Love Aaj Kal : ****

Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan
16
Team A consists of those went to the movie and came out saying "Yuck !!What a crap movie. What was that all about ? "

Team B consists of those who went to the movie and came out saying "Wow !! What a refreshing movie. Great story well told."

Having seen the movie, I can safely say this.. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ALL YOU TEAM A PEOPLE ??? I mean, seriously, get a life !!!!

This is easily the best Bollywood movie script to come out this year. It is awesome simply because it is real. Yes, I said real. This is how we've become. There is no glossing over the fact. Gone are the days when a taxi driving Aamir Khan kisses a heiress Karishma Kapoor ( Raja Hindustani ) forcibly in the rain and she's in love with him forever.

Mind you, this isn't Saif Ali's film. Nor is it Deepika Padukone's.. it is director Imtiaz Ali's all the way. It is a screenplay that deals with how much love has changed over the past few generations... and yet, how little really has changed.

Two stories play out before our eyes in parallel views.. we have the contemporary, hip dude Saif Ali Khan holding a breakup party with his girlfriend Deepika at the very onset of the film ; the decision to break up being the possibility of a strained relationship once she moves to India from UK. It is a celebration of the times they had, rather than a mourning of love lost... it is an indicator of things to come. In breaking up, they become more liberated in their conversations and dealings with each other and this will, in the end, redefine their relationship.

Watching this unfold is a puzzled Rishi Kapoor who in the course of time, reveals to Saif the story of his own love to a girl he never spoke to for over a year, young Harleen Kaur.
The Saif of 1965, playing a young Rishi Kapoor, is of course, the man we're used to seeing in Bollywood films... the man who falls in love at first sight, who travels beyond state borders just to see a girl he's never spoken to... just to fall in love. And in his story, are some of the best moments of the film. In particular is a scene when they first meet after he arrives in Calcutta to see her after spending a year in love with her memory... her reaction to his gift is amazing. Believe me, that moments alone made me wish I was in love again. Of course, inspite of how different they are, the Saif Ali Khan of 2009 eventually realises just how alike he is to Rishi Kapoor... how even though they don't agree with each other, their heart says differently.

In between this, of course, both Saif and Deepika find love / companionship in other partners, but even then, they both feel incomplete and it shows. And that is perhaps where so many people find fault with the film. They complain "If they love each other, how can they be with other people ?" I say that is, in fact, one of it's biggest strengths... showing us for what we are. It isn't about making grave mistakes, we all do that ; it's about continuing on with life and still having hope for redemption... still clinging on to the hope of love. It's about being scared to commit, being scared to be alone, being bold enough to live your dreams... or shatter them a day after you've finally realised them. In short, it's about life as it exists today. As Rishi sagely points out " In the olden days, we gave up our careers for true love, today you kids give up true love for your careers." Wise words indeed...

For me, this was a beautiful love story. It was genuine ( no mean feat considering Bollywood's been churning out a 100 romantic films a year since 1950. ), it was funny, it was heartfelt and well executed. There were so many moments you could relate to, from both the love stories.

The songs, like in his eariler directorial venture, Jab We Met, grow on you. Whether it be the dance number "Twist" or the heart rendering "Dooriyan", they do find a place in your heart.. Saif and Deepika both have roles tailor made for them while Gisele Monteiro , a Brazilian model playing a homely Punjabi kudi, is an ethereal beauty... I mean WOW !!! Talk about inspired casting !! Watching Rishi Kapoor too is a joy... he always brings a certain charm to his roles.

My two cents ? This is a movie for those young at heart.. for those who have felt the pangs of love and want to relive it again. This is the movie to take your gal / guy along and slowly remember why the two of you fell in love with each other before.

This is, in short, a worthy follow up, to Jab We Met.

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16Comments

Let me know what you think.

  1. Mann... first of all thnx a lot for saying exactly wht i would like to say.... u jst feel like u r in LOVE.. n i bloody blame myself for gng for this movie without my wife... i jst soo badly missed her after this.. i called her up n told tht.. I LOVE YOU.. (though she didnt get an idea tht its the after effect of movie)... people tell tht.. "come on.. how can a gal (deepika) jst walk off right after her marriage.. its not gonna happen.. its very filmy.. bla bla bla.." cme on guys.. wake up... this is how things go on now.. we talk abt 21st century.. n how things hve changed n etc etc.. but in real there r still people who jst cnt digest things... but... EAT THIS !!! its an awesome movie.... jst felt one thing after watching the movie.. "LOVE... AAJ... YA.. KAL... ITS AWESOME!!!"

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  2. I've heard mixed reviews of this one. Some bad, some glowing. I had put this under the list of Bollywood movies I wouldn't bother watching because I'm not particularly fond of the lead stars..But after reading your review,I think I might give it a chance. I loved Jab We Met..So i might not hate it as much as others claim..

    it's been quite some time since i visited your blog by the way..

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  3. Ani.. I know man.. don't know why people are acting so moralistic... guess everyone just wants the "Chandni Chowk to China" kinda movies rather than something which shows us a honest picture of who we are...

    VS.. I insist you go.. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

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  4. soo true ! i cud totally relate wid the movie ! i cried like a baby in the end but my frnds maintained tht it was boring ! i mean cmon ! whts wrong wid the world. n i abosolutely loved the harleen kaur-saif flashbacks :)

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  5. ummmm...ll comment weni catch up with this movie... hey doc, seems u got time atlast.. how is u?

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  6. have to see the movie yet..
    Long time since u blogged..Plz try to write more often :-)

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  7. ivy. so glad that there are like minded individuals after all.. feel weird hearing bad reviews about this film.. true.. the harleen-saif bits were precious.

    Rats and Sumana, do go and watch.. and ya, time is not on my blogging side for now.. too caught up in work and reading and thesis and work again !!

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  8. not seen the film so will accept your word for it..right now atleast.

    pain..misery..sorrow and heartbreak.you know you 'll get more than this in love,yet can't help falling in love.

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  9. not seen the film so will accept your word for it..right now atleast.

    pain..misery..sorrow and heartbreak.you know you 'll get more than this in love,yet can't help falling in love.

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  10. will nod my head in agreement soon (have to watch it first!) :)

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  11. Gazal, sigh, tell me about it.. "cant help falling in love" as the song goes...

    Meira, do tell me what you think after reading it

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  12. Okay..i saw it and have to say am in team B.A well made movie,but kind of biased towards Saif...as far as dialogues are concerned...(in real life men don speak so much at all)

    but,all thro we knew that they would get back together...(kahani filmy hai na)..in real life most poeple go their own way...with different people pretending to be in love.

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  13. Haven't watched it yet, but the reviews are keeping me away(yours made me rethink:)). I am a lover of Jab we Met and Socha Na tha and built an image for Imtiaz and didn't want to break it.

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  14. I have d same opinion as urs about love aaj kal. I was going to write about it, but all would have written is already written in ur post. So plan cancelled !

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  15. its a nice movie love aaj kal i loved to watch and the post about this is fantastic thanks a lot

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  16. My Boyfriend and I have been together for almost 2 years. During this time my mother passed away from cancer and we have moved in together into a property that I have purchased. My Boyfriend and I are the same age, 25. He has been unemployed for over a year now and I have had to start working extra hours on the weekend to pay the bills. I thought that he understood that I had to work, however today he sat on the couch doing nothing while I was working. I then stopped working to spend time with him and half way through our first movie, he got up and decided to go to a friends house because we are drifting? I told him I thought he was rude doing this, he just threatened to leave me and left? Every time we have an argument he threatens to leave me and i m so scared and confused that he finally broke up with me. All I do is try to make the situation better for him but today i am happy, so excited that the he is back and promised never to break up with me again, this happened with the help of Dr. Mack after looking for help for the past 3 months and i was lucky to meet Dr Mack, His love spell work faster with no side effect contact him through
    email:Dr_mack@yahoo.com...

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