Move over Raj-Simran,Ram-Leela are the new age raunchy lovers of Bollywood

He did so in the swimming pool where he declares,“Shit! I love her.” In 1994 the most empowering thing about this romantic sequence was the fact that a leading man had said “Shit” on screen.

Now meet Ram and Leela. He espies her in a Holi melee; she too is magnetically drawn to him. Theirs is an all guns blazing attraction. In a wordless yet fully loaded exchange,he points a water gun at her but she has the real deal. It’s love and lust at first sight. How do they confess? Well,they kiss. Like lovers. And the song goes ‘Lahu muh lag gaya.’

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ram-Leela take over the naughty and virginal territory of Prem-Nisha and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge’s Raj-Simran. The change was in the air. Ishaqzaade’s Zoya-Parma and Raghu-Gayatri of Shuddh Desi Romance also walked the same line of love n’ lust but Bhansali’s Ram-Leela emerge as the poster couple of The New Age Raunchy Lovers in Bollywood.

‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela’ marks a distinctive paradigm shift in how lovers in our love stories talk and behave.

This is Bhansali’s most physical film till date. No towels are dropped,no ‘diyas’ are forever lit to signify burning desire. In his latest film,Bhansali goes all out to raunchy-fy Hindi film’s lovers.

The hero is superbly objectified in ‘Tattad tattad’,the girl unabashedly talks of doing it “first time” with her lover. In an impactful sequence after the star crossed lovers elope,he is fretting that the bed might be too hard for her,she says,”Bistar chubhega toh tere upar so loongi.” It’s carnal,raw,pulsating. No apologies.

Our films are growing up. ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela’ is a cool reminder how different filmmaking worlds can collide and create something refreshing. The impact of Anurag Kashyap,Tigmanshu Dhulia,Vishal Bhardwaj — their world,their women,their subtexts — can be seen in Bhansali’s latest.

The film gives a new term of endearment for young lovers. The three little magical words are no longer just ‘I love you’ but ‘Let’s get naked.’

harneet.singh@expressindia.com