Not all love stories mature into happy hereafter as romantic feelings often go unreciprocated or even unacknowledged, which the lover sometimes learns to accept with a smile on their face. On Valentine’s Day, we take a look at six characters from Bollywood films made in the last two decades who loved silently or chose to move on.

Karan in Rang De Basanti

Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Rang De Basanti (2006) hints at Karan Singhania’s (Siddharth) attraction for Sonia (Soha Ali Khan). When Ajay (R. Madhavan) pops the question to Sonia at the Nahargarh fort, all his friends join in ecstatic cheering. Karan, too, joins in seconds later, hiding his pain behind the smile. Karan didn’t feel any animosity towards Ajay and genuinely wished the couple well. In fact, after Ajay’s death in the air crash, he was most affected and broke down completely at his funeral.

Aditi in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

Ayan Mukerji’s 2013 blockbuster Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani introduced us to Aditi (Kalki Koechlin), who falls in love with a friend, Avi (Aditya Roy Kapur), who doesn’t notice her feelings. That does not stop her from calling him out when he steps out of line. Over time, Aditi moves on and finds someone who loves her back, without holding any bitterness for Avi.

PK in PK

How often do aliens come to earth and fall in love with human beings? In Rajkumar Hirani’s PK (2014), Aamir Khan plays an alien who meets a journalist, Jaggu (Anushka Sharma), and falls for her. But Jaggu loves Sarfaraz (Sushant Singh Rajput) who she had met in Belgium, but eventually separated over a misunderstanding. A heartbroken PK moves heaven and earth to reunite Jaggu with her ex-flame, such was the selflessness of his feelings for her.

Rahul in Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu

Shakun Batra's Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu is the story of Rahul (Imran Khan), an architect living in Las Vegas who loses his job. After a night of no-frills fun, he marries Riana Braganza (Kareena Kapoor Khan) on the spur of the moment. Their attempts at getting the marriage annulled makes Rahul fall in love with Riana, but his feelings are unacknowledged. In the end, Rahul transforms from an under-confident, reclusive boy into a confident young man. Rahul and Riana decide to remain good friends but he harbours no hard feelings for being friendzoned.

Shruti in Barfi

Some love stories are timeless. Jhilmil (Priyanka Chopra) and Barfi’s (Ranbir Kapoor) romance is one such memorable relationship. However, Jhilmil’s feelings for Barfi began as a one-sided affair as the latter was smitten by Shruti’s (Ileana D’cruz) charm in the beginning. When Shruti caved in to her family’s pressure and married into a rich family, a heartbroken Barfi grew closer to Jhilmil. Their bond stood the test of time; many years later when Shruti, unhappy in her marriage, crossed paths with the couple, Barfi was happily settled with Jhilmil. Shruti took solace in the fact that Barfi had found the love of his life.

Abhimanyu Roy in Meri Pyaari Bindu

Abhimanyu Roy (Ayushmann Khurrana) falls head over heels in love with his neighbour Bindu (Parineeti Chopra) but never confesses his feelings to her. Many years later when Abhimanyu meets Bindu in Goa, he tries to reconcile their friendship. Bindu aspires to become a singer, but when her first album is a big dud, it strains her relationship with Abhi. When he proposes marriage to her, she refuses. But that does not ruin the friendship they had formed, or Abhi’s quiet feelings for her.