Readers Write In #839: Dosti Unlimited: Why Friendships are the Heartbeat of Bollywood

By Pranav Jain

Pranav Jain is an incoming civil servant and also a columnist.

Yaaron, dosti badi hi haseen hai, yeh na ho toh kya phir bolo yeh zindagi hai? Koyi toh ho raazdaar, be-gharaz tera ho yaar, koyi toh ho raazdaar… – KK

Bollywood, more than almost any other international or regional cinematic tradition, has had a penchant for immortalizing friendship, taking what is, at its core, ordinary human affection, and turning it into something cinematic and eternal. In the world of Hindi films, friendship is the heartbeat that quietly drives the engine of countless films, the invisible scaffold upon which plots soar and hearts break. Friends are often the co-pilots and anchors of the story.

Consider Sholay’s Jai and Veeru, whose camaraderie radiates off the celluloid. They ride into the dusty plains on motorbikes. Their banter is effortless, yet infused with loyalty that borders on the mythic. Who can forget that scene, equal parts hilarious and affectionate, between Jai and Mausi on Veeru’s proposal to marry Basanti? Or when Veeru comes to know the reality of Jai’s coin? The audience knows, even before the script makes it explicit, that this bond is non-negotiable. And herein lay Sholay’s genius: the friendship between Jai and Veeru was not accidentally borne out of similar criminalogenic circumstances, but was forged in fire and always portrayed as aspirational and unshakable.

Fast-forward to the 2000s, and the sentimentality does not wane. Films like Dil Chahta Hai reinvented friendship for the modern urban milieu, while still clinging to the ancient pulse of loyalty and emotional transparency. Here, the trio of Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Akshaye Khanna navigate urban angst, unspoken regrets, romantic misfires, and  existential drift, but their bond remains a compass. They fight, they even drift apart, but the emotional resonance of their friendship keeps audiences invested. Similarly, in Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., friendship humanizes a gangster narrative, with Circuit’s loyalty giving Munna both companionship and ethical grounding. In 3 Idiots, Farhan, Raju, and Rancho traverse the pressures of the educational system together, their friendship becoming a symbol in itself. Even Chhichhore reminds us that triumphs and failures, however solitary they may seem, are always softened and made sweeter because friends were there to share them.

Yet, friendship in Bollywood is also sacrosanct in ways that flirt with tradition. Sacrifice is not optional; it is a measure of its authenticity. In films across decades, friends give up vanity to preserve the bond. From Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’s fun and frolic of unrequited love to Rock On!!’s emotionally fraught estrangement, these stories are invitations to recognize the extraordinary within the ordinary. These portrayals were morally instructive, offering viewers a subtle syllabus on loyalty and empathy.

Bollywood has, however, historically been a male-dominated space when it comes to friendship. The bromance is cinematic canon. Yet, recent films demonstrate a gentle, evolving inclusivity: Dear Zindagi celebrated unconventional bonds, the mentor as the friend, while the brash Veere Di Wedding offered a bubblegum, Friends-inspired version of female friendships.  

Songs – oh, the songs – cement friendships deep into the marrow of memories. The exuberant ‘Yeh Dosti Hum Nahi Todenge’, the playful ‘Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe’, the mildly melancholic ‘Tera Yaar Hoon Main’, and the naughtily playful ‘Senorita’ amplify, immortalize, and consecrate friendship.

Ultimately, the magic of Bollywood friendships lies not in perfection, but in intensity. They are exaggerated, somewhat implausible, and occasionally melodramatic, but always heartfelt. When one watches such movies, one cannot help but recollect their own first friendships – the laughter, the petty betrayals, the consolations, and the midnight conferences.