Many of us who grew up in the 1990s learned about love and romance by watching Hindi movies from that decade. I remember enjoying Biwi No 1 and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and watching it frequently.
Thankfully, when I grew up I realised how problematic most Bollywood movies made in the decade were. The makers from the era loved glorifying stalkers and found infidelity funny! Don’t believe us? We’ve rounded up a list of the most toxic plots that every movie from the 90s followed. Get ready to feel the cringe!
Creepy Hero
Take any movie from the 90s and you’d realise that consent was a foreign concept for the makers. Most of the movies feature a hero that forces the heroine to be with him and eventually manages to win her over. Take Anil Kapoor’s Benaam Badsha for instance. The cringe-worthy plot is about a man who rapes a woman on her wedding day and then plays hard to get as the woman keeps chasing him to marry her. What even? RIP common sense!
Surprise Engagement Party
How do you get married to someone in an arranged marriage setting? You meet the person, get to know them, and then decide, right? Wrong! In most 90s Bollywood movies, the daddy dearest plans a lavish birthday party for his kid only to announce their surprise engagement party! Remember when Sahil’s dad announced his son’s engagement at his birthday party to Sheetal in Gupt? So not cool, Bollywood!
Cheating Husbands
We tried to understand Bollywood’s obsession with infidelity in the 90s but failed! Why did movies from the 90s glorify cheating husbands again? Take Biwi No 1 for example. Prem cheats on his loving wife and leaves his home for his mistress Rupali. Instead of divorcing her husband, she sets out to win him back by dressing up in skimpy outfits. Self-respect, where are you?
Stalking The Heroine
‘Falling in love’ with a woman on the street, creepily following her around, and stalking her is no biggie for our heroes from 90s movies. We’re sure you don’t need us to remind you of Rahul from Darr desperately saying, “Tu haan kar ya na kar, tu hai meri Kiran.” Clearly, Rahul wasn’t aware of the term consent!
Fooling Women
Whether it’s lying about their profession (Coolie No. 1) or pretending to be handicapped to get sympathy (Haseena Maan Jayegi)— our heros from the 90s love to fool the women they allegedly love. It’s not alright to pretend to be someone else in order to make your crush fall for you. It’s called catfishing and it is a criminal offence.
These movies from the 1990s prove that Bollywood has come a long way but well, the movies of today come with their own set of problems. But, we’ll save that for another day.
Featured Image: Youtube
