Romance Back in Bollywood as Love Stories Rule Box Office

Bollywood is back to what it does best—romance.

- Lata Jha

Over the past few years, filmmakers had turned their attention to biopics and patriotic films, giving love stories a miss, industry experts said. But the romance genre is now back in vogue, with recent films like Metro…In Dino, Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan, and Saiyaara getting the viewers hooked.

Remarkably, Mohit Suri’s directorial Saiyaara, starring debutant Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, has emerged as a major sleeper hit, reaffirming the timeless appeal of charming love stories.

The return of romantic drama on the silver screen is expected to fuel recovery of music sales—since love stories usually boast of popular, hummable soundtracks—and also builds on the gains of re-releases of much-loved movies like Jab We Met and Sanam Teri Kasam that young Gen Z audiences have thronged the theaters for, according to entertainment industry experts.

While Yash Raj Films’