Over the years, Bollywood has given us several romantic films that taught us what an ideal couple looks like. But Hindi cinema has also given us notes on what not to do in a healthy relationship— may it be cheating on one’s partner or domestic violence. So today on Couples Day, let’s revisit Bollywood films that introduced us to toxic couples who set goals of what not to do:
Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba (2024)
As actors, Taapsee Pannu and Vikrant Massey were incredibly versatile as Rani and Rishu. One cheats and the other turns into a sadist. Eventually, they find love in one another. Well, in real life, the two characters could have easily passed off as red flags. Don’t even get us started on Sunny Kaushal aka Abhimanyu’s psychopathic personality
Animal (2023)
Ranbir Kapoor delivered one of his most powerful and impactful performances as Ranvijay, dropping jaws with his ‘alpha-male’ persona. But the film was also trolled for glorifying toxic masculinity and misogyny. The worst was how he treated his wife Geetanjali, played by Rashmika Mandanna. May it be cheating on her, no matter what his ‘intention’ was, or continuously pulling at her bra strap to hurt her. No way bro
Darlings (2022)
Watching Badrunissa aka Badru, played by Alia Bhatt, getting revenge from her wife-beating alcoholic husband Hamza aka Vijay Varma was delightful! But that’s not how things work in real life. So if you see similar signals of abuse in a relationship, stop thinking that you can change them and just leave
Gehraiyaan (2022)
This Shakun Batra directorial gave us not one but two toxic relationships to learn from. Deepika Padukone’s character was in an unhappy relationship with Dhairya Karwa’s character. But things took a weird turn when she found herself in an intimate relationship with her onscreen cousin Ananya Panday’s fiance played by Siddhant Chaturvedi. If you are disappointed with your boyfriend, don’t cheat on him with your cousin’s fiance. If he’s kissing you while being engaged to your cousin, he’s a major red flag anyway
Kabir Singh (2019)
Saved the best for last. Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani’s onscreen chemistry was adorable. But there were a few scenes that were just unacceptable to the audience, the same way some things are not acceptable in a relationship. A good example of both is the moment when Kabir Singh slapped Preeti. Kiara’s character adjusted to Kabir’s overbearing personality. But it’s not always the only option, no matter how much in love a person is
If you and your partner hope to be an ideal couple in a healthy relationship, take notes from these toxic onscreen pairs! Thank us later.