Old school romance to right swipe culture: GenZ revisits Shah Rukh Khan’s Mohabbatein 25 years later

1. An emotion in every frame

It has been a long time since I saw a film that showcases an emotion in each and every frame. There was something almost poetic about all the dialogues of Mohabbatein — from Amitabh aka Narayan Shankar laying down Gurukul’s rules to Shah Rukh aka Raj Aryan rebelling him. Even the songs, uniform and campus visuals turned up the emotional value.

Compared to now, when everything feels half-hearted, shallow and empty, be it reel or real life. The focus has shifted towards being your own person and complicating relationships with new-age terms, instead of being selfless and giving for a special someone. The three student trios showed the difference between instant love and patient passion in a beautiful way.

2. True love realisation

A still from Mohabbatein

It’s not unfair when millennials and boomers taunt GenZs for getting entangled in between situationships so badly, that the realisation of true love vanishes somewhere. Watching Mohabbatein opened new gates to the meaning of true love and what it actually meant in that era. It’s sad that films like Loveyapa and Nadaniyaan are leading the way for today’s youth to define what this pure feeling is. While these movies aimed to showcase the reality of this generation’s mindset, the impact looks somewhat negative, promoting the materialistic, time-forward thought process.

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3. Same core

Even while drawing parallels between Mohabbatein’s old-school love and how GenZ approaches romance, I realised that the core remains the same, despite their different takes on it. In this, Narayan Shankar abides strongly by tradition, legacy and control – ‘Parampara, Pratishtha, Anushasan’ is his mantra, and Raj challenges it. Gen Z also faces its own version of that – parental expectations vs personal aspirations, societal limitations vs individualism. The film, with its melodrama, shows that clash in a different way, yet the core is similar. Love as rebellion isn’t dead (yet).

4. Music playlist power

A still from Mohabbatein

Mohabbatein’s music by Jatin-Lalit unexpectedly appealed to me. For GenZ listeners, the soundtrack added value and depth to the feelings of all the characters. Watching a love story of another generation’s youth with ‘Aankhein Khuli’, ‘Humko Humise Chura Lo’ and ‘Chalte Chalte’ playing in the background was refreshing after scrolling 30-second songs trending on reels.

In 2000s, college love had meaning – poems under a tree, dramatic walks and dramatic sweeping gestures, while we have seen a cinematic shift in our generation’s love – digital and materialistic romance. To all the GenZs out there, revisiting Mohabbatein wasn’t just about nostalgia, but learning how to fall in love. It raises a cultural conversation – the beauty of rigid discipline of the older generation, while giving warmth and solace.