. Brooks

Melvin Udall is not charming, dashing, or even kind. Which makes him the most unlikely star of this poignant film on love, life, and making the most of the hand we have been dealt.

Melvin, a best-selling writer, reluctantly finds himself caring for Carol, a single mother juggling her job and managing the bills for her sick son.

Throw in a little brown dog, a troubled gay artist, a brilliant script and one of the finest performances from one of the finest actors of all time, and you have a classic. Melvin’s awkward attempts to win over Carol are hardly romantic, and yet he is filled with yearning and sensitivity that gets better with every viewing.

Most romantic line: You make me want to be a better man — Melvin to Carol.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Jim Carrey as Joel Barish, Kate Winslet as Clementine Kruczynski; directed by Michel Gondry

Are we the sum of our memories? Or are our memories the sum of who we are? Much more than a love story, in this stirring film Joel Barish and Clementine Kruczynski struggle to get over their painful experiences with each other, going as far as to actually erase their memories through a scientific experiment in an effort at starting over with a clean slate.

However the process does not work and they end up falling in love all over again, almost as an instinctive reaction to each other’s souls.

Most romantic line: Remember me. Try your best. Maybe, we can — Clementine to Joel.

Shrek (2001)

Mike Myers as the voice of Shrek, Cameron Diaz as Fiona; directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson

The world’s most endearing ogre subverts the traditional fairytale ending to come up with a heart-warming anti-fairytale. This is the story of Shrek and Princess Fiona who disavow all things pretty to fart and burp their way to their own happy ending in the swamp. Last seen, they had three little ogres keeping their hands full. We are waiting for more…

Most romantic line: Maybe you can come visit me in the swamp sometime... I’ll cook all kinds of stuff for you — swamp toad soup, fish eye tartar, you name it! — Shrek to Fiona.

March of the Penguins (2006)

Real-life penguins in Antarctica; directed by Luc Jacquet

Okay, so they don’t bond for life. How many do? They stay together for one mating season, protecting each other and their young from the devastating elements that would have been enough to make Paris send Helen packing on any one of a thousand ships. The will to love and survive is so strong that these regal penguins come together despite freezing temperatures and lack of food. The partners take turns incubating the fragile eggs. As one watches over the egg and then the chick, the other walks for days to find fish. After getting his/her fill, it is time to trek back. On seeing the chick, the parent regurgitates a bit of the last meal for it. Then it is the other partner’s turn. No fighting about who will cook dinner or get the groceries when together; no custody battle for young and sofa set when they split. Such elegance.

Most romantic line: In the harshest place on earth, love finds a way — narrator Morgan Freeman.

American Beauty (1999)

Thora Birch as Jane Burnham and Wes Bentley as Ricky Fitts; directed by Sam Mendes

This film is not really about love, or not the kind of love that makes you instantly think about great lovers, and greeting card company-inspired days devoted to them. It is about a love that is messy, dysfunctional, bitter, human. Jane’s disgust with her “loser” father Lester Burnham is juxtaposed with her relationship with Ricky, the strange new next-door neighbour who is overwhelmed by the beauty in almost everything around him — from a dead bird to a plastic bag.

Most romantic line: Sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world I feel like I can’t take it, like my heart’s going to cave in — Ricky to Jane.

Dil Chahta Hai (2001)

Akshaye Khanna as Sid, Dimple Kapadia as Tara; directed by Farhan Akhtar

The tender love story between Siddharth or Sid who is a happy-go-lucky painter drifting through life, and Tara, a middle-aged divorcee with a drinking problem, forms a pivotal part of this sensitive film on the dilemmas of urban youth in India.

The relationship remains so undefined that it is hard to call them a couple, yet they meet and connect to see into the deepest recesses of each other’s minds. The feelings are almost never articulated yet Sid stays with Tara till death does them part.

Most romantic line: Zindagi mein ek aisa waqt aata hai jab humein sachcha pyar ho jata hai.... Sab chhote lagne lagtey hain — Sid to his friends.

Monsoon Wedding (2001)

Vijay Raaz as P.K. Dubey, Tillotama Shome as Alice; directed by Mira Nair

This shy and tender romance takes off during a chaotic Punjabi wedding in an affluent south Delhi household. P.K. Dubey is the unconventional wedding planner and Alice the family’s quiet, doe-eyed maid. Dubey’s effervescent repartee ends up in stutters before Alice, and every attempt at trying to impress her ends in her having the upper hand. Their love story acts as an antithesis to the complicated entanglements of the upper classes. A sweet story shorn of any skeletons in the closet.

Most romantic line: Kaho na pyaar hai…, I mean have you seen Kaho Na Pyaar Hai? — P.K. Dubey to Alice.

Black (2005)

Rani Mukerji as Michelle McNally, Amitabh Bachchan as Debraj Sahai; directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali

The most romantic moment is the tender kiss between the teacher who taught this deaf-mute-blind girl how to feel and experience things in a world that is dark, silent and hostile. Debraj is her mentor, friend and tutor. Again, they are not a couple, but their feelings are powerful and complex.

Most romantic line: Your world is not black — Debraj to Michelle.

Paheli

Paheli (2005)

Rani Mukerji as Lachchi, Shah Rukh Khan as Kishanlal and ghost; directed by Amol Palekar

A folksy supernatural love story, Lachchi is the new wife who captures the heart of a resident ghost who promptly takes the shape of her husband Kishanlal who has gone off to another town to work. Thus begins their great love affair as he is a stronger, better and more sensitive version of her real husband. The only problem is that he is a ghost. But love overcomes even this most ghostly of twists.

Most romantic line: Like a rainbow, Lachchi’s love was many-splendoured. But there was one obstacle in this love story — Lachchi’s lover was a ghost... — The shepherd narrator.

Who are your favourite screen lovers? Tell t2@abpmail.com