When rockstar Rahul Jaykar jumps to his death in the climax of ‘Aashiqui 2′, not many were sure if a sad ending would work for the love story. But shattering all myths about sad endings’ fate at the box office, the film became a runaway hit. A trade source says, “Actually, such excuses (tragic ending) crop up when a movie sinks at the box office and the concerned filmmaker looks for justifications to save face.” Shagufta Rafique, the writer of Aashiqui 2 said, “We did not think of any other end. The film is about a man who ends his life so that his lover can live on; we never worried if the ending will affect BO performance. I won’t call it a risk, it was about being true to the story.” But despite the success of tragic love stories — Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar (2011) is another recent example that not many filmmakers are ready to take the risk. For example, the original storyline of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Delhi 6 (2009) had Abhishek Bachchan’s character dying. But after pressure from the studio, the director changed it. Both endings were shot and there were reports that the film would be re-released with its original climax. This trend is not new. Twenty-five years ago, Mansoor Khan had also shot two climaxes for Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988). A trivia on the film states that while the older audience wanted a happy ending, the younger ones preferred a sad one. Finally, the director chose tragedy. In fact, Mughal-E-Azam (1960), the mother of all Bollywood love stories, ends on a tragic note. Film writer Dilip Thakur said, “The sad ending of Ek Duje Ke Liye (1981) became the high point of its BO success, though there were reports of lovers committing suicide after watching the film. But there have been instances of filmmakers changing the end of films. One example is Rajesh Khanna’s Baharon Ke Sapne (1967). Kajol’s Sapnay (1997) also had different endings in different languages.” Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt recalls how Arth (1982) didn’t have any takers initially because of its sad ending. He says, “The know-it-alls of the industry said, an end in which the woman turns her back on her husband and lover, would prove disastrous. The film was not sold for a year. But if it worked eventually, it was due to its so-called sad end. Even with Aashiqui 2, it is the tragedy that has contributed to its success.” Devdas is another classic example says a trade source. “It’s a movie that has been attempted several times in Indian cinema. The film projected the male protagonist hitting the bottle with a vengeance, but did that aspect keep the audience away from theatres?” Interestingly, actors like Rajesh Khanna and Shah Rukh Khan have benefitted from being tragic heroes. Thakur says, “After Aradhana (1969), Khanna wanted to die in every film — be it Khamoshi (1969), Safar (1970) or Anand (1971). So much so, Amitabh Bachchan was supposed to die according to the original script of Namak Haraam (1973). But that was changed on Khanna’s insistence.”