Sex, violence, song or dance -- the monsoon serves multiple purposes in Hindi movies.
With the onset of the rains, it's the perfect occasion to highlight all the cool, crazy reasons Bollywood uses it as an excuse for.
Sukanya Verma highlights some filmi rainy days.
Channelling one's inner filmi keeda
When actors doff their hat at other actors, it's time to bring out those seven yards of a Sridevi-inspired saree, strike SRK's signature pose and lose oneself in Bollywood inspired monsoon, melody and romance.
Rumble in the rain
Everything is fair in love and war and rains certainly do not discriminate whether a duo is wrestling out of affection or animosity.
Bullet rain
When the choice is between a brave cop pointing a gun at the hunky crook on a sunny day or under a downpour, rain wins hands down.
Rain block
It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Bollywood's angriest young man ready to put the screws on the bad guy stuck in the middle of torrential rains.
Monsoon wedding!
Why go down the knee and propose when you can directly and dramatically place maang mein sindoor against the thundering blend of rains and rona dhona?
Muddy puddles, movie muddles
Peppa Pig isn't the only one crazy about muddy puddles. Bollywood bullies miss no opportunity to clobber the hapless hero in one.
Of tip tip and telecom industry
Phones and poor connection prompted by bad weather are the two pillars of Bollywood fuelled tragedy and melodrama. And no matter how advanced technology gets, film-makers love to exploit this problem area to the hilt.
Umbrella power of Bollywood
Rain, romance and chhatris are a match made in heaven. Here's an entire gallery of Hindi cinema's iconic umbrella imagery for your pleasure and to drive our point.
Raincoat to the rescue
Why should umbrellas have all the fun? Good old raincoats are just fine, thank you very much!
Chhatri out. Chivalry in.
No umbrella? No problem. Good old charm and chivalry can go a long way in wooing the girl next door.
Monsoon mood
Nothing screams atmospheric like the mystery of monsoon and quite a few movies have benefited by employing it as both a backdrop and character.
Love at first sight
Romance is a foregone conclusion when two people lay eyes on each other for the first time amidst a heavy downpour. Throw in a cuppa of hot chai and something has brewed guaranteed.
Dancing in the rain
If it's raining, dance seems to be an unwritten rule. It could be as hazardous as spinning around lamp posts or as slippery as jumping in a muddy puddle.
Getting up, close and personal in a cave
We've lost count of the number of filmi couples who have a special talent for finding a cave to take shelter from a rainstorm.
Making hay while it rains
Or rolling on top of a pile of hay. Regardless of what's easily available, the upshot is always the same -- hanky panky.
Fooling around on public property
Actors are known to lose their mind in the monsoon. As if the caves and muddy puddles weren't enough that they also need to engage in PDA at the expense of public property.
Stage a dharna outside the lover's house
Guilt trip the hero/heroine into submission by weathering all the tip tip coming your way until they're forced to yield and reconsider their feelings about you.
Loudly singing outside your GF's house
Dumped or dejected, the Bollywood hero doesn't waste any time in creating a scene outside the gate of her apartment.
Playing outdoor games
No deluge can dampen Bollywood's playful spirit -- football, basketball, badminton, bring it on.
Promote chiffon
Chiffon is to rain songs what Switzerland is to Yash Chopra's romances -- indispensable.
Washing machine woes
One way or another the hero or heroine's clothes will get wet and need to be dried off paving the way for sexy attire and steamy romance.
Dramatic face-off
The drama of rain is ideal for good versus bad face offs and Bollywood loves nothing more than spectacle.
Funeral scenes
Tears and raindrops go hand in hand. Bollywood truly believes death is an occasion for drama whose impact is doubled by filming against a slickly shot downpour.
Symbolism
What better way to highlight a person's loneliness than let the drench to the bone in a crowd of umbrella-wielding passers-by.
Spooky entries
Thunder, lightning, downpour, black cat, car breaking down, woman in white, brr.
