Bollywood Romanticized 7 Times The Man-Child Relationship
Every couple of years, we see a Bollywood film with a male lead who needs to mature, and unfortunately, only his love interest (who conveniently falls into the manic pixie dream girl trope) can help him do so. Yes, we’re talking about the man-child trope, the guy who is stuck in his adolescence well into his twenties, thirties, and even forties and is, as a result, a selfish jerk to those around him.
However, Bollywood has done an excellent job of romanticising the man-child and making it appear as normal as possible for an adult to be emotionally stunted. This is why we’ve compiled a list of every instance of this happening. Take a look at what we’re talking about here.
1. Hum Tum, Karan Kapoor
Karan Kapoor (Saif Ali Khan) was afraid of commitment, as are most man-child characters. His emotional intelligence only developed after meeting Rhea (Rani Mukherji), and it took years to fully develop. However, his lack of maturity was portrayed as harmless and appealing.
It was as if we were being told that wasting years of our lives waiting for someone to mature is acceptable if it means having a love story like Rhea and Karan. What, exactly?

2. Wake Up Siddharth Mehra
Is anyone surprised that Sid (Ranbir Kapoor) made the list? Sid struggled with responsibility and comprehending the magnitude of his privilege. And it took a few hard knocks for him to realise that life isn’t all fun and games and that we all have to contribute in some way. Nonetheless, his childish behaviour was sold to us as “cute” and entertaining. In the real world, Aisha (Konkona Sen Sharma) would have left him as soon as she saw how he was as a flatmate.
Raghu and Shuddh Desi Romance
Raghu’s (Sushant Singh Rajput) lack of commitment was disguised as his sense of adventure and fun personality. Bollywood romanticised Raghu by portraying his lack of decisiveness as a human flaw rather than a refusal to accept responsibility.
4. Salaam Namaste, Nikhil Arora
Nikhil’s (Saif Ali Khan) reaction to Ambar’s (Preity Zinta) pregnancy was most likely a reflection of his man-child nature. However, the “No Fart Zone” poster on his room’s door was a clear indication that he simply wasn’t ready to grow up. Unfortunately, his ego issues and a lack of compassion and empathy were portrayed as exciting and spontaneous, rather than calling it what it was: callousness.
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