The unexpected return of the Bollywood romantic drama

Instead, I was there for the opening of Saiyaara, a simple musical romance. That day, the theatre was overflowing with teens and young adults.

When the theatre lights went down, the debut performances by Aneet Padda and Ahaan Panday delivered a rare emotional punch, mixing intense laughter with moments that brought the audience to tears.

“Where do they make boys like him these days?” murmured one teenage viewer to her neighbour in the dark, as Krish Kapoor (played by Panday) professes his love to Vaani Batra (Padda) on the big screen.

This emotional resonance brought me back to my own youth, specifically to the simple charm of Surinder Sahni in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) and the consuming, tragic passion of Rahul Jaykar (played by Aditya Roy Kapur) in Aashiqui 2 (2013). In those years, the Bollywood box office was almost entirely driven by the popularity of romantic dramas.

Clearly, I was not alone. For days afterward, social media platforms were flooded with content—short videos, detailed posts, and argumentative threads—all celebrating or critically dissecting Saiyaara.

This reaction came as a surprise to industry professionals—distributors, exhibitors, and filmmakers. They had nearly concluded that the straightforward romantic film was no longer a profitable venture in modern Hindi cinema.

“No one was expecting the kind of response from the movie. But since so many people were lining up, the number of screens and shows were increased,” Sankalp Sadanah, who penned Saiyaara’s story, told Mint.

The film’s record-breaking ticket sales of ₹20 crore on the first day at the Indian box office led to screen space increasing to 3,800 in the second week from 2,225 screens in the first week, Yash Raj Films, Saaiyara’s Mumbai-based production house, said in an email response.

Then there was Maddock Films’ Param Sundari, another romantic film, that released on 29 August. It has collected ₹36.92 crore in its first week on a reported ₹40-60 crore spend, according to Box Office India, a website publishing trade data, on the back of tickets being bought by the Gen-Z.

The opening weekends of these two films fared better than many recent mega-budget, multi-starrer, and action-dramas, challenging the assumption that only big-budget spectacles could draw crowds. It also debunked the assumption that India’s Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the world’s largest young population with over 350 million people under 25, were irrevocably digital-first, preferring streaming platforms over brick and mortar cinema theatres.

The pipeline

Nonetheless, the magic fell short in many cases. Subsequent romantic releases, Dharma Production’s Dhadak 2 and Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, collectively grossed less than ₹100 crore in their first week. Even the early momentum of Param Sundari couldn’t be sustained, winding down its three-week theatrical run with a total of only ₹47.61 crore.

But that has not stopped Hindi filmmakers and studios from looking out for romance scripts, said half a dozen writers Mint spoke with. More love stories are therefore expected to enter the commercial movie pipeline, releasing between 2026 and 2027.

Dharma Productions has commenced work on two of them—Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri and Chand Mera Dil. T-Series’ Tere Ishk Mein, which has actors Dhanush and Kriti Sanon in lead, is expected to release in November.

A cycle

India’s tryst with making pure play love stories isn’t new—it hurls back to the 1970s.

Aparna Ramachandran, head of digital content at Balaji Telefilms, offered a sense of this historical perspective. “This is a cyclical event because love stories are staple and classic,” she stated.

Staple love stories that worked propelled careers.

Raj Kapoor-directed Bobby (1973), for instance, kick-started Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia’s Hindi film careers; Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) made Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla famous; Maine Pyaar Kiya (1989) marked the beginning of Salman Khan’s superstardom. Romantic-drama Dil was the highest grossing film of 1990, along with Mahesh Bhatt-directed Aashiqui, which brought Anu Aggarwal and Rahul Roy to the limelight. In 1995, Yash Raj Films’ Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, made the lead pair popular among Indian diaspora in Western countries.

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These landmark films often followed a formula that moved Bollywood away from the family dramas and action films of the 1980s.

“A classic love story is one where the movie’s main conflict and resolution revolve around a couple’s romantic relationship,” said Rohan Ghuge, a screenplay writer, who wrote romantic-comedy Luka Chuppi, and the dialogues for Saiyaara.

Apart from an engaging story, a typical Bollywood romance also features captivating soundtracks.

“Songs definitely play an important role for me when watching a movie,” said Mayank Singh, a 24-year-old business developer based in Bengaluru. “One of the reasons to watch Zara Hatke Zara Bachke was because I liked the song Tere Vaaste,” Singh added.

Jio Studio-backed Zara Hatke Zara Bachke (2023), centred around a married couple trying to buy a house, grossed ₹71.66 crore in the domestic market, according to Box Office India.

Saiyaara’s soundtrack was no exception. Its six original songs topped most audio streaming charts; millions of streams and short-video creations across social media platforms fuelled the pre-release hype and subsequent theatrical footfall.

The decade of action

For almost 10 years, the Hindi film industry struggled to produce a romantic musical that achieved major commercial success. The last noteworthy hit centered on a couple’s love story—Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017).

The Hindi film industry has struggled to produce a major hit romantic musical for almost 10 years, with the last noteworthy success being Badrinath Ki Dulhania.

During this period, biographical dramas like Sanju (2018), action thrillers such as War (2019), and historical epics like Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2020) dominated the box office. Following the covid-19 lockdowns, the focus shifted even more toward large-scale, star-driven action franchises.

Despite several big-budget disappointments, Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan and Jawan managed to rule the box office in 2023.

Globally, the trend of big-budget, superhero, and action movies took root after Avengers: Endgame (2019) grossed $2.79 billion worldwide, including $62 million in India. This pushed major Indian production studios like Yash Raj Films to develop their own shared cinematic universes, such as the YRF Spy Universe and the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe.

This relentless pursuit of blockbuster profits led to the neglect of softer genres like romance. “For most of the past decade, we sidelined the softer genres because our resources and creative energy were directed toward action projects, which usually have big budgets,” explained screenwriter Sameer Mishra, who wrote Physicswallah for Amazon Prime Video, among other shows.

However, films are a risky business, and many of these big-budget projects became financial “bombs”, leading to crises and shelved projects.

But Saiyaara’s box office success has changed the conversation on budgets and casting. “Today, one cannot bet too much just on the star cast. They could pull in an audience but people are willing to pay to watch even fresh faces provided the content is good,” said Ashish Pandey, head, content programming and strategic initiatives, Cineline India Ltd, which runs multiplex chain Moviemax.

Romantic dramas can be produced on relatively modest budgets—anywhere between ₹10 crore and ₹50 crore—depending on the cast. In contrast, action and superhero films require much larger investments. To be sure, Saiyaara was made on a budget of ₹60 crore, due to marketing and distribution being handled by Yash Raj Film’s in-house verticals.

The story nobody believes

Apart from casting diversification, screenwriters are being approached by studios to offer romantic, romcom or romantic-drama scripts. Yash Raj Films had approached director Mohit Suri for a love story script about two years before Saiyaara’s release, said screenwriter Sankalp Sadanah.

Yash Raj Films did not respond to Mint’s request for an interaction with Akshaye Widhani, the company’s chief executive officer.

But some film watchers sense a struggle—Bollywood, they say, probably still doesn’t understand GenZ and Gen Alpha relationships very well.

“Love stories made in Hindi are still very old school. Most people in our generation are meeting through dating apps,” said Mayank Singh. There is barely any portrayal of the digital influence on life, he added.

While many youngsters want to experience love, they also want characters that resonate with reality, the 24-year-old further added. Moreover, the industry’s failure to reflect the diversity of modern relationships is glaring.

“Much of the love stories in India have long served as an escape from reality, setting fantasy driven expectations,” said Natasha Nayak, film marketer and founder, Culture Shock Media. “Same-sex couples usually have a side plot; almost never the central part of a romantic premise,” she added.

To connect with the growing youth audience, Bollywood must move beyond simply choosing younger casts and following the formula we mentioned above. Production houses need to rethink their storytelling approach and portray relationships that reflect digital-age experiences, social diversity, and the everyday realities of modern life.