Old School Love, Revived!

By: Sanjana Gumaste
Picture source: Google Images

There was an era where love reached the person living miles away with meaningful letters poured with longing. How can anyone forget the secretive telephonic conversations with that special one? This love was even reflected in Indian cinema. The most imprinted memory is the song ‘Kabutar Ja Ja’ from ‘Maine Pyar Kiya‘, where it is shown that Suman has written a letter to Prem and asks her pigeon to send her token of love to him. This letter is what makes this song so memorable to hum to even today. 

We saw over the years that the kind of cinema produced and content has changed. Today, it is the time where biopics are made on famous personalities of history who contributed a lot to fight for our country celebrating their valour. When it comes to other genres, we see the genre called romantic comedies which are enjoyed by a large audience. If we talk about love stories, we see how a girl and boy met and how they proceed in their relationship fighting all the obstacles coming in their way.

But don’t you think the magic of letters, telephones and little gifts is still missing? Don’t you think love stories where letters and telephones are prime should be revived? 

Well, to add a dash of innocence and excitement of old school style, there was a web series that was released in the year 2016, which is a queer love story set in 90’s called ‘The Other Love Story‘.  It is about two girls, Aadya and Aanchal, who happen to meet each other one sunny morning. Aanchal strikes a conversation while Aadya responds vaguely, feeling lost. At the end of the conversation, Aanchal asks a reluctant Aadya for her telephone number, who gives it to her. They talk for just a minute.

Days pass, they meet more often, they secretly to talk to each other on the telephone when home. Aanchal feels shy at times, giving it a typical touch of an innocent, blooming, love story. Their story returns to the high school charm, where Aadya writes in Aanchal’s notebook so that she can read it, while both exchange cards and love letters. 

From exchanging letters and numbers to giving their heart to each other, this show not only highlights the important issue of negligence and stigma surrounding LGBTQ communities but also revives the old-style of love stories.

This series is a complete package of love, of a time where letters were considered as the road to starting a romantic relationship, and most importantly awareness. 

To read more such pieces, check out The Impression.