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Bollywood's legendary obsession with cars!
In films, cars are not mere means of transportation. They take a life of their own.
Whether the hero is taking his ladylove on a long drive while crooning Choori nahi yeh mera dil hai (Gambler) or hoodwinking a gang on his hot pursuit in a long, exciting chase (Don) or a white-sari clad heroine looking to hitchhike outside a graveyard, cars serve an important role in the proceedings.
Over the years, the focus has become a lot more prominent.
Like, in Ashima Chibber's Mere Dad Ki Maruti, which hits screens this Friday, Saqib Saleem plays a youngster who sneaks out his father's beloved red hatchback to impress a girl and promptly loses it triggering a series of madcap adventures.
On that note, here's looking at Bollywood's obsession with cars.
Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi
As the title suggests, Satyen Bose's black and white classic starring siblings -- Ashok, Kishore and Anoop Kumar is about three brothers running a garage.
And most of their escapades revolve around a Ford Model A, which proudly features in the film's opening sequence, end credits and title song.
Qurbaani
Known to leave no stone unturned to make his films a feast of glamour and style, actor and filmmaker Feroz Khan famously hammered a brand new Mercedes for an iconic scene in the film.
Here's a before and after picture for your viewing pleasure.
Akayla
Ramesh Sippy and Amitabh Bachchan made many memorable movies together like Sholay, Shaan and Shakti but Akayla failed to receive any glory.
Even so Big B singing Chal meri Ram Pyari to his moody but animated yellow Beetle provided some light moments in an otherwise prolonged melodrama.
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander, Raja
Trust Bollywood's leading ladies to turn on the heat anywhere -- on top of a giant drum, a screeching cot or even a convertible jalopy.
And so here's Pooja Bedi channeling Marilyn Monroe in a garage and Madhuri Dixit unleashing her notorious jhatkas atop a car seat.
Taarzan: The Wonder Car
In Abbas-Mustan's not so scary rip-off of Hollywood's Christine, Ajay Devgn plays a soul trapped inside his beloved car, which is now being used by his mechanic son.
But Devgn's fury as an avenging car leads his innocent son in a lot of trouble till he can prove himself not guilty.
The 15-crore Taarzan, designed by Dilip Chhabria of DC Design however, didn't find any takers at the box office.
Anjaana Anjaani
Priyanka Chopra's red Cadillac Blush is visible in many frames of the rom-com Anjaana Anjaani co-starring Ranbir Kapoor.
From taking an eventful road trip all the way from NYC to Las Vegas and getting personified as a car with attitude and mood swing, Blush does everything to grab attention.
Golmaal Returns
Remember Ajay Devgn's memorable introduction scene balancing himself on two moving bikes in debut Phool Aur Kaante?
The actor recreates the same scene on two cars instead to live up to the over-the-top tone of Rohit Shetty's Golmaal Returns.
Chance Pe Dance
A tiny hatchback acts as a struggling actor's (played by Shahid Kapur) moving home in the musical, Chance Pe Dance.
It's also the venue for quite a few lovey-dovey moments between him and co-star Genelia D'Souza in the movie.
The two, later, even promoted the film by spending all day in a car.
Unfortunately, the gimmick still didn't set the box-office registers ringing.
Players
Abbas Mustan's official remake of The Italian Job has quite a few swanky cars popping up on screen every now and then.
But it's the iconic Mini Coopers in red, yellow and blue that featured in the English, American and desi version that continue to be best part of its thrilling climax.
Shaitan
A bright yellow Hummer forms a crucial role in Bejoy Nambiar's trippy Shaitan where a bunch of rich youngsters, high on dope and irreverence, drive around the city only to run over two pedestrians in an irresponsible road accident.
As part of the film's unique promotional campaign, the actors posed along with the Hummer around various spots in Mumbai.
Do Dooni Chaar
Alto? Swift?
The entire premise of Habib Faisal's Do Dooni Chaar rests on a middle-class family's desire to graduate from a two-wheeler to a four.
And whether they eventually get a car or not, the outcome is nothing short of heartwarming.
Ferrari Ki Saawari
Vidhu Vinod Chopra used the authentic Sachin Tendulkar Ferrari, although by then he had sold it to a Surat-based businessman, to feature as the titular character of his family flick, Ferrari Ki Saawari.
Given the plot is about how a doting dad flicks the Italian sports car for the sake of his cricket enthusiast son, Ferrari is most necessary.
Race 2
Abbas Mustan's car fetish continues with the recently released Race 2.
In one of its most talked about action scenes, Saif Ali Khan steps out of a lavish yellow Lamborghini, which is quickly replaced by a cheaper lookalike model to explode into smithereens.
Don't think Feroz Khan would have done that now, would you?