Mohabbatein Love Themes
My Fascination and Love
for India

If asked, why I like most Indian movies, the answer is: "I dun know. I just love everything India!"

But it could be that India has impressed me much since I was 10, when I "fell in love" with an Indian Prince, Siddharta Gautama, who with his total efforts finally reached his enlightenment. Not given by God or gods; he didn't claim to be the son of God who had occultly or misteriously make him a prophet. He is not a prophet. He was human like us, but with his own effort and wisdom, he got fully enlightened and generously shared what he got with us all because of his universal love for all beings, seen or unseen. We, Buddhists know, he is was (and still is!) a teacher.

And I fell in love with this Indian Prince who later became a teacher!

The problem was that I had always seen the figure of the Prince or the Buddha in various kinds.
I was not so sure what the handsome Prince really looked like! (I wish there had been cameras at that time!). But yes, I was craving to see him in the monk robe too after he became the Buddha.

What I used to see were pictures of "him" in different kinds of physical looks! :)) which then I learned that the pictures had been made by different painters, at different times, and different places, too !!

He told his followers not to make any pictures or sculptures of him because if they did, they would only "admire and love" him only as far as his impermanent looks, while he would want them to practice what he had taught.

Eversince I came to understand that it's not what the Prince or the Buddha looked like, but it's his teachings (the Dharma) that we have to practice through life, if we love him.

I am not a good folower of him yet as I still do a lot of things which are against what he taught, either I realize it or not.

As I grew to love drawing more that I started at an early age, I sought for "perfect" human pictures referring to some Indonesian comic books illustrated by R.A Kosasih, whose characters revealed perfect good looks and beauty of Indian men and women. Despite my understanding of pictures or sculptures not being an important aspect in Buddhism, still I would want one which represents the Prince. (Stubborn me, right?)

So, when I was a secondary-high school-student in Jakarta, there was a theater not so far from my home, which featured Bollywood movies. I thought that it was my time to observe more on Indian looks to help me get some ideas for my drawings... What is more important: I would learn to get a rough picture of how Prince Siddharta looked like when he was young, and how he looked like in his robe!!

I started to watch some Bollywood movies with the stars like Hema Malini, Dharmendra, Dimple Kapadia, Rishi Kapoor, Rekha, Jaya Badhuri (Jaya Bacchan now), Amitabh Bacchan, Rajesh Khanna, and many more. They were typical Indian and were stunningly beautiful and handsome at my younger time.

Hema Malini


Dharmendra


Dimple Kapadia


Rishi Kapoor


Rekha


Rekha & Amitabh Bacchan


Jaya Badhuri (Jaya Bacchan)


Beautiful grandma Jaya Bacchan


Rajesh Khanna

And the later generation, Bollywood has been enriched by a lot more beautiful and good-looking stars such as Rani Mukherjee, Esha Deol, Diya Mirza, Amisha Patel, Pretty Zinta, Farhaan Khan, Sonu Nigam, Akshay Khanna, Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Arjun Rampal, and the list goes on...

Rani Mukherjee


Esha Deol (daughter of Hema Malini)


Diya Mirza


Amisha Patel


Pretty Zinta


Farhaan Khan


Sonu Nigam


Akshay Khanna (son of Rajesh Khanna)


Aamir Khan


Shahrukh Khan


Akshay Khumar


Hrithik Roshan


Arjun Rampal

Apart from the 32 physical characteristics of the Buddha I read (Lakkhana Mahapurisa), I got a more vivid and maybe near-to the-real-facts picture of Prince Siddharta or Gautama Buddha who was born to the Royal family of king Suddhodana and queen Maya in North India. Some said, he has Persian blood, too.

I grew to love drawing his pictures more, with some physical looks I got from the male Bollywood movie stars. Sometimes I also painted Yasodhara, his wife, whose looks may have been more or less like most beautiful female Bollywood actresses I saw on movies. Long flowing dark hair with broadly glittering jewels and bangles, well-shaped face, sharp nose, big eyes, well-formed eyebrows with long thick eye lashes, small lips, long neck, beautiful saree, etc...

Indian or Bollywood movies still attract me, and put me to the highest enjoyment when I see those beautiful and handsome girls and boys despite their vulgar way of dancing in unbelieveable sexy clothes sometimes!

Look at how a scene of Mohabbatein movies show this on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW7OhIEd_Wo&feature=PlayList&p=69176EB8EBE54F73&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=14

In 2003 my childhood dreams came true: I was able to see with my naked eyes the places where the Buddha had lived. It was the golden journey I've had in life and would never forget all my life. With my husband, I traced and enjoyed not only the places where the Buddha had lived and died, but also the beautiful people there, especially those who has preserved the sacred places.

It seems that everywhere I went in India, I always met nice people, beautiful and friendly. It reminded me of the story of the Prince when he went out of the Palace with Channa and Kantaka the horse for the first time, to see his people he had never been allowed to do by King Suddhodana, his father.

My fascination for India surprised our tour guides and drivers. They said,
"Oh My God, how do you know Bollywood movies, stars and songs, more than we, Indians, do????!!"

(Blame it on the charming Prince Siddharta Gautama !)

:))