Aarcflick

 Stalking has been treated as a normal part of romance since before movies were even a thing. While Sholay is a classic, the basis of Veeru and Basanti’s romantic subplot is stalking, bordering on sexual harassment. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is considered a classic, and many idolise Raj and Simran’s relationship as the epitome of romance, but the pair came together thanks to Raj’s not-so-subtle art of stalking. Bachna Ae Haseeno repurposed this trope and attempted to make things better by having this new-age Raj apologise for his sins.  Tere Naam and Kabir Singh upended any progress Hindi cinema might have made in treating stalking and physical abuse as the cornerstones of romance. Then there were atrocities like Saawariya, Raanjhanaa, R… Rajkumar and Love Aaj Kal (2020) that defined what the glorification of problematic stereotypes actually means. Now, I assumed Bollywood had given me ample training in dealing with creepy on-screen behavior without getting frustrated. But t...