DATING AGAIN Rom-Com STYLE

Revive your love life in rom-com fashion and let small romantic gestures ripple into a love story you live every day. Parul Karn reflects on contemporary love with insights from experts

- Parul Karn

If you've grown up watching rom-coms such as Sleepless in Seattle (1993) or Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008), and dreamt of a relationship as unshakeable as Nicholas “Nick” Young and Rachel Chu's in Crazy Rich Asians (2018), you're not alone.

If Before Sunrise (1995) made you long for conversations that stretched until daybreak, it’s completely understandable. And, yes, if your favourite genre is the rom-com but your relationship is not quite swoon-worthy RN, don’t worry.

When life becomes predictable, things tend to feel monotonous. Even what once was super exciting can start to feel boring. But love should never feel mundane. “When you've been with your partner for a long time, the chase of capturing and holding their attention naturally wanes,” says Ayesha Sharma, Mumbai-based psychotherapist and founder of Dialogue Mental Health, a mental health clinic. “We begin to take for granted what once felt special.”

The books, films, or even vlogs suggest that love should feel exciting, passionate, thriving... something magical enough to push you through life. Society urges couples to be efficient: quick to connect, quick to define, quick to optimise. While this creates intensity, it often leaves little room for tenderness, uncertainty, or the gradual unfolding of emotion in the relationship.

“Over time, partners might confuse constant stimulation with intimacy, while vulnerability becomes something performed rather than patiently built,” notes