Il postino: “Poetry doesn’t belong to those who write it, but those who need it….” Is there anyone who’s been in love and hasn’t felt this way, robbed of words, robbed of courage, knowing the wrong words would make that world you made up inside your head come crashing down? This 1994 movie tells the story of a postman in an Italian village who befriends Pablo Neruda, not knowing who he is. He falls in love with a girl in the village and enlists Neruda’s help and stolen poetry to get over his shyness. The film captures the vulnerability of an unsure lover and breaks your heart in the gentlest possible way.

You’ve got mail: They’re business rivals in the real world, pals in the virtual world. Hatred leads to a budding romance but she’s in love with this unknown Internet guy. We can’t hold back our tears when she learns in the end that Joe Fox and NY152 are the same person. “I so wanted it to be you,” Meg Ryan tells Tom Hanks. Awww!

qayamat se qayamat tak: The fresh out-of-college romance, rebelling against the family for the sake of “true love” felt so right when we watched Aamir Khan’s first film. That two people can give up their lives for each other might seem OTT now, but made QSQT such a moving watch back then. Even today, the Juhi Chawla-Aamir pair seems so perfect! Ghazab ka hai din...

ek main aur ekk tu: We love how the film ends… with the boy and girl not walking hand in hand into the sunset. Realistic yet so beautiful. A fresh, smart, contemporary and simple love tale, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu stands out for the chemistry between Kareena Kapoor and Imran Khan. The film ticks all the right romance boxes… Amit Trivedi’s lilting tunes, the smart one-liners, the fun scenes.... Truly, a today’s love story.

p.s. i love you: The love between Gerry (Gerard Butler) and Holly (Hilary Swank) is as pure and pristine as the scenic beauty of Ireland in which the film is set. Gerry dies but lives on in Holly’s life through his letters to her. The line that brings a lump to our throat and a smile to our lips is when Gerry tells Holly: “Don’t be afraid to fall in love again. Watch out for that signal, when life as you know it ends. P.S. I will always love you.”

(500) days of summer: Boy meets girl. Girl meets boy. Boy falls in love, the no-holds-barred kind. The girl doesn’t. Love exists. Summer does fall in love, with someone else and we see Tom fixing up a coffee date with Autumn! But love is unpredictable and cannot be put into neat little boxes. Can it be truer than that?

once: This quiet, wistful film follows an Irish singer-songwriter-busker who meets a Czech immigrant mother in Dublin. He is lovelorn, she is lonely, and both are struggling to get by on little money. As they wander through the city and play music together, they find solace in each other’s company. The film manages to capture the exhilaration of connecting with another person, mostly through songs that express their emotions.

music and lyrics: Cute guy (Hugh Grant). Cute girl (Drew Barrymore). Sweet story. Funny lines. Great music. Heart-stopping climax (okay, okay exaggeration!). What’s not to love about Music And Lyrics? It makes you laugh, it gives you that warm fuzzy feeling and it makes you want to love. Way Back Into Love.

titanic: Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) loved Rose (Kate Winslet) and he died trying to be with her. An epic love story. A devastating love story. Titanic taught us that love knew no boundaries... caste, creed or social hierarchy. It taught us to love fearlessly, love passionately. And most importantly, if you love someone strong enough, don’t let go without a fight! Till the end.

brief encounter: The heart of director David Lean’s 1945 film is the love story of two married people — suburban housewife Laura (Celia Johnson) and Dr Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard). It begins with a hurried goodbye in a railway station refreshment room. It ends with such dignity.

deya neya: This 1963 rom com starring Uttam Kumar and Tanuja in lead roles is a classic. Watch it for Uttam Kumar’s superb comic timing, Kamal Mitra as the tough dad, the evergreen melodies and the chemistry between the lead pair.

before sunrise: The film comes across as incredible and real at the same time. The way two strangers (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) on a train decide to be together for a day without carrying the baggage of before and after truly spells sublime. They talk, they roam, they smile, they kiss and they make love... only to part ways with the hope of meeting again.

chennai express: We loooove mushy love stories when they are cheeky as well, and when the lovers are total wackos like Rahul and Meenamma in Chennai Express. A total love+laugh riot for us.

twilight: The love story is unconventional... how often do a vampire, a human and a werewolf end up falling in love? Who wouldn’t want to have a committed and protective boyfriend with supernatural powers like Edward and a passionate friend like Jacob? The Twilight films are romantic and mushy, capped off by a superb musical score. The Twilight films are an ideal watch on a rainy or winter night tucked under the blanket.

jab we met: Unlike other romantic films this one was not about walking on a bed of roses or love at first sight. Geet (Kareena Kapoor) met Aditya (Shahid Kapoor) and they hit it off as friends. Heartbreak followed, lives changed and it took close to three hours for Geet to realise that Aditya was the man for her. We the audience followed their every move and heartbeat, rooting for the Geet-Aditya romance and cheering our hearts out when they kissed in the end.

dilwale dulhania le jayenge: The image of Simran, clad in white, running through the yellow mustard fields into Raj’s outstretched arms remains etched in our minds. Perhaps Bolly’s number one romance, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge redefined romance for many, with every girl wishing for a lover like Raj and every man wanting to take a girl like Simran home to his mother. Many of us have watched DDLJ more than 20 times!

WALL.E: Wall.E breaks new ground… in animation, in visual effects, in storytelling… and in love. The unlikely yet heart-warming romance between two robots is disarmingly sweet and simple. Wall-E and Eve love each other, but their romance comes without the baggage of expectations and prejudices that cloud so many of our relationships. Wall-E isn’t the coolest robot around, but Eve’s love for him is unconditional and together they give us one of the most beautiful love stories ever witnessed on screen.

guide: Far ahead of its time, Vijay Anand’s bold take on love and marriage had a beautiful woman (played by Waheeda Rehman) walk out of a loveless marriage to be with Raju (Dev Anand), a man she’s just met. The ever-changing dynamics of their relationship and the simmering tension that accompanies their romance makes Guide a landmark in the history of Bolly romances.