6 Bollywood Films That Made Us Root For Couples in Extra-Marital Relationships Without Demeaning The Spouses

Whether it is our society or the reflection of it in our Bollywood films, extra-marital relationships and affairs is one delicate matter to deal with. Complicated, biased sometimes even messy it becomes very difficult to sort the entwined threads of human emotions and societal expectations.

As Bollywood mostly tends to hold the sanctity of the institution of marriage in very high esteem, most of the Bollywood movies harbor a critical and sometimes even hostile attitude towards extra-marital liaisons. The ones that condone the unthinkable usually justify it by showing the spouse in a bitter or even hateful light. However, there are only handfuls that glorify extra-marital relationships without demonizing or demeaning the spouse.

Here are 6 films where we rooted for the extra-marital couple even when the spouses were not at fault.

Azhaar

This was one movie that glorified extra-marital like no other. Sangeeta and Azhar ’s affair is shown with a lot of gusto with even a romantic track thrown in. The affair, no matter how spontaneous, leaves you a little uncomfortable, yet the film makes you want to root for them, even at the cost of Naureen’s suffering.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

When it comes to extra-marital relationships, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna is one movie that truly delved into the nuances. There will always be arguments about whether the characters Ria and Rishi deserved their cheating partners and the biggest question of them all, that what do you do when you find our true love after marriage, but from a general perspective this one also condoned the extramarital affair between Dev and Maya and it was them the audience sympathized with.

Silsila

Yash Chopra brought the real-life tension between Jaya Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha alive on screen on the lines of a story that almost mimicked their real-life romantic mess. Call it the charm of Rekha-Amitabh pairing or the satisfaction of seeing something that could never possibly happen in real life, but most fans wanted Chandni and Amit to end up together in the film even at the cost of cheating their loving and respecting partners.

Lunchbox

Well, this one is surely tricky. Yes, the affair is shown in a very subtle, innocent and poignant fashion, but it is one extra-marital affair we so wished could reach its conclusion.

Murder

Not just glorification, but the steaming hot chemistry between Mallika and Emraan in the film made extra-marital affairs look extremely alluring. While the climax eventually somewhat justifies their decision, but be honest, we root for Mallika and Emraan way before we could guess the climax and Ashmit’s character was a perfectly decent, if a little aloof, husband.

Tanu Weds Manu Returns

It is not easy to sympathize or even understand a character like Tanuja Trivedi. She is volatile, self –absorbed and irresponsible. It is for the same reason that we adore Manu when he decides to accept her the way she is. But then when Datto’s character comes into the picture, we are immediately made to root for Manu and Datto, at the cost of Tanu’s suffering. In fact, we even somehow revel in the misery of Tanu and see it as a form of atonement for her whimsical behavior. In fact, not just Datto, but a small part of us also probably wants Raja Awasthi and Tanu ending up together, because frankly, he is one of the most wronged characters in the film.