by Subhash K Jha
Amitabh Bachchan: "My favourite romantic film is Guru Dutt's Kaagaz Ke Phool...for no one particular reason."

Hrithik Roshan: "Nick Cassavetes' The Notebook is my all-time favourite romantic film, though not as good as the book. Then there's Titanic —the best romantic film ever made. My favourites in Hindi are Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas, Sooraj Barjatya's Maine Pyar Kiya, SLB's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Karan Johar's Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and my own Koi...Mil Gaya. It was the cutest one, and had these really sweet moments between a mentally challenged boy and a city girl."

Rani Mukherjee: "I love Titanic because the love in the movie was pure, real, passionate and unconditional...the way the love story culminated in catastrophe was phenomenal ...I love DDLJ and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai for being so pure and yet so believable for us youngsters..You want a character like Raj to sweep you off your feet and go to any lengths for love and then stand by the girl's family and their dignity. I love Black for being such a sublime love story between and a teacher and his student. It was a love much beyond the ordinary. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak —I was in school when I fell in love with the Aamir-Juhi pair. It was my first experience of first-love on screen.

Vikram Bhatt: "Favourite romantic films? Mughal-e-Azam for sure...It's an epic love tale....to be able to put everything at stake for love is a quality we all wish to have and really admire it when it's seen on screen. Qayamat se Qayamat Tak ...the best adaptation of Romeo & Juliet...love between two inncocent people from warring families spells doom for their togetherness. But they enjoy whatever time they have together. Gadar: great romantic drama.

Farah Khan: "My favourite romantic films are Bobby, Love Story and Ek Duuje Ke Liye...great music, unusual settings and watchable even today. And in all three the lead pair was new. They shared a great chemistry."

Dino Morea: "The ultimate romantic films for me are Notting Hill, Pretty Woman, Ghost and Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin."

Ekta Kapoor: "It will have to be Maine Pyar Kiya and Love Story, not the Hindi, the English one."

Ashutosh Gowariker: "Ah....Bobby for its endearing characters, specially the two fathers played by Premnath and Pran, high romance quotient between Rishi Kapoor and Dimpler Kapadia, superb cameos by Durga Khote and Prem Chopra. Perfect representation of the rich-poor divide, and a narrative that holds together even today, Bobby is a major classic for me."

Konkona Sen-Sharma: "Happy Together, Too Young To Die, Jules Et Jim and Smiles Of A Summer Night...There must be many more."

Sameera Reddy: "I love Splash because love has no boundaries, Il Postino because it's Pablo Neruda's poetry set in Italy, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam because it evokes the feeling of true love and Pakeezah because it evokes nostalgic love."

Rakeysh Mehra: "Truly romantic films? Bimal Roy's Devdas, Casablanca, The English Patient, Guide, Ek Duuje Ke Liye, Mughal-e-Azam, Kidar Sharma's Jogan and in some ways, Pyaasa."

Riteish Deshmukh: " DDLJ—it evoked a desire to fall in love, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai—it displayed a maturity in dealing with love(the scene betweek Shah Rukh and Kajol when they meet after eight years was superb), and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam—it said love was far superior when you put your loved one's feelings before your own own."

Adnan Sami: "Mughal-e-Azam, Pakeezah, Devdas( both the Bimal Roy and Sanjay Bhansali versions) and Umrao Jaan"

Rituparno Ghosh: "Teesri Kasam —because it showed a romance between two people who are oblivious of their feelings for one another, Guide—it reflected director Vijay Anand's maturity in dealing with the man-woman relationship, Charulata—Satyajit Ray's most acutely romantic film, Kaagaz Ke Phool —Guru Dutt on why he died pyaasa, Pakeezah—the Fallen Woman's search for true love, Hazaaron Khawishein Aisi –it opened up wounds that even love wouldn't heal, Roman Holiday—Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck were like Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman in Guide without the songs.

Nikhil Advani: "Guide—truly tragic! Godard's A Bout De Souffle—a superb story about unrequited love...Woody Allen's Annie Hall —funny, mad, eccentric..I think Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan in Sholay were silently and intensely romantic....When Harry Met Sally—modern and urbane take on love...Ye Tu Mama Tambien —great road movie with hidden love story.

Madhur Bhandarkar: Ek Duuje Ke Liye : the bold theme of a romance across regional barriers is just the kind of thing I'd like to attempt. K. Balachander's direction and Laxmikant-Pyarelal's music were amazing. Then there was Mr Kamal Haasan in his Hindi debut. He made a perfect pair with Rati Agnihotri."

Bipasha Basu: Ghost...I like the theme of eternal love beyond the living, Arthur Hiller's Love Story showcases the strength of love...DDLJ because it's just simply so romantic and makes you feel happy and good about falling in love.

Subhash Ghai: "My favourite romantic film will have to be Kuch Kuch Hota Hai...a daughter's search for her father's lost love...It was told brilliantly by Karan Johar who's my favourite filmmaker from the 1990s.

Mahesh Bhatt: "It has to be David Lean's Dr Zhivago. It's an intimate tale of forbidden love set against the backdrop of a country at war...a passionate movie about passionate people during passionate times...a film that refuses to wither with time."

Aftab Shivdasani: "Silsila, of course...Because of the incredible chemistry between the principal characters....DDLJ because of the magical chemistry between Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol and the director's sensitivity in capturing that chemistry.

Smriti Irani: DDLJ ...an all-time favourite...amazing romantic moments great star-cast and lovely songs."

Raveena Tandon: "I loved the taming-of-the-shrew angle in Betaab ...then my dad(Ravi Tandon)'s film Khel Khel Mein which was full of youthful energy and super-music ...Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Aandhi and Hero for their haunting music. And Ek Duuje Ke Liye in which I could feel the couple's pain.

Vidya Balan: "My favourite romantic films? DDLJ, Dil Se and One Fine Day."

Priyanka Chopra: "Oh there're too many to pick from! DDLJ, Maine Pyar Kiya, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Casablanca and Jerry Maguire. I remember every dialogue from these films."

Ram Gopal Varma: "I've no favourite romantic films. I don't like romantic films.