Unfinished love stories have a unique way of leaving ache in our hearts. It makes us wonder what might have been different for an alternative happy ending. And Bollywood filmmakers have given us many examples of unrequited love that was never consummated.
Although these stories leave us rooting for a different ending, they keep the audience engaged with their storytelling, believable performances and great chemistry. From Aman in Kal Ho Na Ho to Ayaan in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, the stories on Netflix are told and emotions like happiness, heartbreak, longing and lack of control over situations are explored.
Here are five movies in which the characters seemed perfect together but they weren’t.
5 Netflix movies with unrequited love that we wish had a happy ending
1. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016)
- Order: 158 minutes
- mold: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anushka Sharma, Ranbir Kapoor
- director: Karan Johar
- release date: 28 October 2016
Hardly anyone makes films on love triangles or one-sided love better than Karan Johar. He gave his best performance when he made ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ about Ayaan who falls in love with his friend Alizeh. However, the cliche occurs when she chooses to ‘just be friends’ and marries someone else.
Ayaan’s deep love and heartbreak leaves her more devastated than expected. He does everything from making her jealous to creating music out of the emotional pain of her heartbreak. It makes us wish they were more than friends.
3. Pad Man (2018)
- Order: 140 minutes
- mold: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
- director: R. Balki
- release date: 9 February 2018
Love often makes people fall in love with someone who they know can never love them back. Pari experiences something similar in Padman when she falls in love with Laxmikant, who she learns is in love with his wife.
As he works to improve menstrual hygiene for his wife Gayatri and other women, the fairy tale is unable to have a happy ending. But their respectful and simple moments together make us wonder what would have happened if Pari’s feelings had found the right destination.
3. Sukhi (2023)
- Order: 127 minutes
- mold: Kusha Kapila, Shilpa Shetty, Amit Sadh
- director: Sonal Joshi
- Release date: 22 September 2023
In many cases, one-sided love ends because it is not true or seems far from reality. Sukhi finds herself in a similar situation when she breaks out of the role of a housewife and goes on a journey of self-discovery with her old friends. It is during this journey that he meets Vikram.
He was an unpopular boy in her school and was later introduced as attractive. Vikram appears to be the perfect partner for Sukhi, and their chemistry is felt through the subtle moments between them. However, her marriage, children and family responsibilities stand in the way of a potential love story.
4. Haseen Dilruba (2021)
- Order: 136 minutes
- mold: Taapsee Pannu, Vikrant Massey, Harshvardhan Rane
- director: Vinil Mathew
- release date: 2 July 2021
Many unrequited love stories remain incomplete because they seem morally wrong to the world regardless of the feelings. Rani in Haseen Dilruba also faced a similar situation when she was married and fell in love with Neel.
They have a strong physical relationship, but she does not share any emotional connection with him. So, although he was charming and a breath of freshness in her life, his untrustworthy aspect takes their happy ending out of the plot.
5Kal Ho Na Ho (2003)
- Order: 187 minutes
- mold: Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan
- director: Nikhil Advani
- release date: 28 November 2003
The most popular unrequited love that made everyone cry for a happy ending was undoubtedly the one between Naina and Aman. He comes into her life like magic, solves all her problems, makes her accept her feelings, and realizes the happiness that she had missed from her life.
He brightens up her life, and she begins to love him as much as he does. But, we are unable to find our ideal match because he has a life threatening disease and he cannot accept the love of his life leaving her alone. He painfully distances himself from her and lets her find a perfect partner in his friend Rohit for her happy future, demonstrating the power of unrequited love.
These films show how beautiful stories are often incomplete, and how some ideal partners are not made as couples. What-ifs and the possibility of an alternate ending make us think of hundreds of reasons to bring our favorite characters together. But, it also reinforces the understanding that life’s circumstances can often come across as too good to be true.
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