The Tragic Love Story

Movies have generally been viewed as a source for entertainment for a good couple of hours, with people flocking to the theatres (and now just downloading them) hoping to have a good time; and somehow have a smile on their face at the end. Also, there is a romantic within all of us, so people have always liked love stories that have had a happy ending, which brings that coveted smile. Yet, there are some love stories that have always stayed in people's minds, and are quite often the more appreciated ones - the tragedies!
What makes the love stories with sad endings tick? Quite surely people who come to the movies expecting to leave in a good mood would not want to watch ones that would result in tears!

The secret of the success of tragic love stories has always dumbfounded me, but there are definitely a few reasons why I think such movies work.

For one, these movies are much more closer to reality than some larger-than-life happy-ending ones. Most humans have a history of lost or unfulfilled love. Failed love - yes, in many cases; but not necessarily. There has definitely been someone in almost everyone's lives who they wish they had approached to, spoken with and won that person over. What our real-life experience (or baggage) does is make us see ourselves in those characters in the movie. We feel for them and end the movie experience on a personal note.
For the egoists, there is then that sense of elation that it was their life that was depicted in the movie, albeit in a bit fictional manner.
The sadists would always prefer such sorry endings because this is what would make them feel good.
The tough people remember these movies fondly because it is one of the few times they remember having cried (or sobbed at the least).

While the die-hard romantics definitely connect with the movie, they also tend to talk about it a bit more. The next couple of days are always spent discussing with friends and family about the sad fate of the lovers, and playing God by wishing that had this event taken place, the ending would have different and had that event taken place, the lovers would still be together.
When there are dozens of love stories being made with happy endings, this one odd film obviously stands out as being different. Love stories that end on a good note may not be always right in some cases depending on their storyline, but the filmmakers obviously have to succumb to pleasing the audience at the end, and hence take steep deviations from their screenplay. In some cases, happy endings are hard to imagine because it is a bit weird to see parents or others who had always opposed the lovers and been cruel towards them, just melt down in a minute while at the climax.
It is this whole aura of being different that makes such movies stay in our memories forever, for I am one who certainly feels that had it been the other way round, wherein there was this one odd release with a happy ending amidst scores of tragic love stories, it would be the happy ending love story that would stand out.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
CANNOT EVEN NAME THE MOVIES THAT I'VE MENTIONED FOR THAT WOULD BE A SPOILER IN ITSELF.
PLEASE READ AHEAD AT YOUR OWN RISK.

There are definitely a lot of learnings one can take from love stories that could not happen. I absolutely feel families of the lovers should forget their egos or social status which they should realize by looking at movies like Ek Duje Ki Liye, Romeo & Juliet, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and tons of other movies.
The fact that misunderstandings have no place in families, and that they should never be extended beyond irrepairable condition is well demonstrated in movies like Aap Ki Kasam; which real-life lovers should understand. It's best to be bold and work out problems in the beginning than save them for the end, by when it's too late.
Also, each time I see Gone With The Wind, I keep thinking to myself everytime I see Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) treat Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) badly, or take his love for granted - since I now know the ending - that Scarlett, you keep acting like this, and when at the end you will yearn for Rhett, he won't be there, and it's all going to be YOUR fault.
And this is what I felt in that crap Hindi movie - Kya Yehi Pyar Hai (you're not likely to remember this) - as well.

Roman Holiday is one of my all-time favourite movies, and this is definitely a movie that would been well loved even if the ending were otherwise, but there is logic in the ending. Sure the princess (Audrey Hepburn) had the time of her life with the charming journalist (Gregory Peck) - but at the end of the day, she is a princess with responsibilies. I have seen this movie about ten or eleven times in the last four years, but every time I see this movie, I actually feel that this time when Gregory Peck is walking away from the palace and turning back to see if Audrey's there, she is somehow going to appear and in true filmy style throw away her crown and gloves and run towards him in tears, giving up the lifestyle she is so used to, just to be with the man she loves; but this never happens. When I come towards the climax, my brain keeps reminding me they're not going to end up together, but somehow my heart keeps asking me to have hope and that time the ending will definitely be different. I know it may sound ridiculous although this happens to everyone I know as well, but the fact is - THIS is the power of a tragic love story!

However, if a film-maker wants to get good critical acclaim and leave an everlasting memory on the audience, it is still safer to make a beautiful love story with a happy ending, because if you're going to make a tragic love story - you just HAVE to get each and every element perfect! You screw up even for a minute and the ending is going to lose it's charm. When you make a love story with a sad ending, you'd better make sure everything leads up to the audience going out in tears rather than leave cursing you for the horrible ending.
This is a genre that is very hard to make, but once you have done it right, you've made a significant contribution towards cinema.