From ‘Pakeezah’, ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ to ‘Jab We Met’: How trains became Bollywood’s most romantic setting

In 'Jab We Met', there's this story of two people who get together on a train going to Delhi. Geet, a super lively Punjabi girl (played by Kareena Kapoor), meets Aditya (Shahid Kapoor), a businessman who's really down in the dumps because of a breakup. Their trip gets crazy when they miss their train and end up stuck with each other. From that first missed train to trying to figure out how to get back, they start to get that this trip, with all its heartbreak, jokes, and surprise love, was meant to happen. You can really see Imtiaz Ali's touch in how he turns a day on a train into a fave movie in Bollywood today.

If ‘DDLJ’ ended on a train and reaffirmed the couple's relationship, ‘Chennai Express’ takes off at the Mumbai Train Station headed to Rameswaram. After a magical mishap, Rahul Mithaiwala (Shah Rukh Khan) gets embroiled in a fantastical adventure with the vivacious daughter of a South Indian don (Deepika Padukone). Among the chaos, comedy, and cross-cultural craziness, love conquers all and Bollywood’s greatest romance is born, that's right, on the train tracks.

However, train rides in Bollywood films not only have a narrative effect, but they also create ideal conditions for music. An example of what makes for a great musical experience on a train ride can be seen in ‘Dil Se,’ when Shah Rukh Khan danced on the roof of a moving train with Malaika Arora in the song ‘Chaiyaa Chaiyaa.’ The song is filmed on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (in Tamil Nadu) and is one of the most well-known musical sequences in Indian film, combining rhythm and romance, with the exhilaration from open rail.

There aren't many scenes in Indian movies as memorable as the end of ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’. When Chaudhry Baldev Singh (Amrish Puri) finally says, “Ja Simran ja, jee le apni zindagi,” and she runs for that train, grabbing Raj’s (Shah Rukh Khan) hand? That became the image of love beating everything. It totally changed what romance meant for a whole generation.

What could embody romance better than that iconic line — “Aapke paon dekhe, bahut haseen hai. Inhe zameen par mat utariyega, maile ho jayenge.” These dreamy words, written by a mysterious stranger (Raj Kumar) to Sahibjaan (Meena Kumari) in ‘Pakeezah’, changed the course of her life. Inside that quiet train compartment, the courtesan — who danced every night for others, found a glimmer of hope and a promise of love.

A speeding train marked the first thrilling introduction of Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) and Veeru (Dharmendra) in ‘Sholay’. As convicts being transported to jail by Thakur Baldev Singh, they face a dacoit attack in one of Bollywood’s most adrenaline-pumping sequences. Shot on the Mumbai–Pune track near Panvel, this iconic scene inspired by Hollywood’s ‘Stagecoach’ (1939) showcased raw heroism and remains a benchmark for action in Indian cinema.