The sole purpose of films is for you to be drawn to them, indulge in them and make it a part of your life. If a film succeeds in doing so, then that is what turns out to be a succesfful film. Films are to have characters that are larger than life and yet have an identifiable quality to them.
Some of my unforgettable Bollywood characters are those which I have felt like I have almost met them or interacted with them at some point of time.
The first among them being of course Raj from QSQT. Aamir Khan’s first commercial film. Raj was a good-looking guy, decent, cute, lovable ... all the qualities one wanted in a boy friend. And most of us are still looking for ....
Anjali from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is another memorable character.. for the simple reason that besides being a heroine in the true sense she was also very humane - very close to a normal person. A plain, simple girl-next-door falls in love with her best friend - cant express her love and when she realizes that he is in love with someone else.. she walks away from his life. And then the duckling transforms into a swan. Every girl’s dream..... Kajol excelled as an actress.
Rahul from Yes Boss is another one of my favourites. Shah Rukh has always done great justice when he has played a simple guy next door. And his character in Yes Boss was as simple as it can get. An ambitious soul with small dreams .. but one who could go to any extent to make them come true. But yet Rahul had an innocent quality to him. His love was pure and he was ready to sacrifice his dream for his love. Rahul is as real to a middle-class guy as depicted in films.
Salman Khan in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. There is an irresistible quality about losers in love. They evoke sympathy to no extent. And that is precisely what Salman managed to do with his portrayl in HDDCS. While he is cute and funny (in typical Salman way) in the first half of the film; the second half has your heart almost bleeding for him. Like they say when a man truly loves - he loves for life....
Another similar character that comes to mind is Kamal Haasan from Sagar. He loves his childhood friend but never really admits to her. And then when she falls in love with someone else he has no choice but sacrifice his love. A rich dude gets the girl and Kamal Haasan is left to tears. The one scene where he almost tells her and then has tears in his eyes and hides them is brilliant.