From Dil Chahta Hai to Prem Keetanu, How Bollywood’s Campus Film Has Changed With Every Generation
From Dil Chahta Hai to Prem Keetanu, How Bollywood’s Campus Film Has Changed With Every Generation
There was a time when a college film in Hindi cinema was not just about college. The campus was a backdrop for friendship, first love, ambition, rebellion, failure and the peculiar freedom of being young. Over two decades, Bollywood has kept returning to that world, but each generation has brought its own idea of what being a student means.
Dil Chahta Hai (2001) changed the grammar of buddy movies, practically creating a genre. Farhan Akhtar’s film was ostensibly about three friends, but its real subject was growing up. College was a space where friendships were forged before life pulled people in different directions. The film made male friendship aspirational without making it sentime...
