The magic of meet-cutes

Boy meets girl. It's awkward but adorable. First contact can make or break arom-com. Is there a formula for getting it right?

- Anushree Nande

All right rom-com stans, let's line up the meet-cute cliches: The literal bumping into a stranger, the rescue from a social mess, the hate-at-first-sight, the mix-up, the one where she falls harder for his brother, the two wildly disparate leads reaching for the same book in the shop...

A meet cute, defined by the late film critic Roger Ebert, is "a comic situation contrived entirely for the purpose of bringing a man and a woman together, after which they can work out their destinies for the remainder of the film". It's more diverse than boy meets-girl these days. And in the world of romantic comedies, when all plots lead to happily ever after, it's the opening moment that often packs in the most creativity. There's something irresistible about the idea of a serendipitous encounter, when all the stars align towards love. It's pure squealing, giggling, kicking-heels-up wish fulfilment at its most precise and potent. It's hope.