New Delhi, Aug. 6 -- The box office success of Saiyaara, starring newcomers Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, has sparked a renewed demand for a genre that once defined Indian cinema: romance.

Millennials may not have the Gen Z enthusiasm for Saiyaara as they grew up in an era when romance as a genre was at its peak; though the warm response to movies like Sanam Teri Kasam, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, and Jab We Met, upon their re-release suggest that Indian audiences, in both generations, are hungry for romance.

But why is that? The shift in Indian cinema away from feel-good love stories and rom-coms toward darker themes like thrillers, horrors, mysteries, and crime dramas in recent years partly explains the recent phenomenon.An analysis of m...