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Infidelity: Bollywood's favourite plot

Boy meets girl. They like each other. In no time, infatuation kicks in. They get married. Time passes, infatuation wears off. What is now left is a hollow commitment of a lifetime.

In India's popular culture (moreover, worldwide), marriages are looked upon as a social obligation. Time and again, we've questioned monogamy and fantasised about polygamy. Take for example, in 2006 film Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Dev (Shahrukh Khan) and Maya (Rani Mukerji) realise that there's nothing left in their marriages (not even scope for reconciliation) and find solace in each other.

But does that mean the film industry as a whole doesn't believe in marriage? Definitely, no! The same director (of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, i.e, Karan Johar) has directed numerous dreamy love stories. Films constantly glorify the couples that have stood the test of time. The 2018 blockbuster Badhaai Ho is a sweet tale where Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao's characters love each with all commitment and are ready to stand against the world for each other. After decades of marriage, there isn't the same immature love existing. It's fine and textured now and believes in space and comfort. There is a constant dependence and mutual existence.

Extramarital affairs are a complex arena that needs to be assessed and displayed with maturity and sincerity. No matter which school of thought you come from, certain established morals shall govern your content. Using infidelity as a tool to twist the story spoils its essence. Films like Badla fail to employ it convincingly.

Dibakar Banerjee's story in Netflix Film Lust Stories was a fine and nuanced take on infidelity. It upheld the thought that sometime two people get emotionally detached and there's a void which gets filled by an outsider.

The industry should ponder over their usage of this concept. Rhea (Preity Zinta) in the climax of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna says to Maya (Rani Mukerji), "Hamare beech fasla toh bahut pehle aagya tha par tumhe beech mein Nahi aana Chahiye tha".

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