John Abraham gets a twinkle in his own bright peepers when he talks about his fave romantic song. “There’s something very lovely about the song ‘Pehla nasha…’ in which Aamir celebrates the beginning of love. It has a wonderful dreamy quality to it.” Then he swings to the other extreme, choosing the film which he believes depicted love beautifully - JISM. “Yes, it’s my own film but I have to say that everything about it was so perfect it made me fall in love (winks)! Then there’s also Udita and me in PAAP. And of course, the most sensuous scene of them all - Abhishek and me in DOSTANA!” This hottie loves being naughty - or what that the undiluted truth?! The kind of women and romantic scenes that trigger Akshay Kumar’s imagination are not to be found in today’s cinema. “They exist only in the past, in films that I watched and loved as a child,” he smiles. He still finds the concept of a woman wearing a ‘ghunghat’ utterly appealing, the bride carrying in a glass of milk for her groom, coy and charming. “The most poignant moment is the one in KABHI KABHIE where Rakhee has to sing the same song to her husband Shashi Kapoor on their ‘suhaag raat’ which her lover Amitabh Bachchan had previously sung to her while they were courting. It’s beautifully tragic,” he says. Both lightness and depth, are what Katrina Kaif savours. So, if she is partial to QAYAMAT SE QAYAMAT TAK for its “truly romantic” quality, she is also fascinated by Guru Dutt’s PYAASA “simply because it has so many facets of human emotions attached to it. It is amazing how simple it looks on screen and yet it speaks on so many levels,” she enthuses. Finding himself drawn to the vintage as well, is Karan Johar. “I find myself hearing so much old Hindi film music these days. There are some songs that are just my favourites. ‘Lag ja gale ke phir yeh haseen rat ho na ho...’ from WOH KAUN THI is my most favourite. I think it's just so sensuous. It does something to me every time I hear it. Similarly, ‘Mera kuch saamaan tumhare paas pada hai...’ from IJAAZAT is just a genius piece of work. I don’t know what to say… It's such an immensely beautiful song about heartbreak and emotional baggage and love. There’s a line in that song… ‘Ek sau solah chand ki raatein ek tumhare kandhe ka til’. It’s so beautiful! I mean, that’s love. That’s just pure love. I don’t know when we had a song like that.” The celebrated Raj Kapoor-Nargis pairing strikes a similar cord in him. “I find most of their moments extremely beautiful...so passionate and so simmering, I don't think any other onscreen couple has been able to burn the screen the way they did...and then Rishi Kappor and Padmini in PREM ROG. There's one particular scene which is not ‘romantic, romantic’ but there's a lot of pain, when Padmini says to Rishi Kapoor, ‘Tum bahut zid karne lage ho, Dev' and he says, 'Tumne jo karni chod di"…and he removes the thorn from her foot. That's stayed with me forever. I love that moment. Then, Rakhee and Shashi Kapoor in KABHI KABHIE...her eyes in that song, while he’s removing her jewellery in that ‘suhaag raat moment’…It’s just stunning. I love SILSILA, I love the music of SILSILA. I love ‘Dekha ek khwab toh yeh silsile hue...’ I love the way it’s written …these are my childhood love memories.” Sonam entered this world more than two decades after MUGHAL-E-AZAM released (1960) yet she is utterly captivated by its famous feather scene. “It is just so tender…and exquisite. Then that scene from PAKEEZAH, when Raj Kumar sees only Meena Kumari’s feet in the train and leaves a note beside them, ‘Aap ke paon dekhe, bahut haseen hain, inhein zameen par mat utariyega...’ How romantic is that! And that scene from DILWALE DULHANIYA LE JAYENGE when Kajol hears the music and rushes out to see if it’s SHAH RUKH...and of course the entire ‘Pyaar hua ikraar hua hai...’ setting from AWARA...them under the umbrella, with the rain lashing and the ‘chaiwala’...that remains to be the most iconic moment in Hindi Cinema!” Her list of favourite romantic songs is longer still… ‘Ek ladki ko dekha toh aisa laga...’ from 1942 - A LOVE STORY; in fact I love all the songs from that film... ‘Kabhi main kahoon...kabhi tum suno...’ from LAMHE. ‘Kabhie kabhie mere dil mein...’ from KABHI KABHIE. ‘Jab koi baat bigad jaye..jab koi mushkil pad jaye..tum dena saath mera o humnawaz...’ from JURM. ‘Pehla nasha, pehla khumaar...’ from JO JEETA WOHI SIKANDAR. ‘Tum aa gaye ho, noor aa gaya hai...’ from AANDHI. ‘Dil cheez kya hai aap meri jaan li jiye...’ from UMRAO JAAN and ‘Rehna tu...’ from DELHI 6.” Shah Rukh’s all-time topper remains ‘Abhi na jao chhod ke, ke dil abhi bhara nahin…’ from HUM DONO. Does he hum it for the lucky Gauri occasionally, you think?