Beyond the Rakhi: Bollywood’s most memorable brother-sister bonds that won our hearts

Though Raksha Bandhan revolves around the holy thread that a sister ties to her brother’s wrist, the Hindi film industry has always understood that the connection of brother and sister extends beyond this festival. Cinema always depicted brother-sister bonding beautifully in many films, capturing instances of sibling rivalry and childhood rivalry, and imparting many unforgettable relations for all time.

Take for example Hum Saath-Saath Hain, a film that changed the Indian joint family into a grand Bollywood drama. Brother-sister relation between Vivek (Mohnish Bahl), Prem (Salman Khan), Vinod (Saif Ali Khan) and Sangeeta (Neelam Kothari) lies on togetherness. Brothers’ love for their sister and the family sense of duty create the impression of traditional Bollywood portrayal of sibling love – safe and united bond.

Several years later, Dil Dhadakne Do represented the brother-sister relationship in a more complex and contemporary way. Ayesha (Priyanka Chopra) and Kabir (Ranveer Singh) belong to a wealthy family that is dysfunctional. Their relationship became one of the emotional anchors for the film. Beneath the jokes and casual conversations was a genuine understanding of each other’s struggles. Ayesha understands the pressure that Kabir is under and Kabir feels the sacrifices Ayesha makes.

Kapoor and Sons addressed the complications in sibling relationships in a more sophisticated manner through the characters of Rahul (Fawad Khan) and Arjun (Sidharth Malhotra). Instead of focusing on brother-sister dynamics, the film centers on brothers, yet this does not lessen its impact on the evolution of Bollywood’s approach to sibling relationships over time. Hence, relationships between siblings are known to consist of love, jealousy and complicated emotions resulting from years of uncommunicated resentment. While siblings may know each other very well, this does not necessarily mean that they understand one another.

And this is what many Bollywood films featuring siblings are popular for. From the ideal relationships that have been portrayed in older family movies to the complicated emotional relationships displayed in more modern films, Indian cinema has come a long way.

Currently, the most relatable sibling tales are revolving around equality, companionship, and emotional assistance. They argue, express rivalry, judge each other’s decisions, and sometimes infuriate each other, but when it’s really important, they come through for each other. And that is probably why these Bollywood connections go beyond a mere rakhi: a sibling may lack explicit verbal expressions of affection saying something like “I love you” but they can be the first person you call when you face difficulties in life.

Because in essence Raksha Bandhan is all about having someone in your life who knows how to annoy you, humiliate you or, in the end, support you.