India, Oct. 10 -- Y oung romances have found a large audience this year, with international shows like Off Campus and Sterling Point becoming fan favourites. In India, too, these shows have built a huge fanbase. However, recent Indian romances aimed at younger audiences have struggled to strike a chord with viewers. Filmmaker Shakun Batra has a theory as to why. Batra, 43, recently explored a complex romance between two people in their 20s, played by actors Ali Fazal and Radhikka Madan, in Lust Stories 3. The married couple is shown to have a great physical chemistry but they struggle in their emotional compatibility due to people around them. The director believes that the way Indian cinema has traditionally portrayed love, it could lead to a disconnect with reality. "We've done a huge disservice through our movies over the last decade, or maybe even longer, by simplifying love to mean that you meet this person who is your soulmate, and then life is amazing. But it never is. So when people get married, they're like, 'Dude, this isn't what I imagined love to be'," he says. For Batra, however, the fact that a particular genre of film is working with audiences doesn't mean everyone should follow the trend. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to make something for a younger audience, but you should still make it based on what you feel, not what you think they would feel. I've been in many of those meetings where they're like, 'Yeh chal raha hai.' But mere se woh nahin ho raha hai, and that's why I've had enough breaks in my career." The director adds that anticipating what an audience wants to see can also cost a filmmaker's authenticity. "As storytellers, you put your most authentic self out there, not figure out what that person needs to watch," he says, adding, "If you're doing that, then it's a work-for-hire kind of thing, where you feel the need to make this person feel good. I can't work like that. I need to portray what I am feeling, and hopefully simplify it enough for somebody else to receive it too."...