The Sexy Seventies

The entire philosophy of love in the seventies could be summed up in Bobby's opening lines - mujhse dosti karoge? Yes, love was out of the closet. Young girls started cavorting in leather miniskirts (never mind the thundering thighs and everything else too!). A Bobby was coy, but forward, she knew her mind but couldn't summon up enough courage to act on it. She wore miniskirts but still made pakode for tea. She was the woman of the seventies, sexy but not in-your-face. Bobby is the biggest symbol of seventies romance. There is cavorting in Kashmir but no romantic firs to support a portly hero. There was a new fresh-faced generation of Kapoors to carry the torch of romance.

Then there was the new emerging super romance of superstars. Rajesh Khanna with his smirk and unmistakably potato-shaped face was becoming a rage. His nod and wink (onscreen) could instill hysteria into an entire generation of females. There were sordid romances between the Khanna phenomenon and a certain nubile lass from Kolkata, a la Tagore. Amid splashes of cold water, romance blossomed in the hills of Darjeeling. A young flower was born but it was illegal because there was no social ceremony of marriage.

Music took the front seat. Kishore Kumar added the sparkle to this romance in the mountains by his immortal yodeling, choruses and soulful tunes. He was the king of romance and many agree that without his beautiful songs, many a screen romance would have been colorless.

A handsome young Jat was all set to storm the bastion of the chocolate heroes of the sixties. Garam Dharam had arrived. His great looks and the drainpipe trousers coupled with silk shirts started a new trend in the concept of male beauty. A certain gangly young man who could not hold a candle to Dharamendra was also being seen on and off, paired with a certain dark, voluptuous lass from down South. Dharamendra, too, was now paired with a dream girl from Madras. Couples were formed for the decade (in some cases, a score of years), the youngest being Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh. Dharamendra kept up his tryst with Hema, eventually marrying her.

The seventies decade gave birth to a new phenomenon - the angry young man. Love was temporarily relegated to the back seat. There was revenge to be taken, scores to be settled, villains to be killed and pulverized, mansions to be built, diamonds to be smuggled, before the love story could start.

Priorities had changed.

Then came Sholay, changing the entire template of the Hindi film. An angry hero, a vicious villain, a lissome lass and a plot of revenge was the new format. Love was the tertiary, by-the-way factor. Sholay brought back the macho spirit and women became even wimpier. The graceful heroines were on their way out. The seventies ended with a whole generation of fresh faces and tired emotions.