Love Aaj Kal by Ashim

I say: See Aaj hi! ****

Mr. Masand doesn’t really realize that most people watch movies just to relieve themselves of the day-to-day stress. Not every movie has to mean something or have a strong basis. It can be purely meant for entertainment and entertainment (like love) does not look for too many logics. So, from Love Aaj Kal, do not look for too many reasons or rationale and ask whys and hows!!! Simply put, it’s a movie that follows the cliché at the same time is original in the way it’s told. Just go and fall in love with love all over again.

The movie shuttles between the two eras, ‘aaj’ and `kal’. The two Saifs are dissimilar from each other in terms of era, conviction, and their definition of ‘love’. What is similar is their experience of being in love. Love Aaj Kal is fantastically written and executed film because it is not one of those mundane love stories showing sappy love and anguish and still manages to bring tears to your eyes.

It is unfair to compare ‘socha na tha’ and ‘jab we met’ with ‘love aaj kal’. A. They were different stories and B. A jab we met is not made every second day. Imtiaz Ali is terrific in this film and it wouldn’t be too wrong to say that the film belongs to him completely. He handled the relationship between Saif and Deepika with great skill as it is really complex because the two live ‘somewhat’ in denial of love. The story and screenplay are both novel; dialogues are concise, chatty and in sync with today’s lingo; narration is smart with tools like parallel narratives and jumping timelines and dialogues are zippy and crisp. Music is peppy and vibrant.

Imtiaz’s comparison love ‘aaj’ Vs love ‘kal’ is simply superb. ‘Kal’ – was when a man simply liked a woman at the first sight and went about securing her, traveled long distances to get a glimpse of her and fought the whole world to marry her. Contrastingly, when a man lays eyes on one woman today, it’s not enough! He lays eyes on another, then yet another and so on, unable to decide who is right for him. Rishi Kapoor’s Eastman colored love story had so much chemistry going that all that they needed was secret glances and smiles to convey love. While today, phone, SMSs, chats and even e-mails aren’t enough. All we are concerned today is getting physical (even in public) with your partner. The crux of the movie lies in the fact that in earlier generations, people went for love with their hearts; whereas, we have become so practical that all we work with today is only our ever-calculating brain. We are selfish and think only about ourselves and our future. Jai and Meera broke up because their love was never too strong to see through a long distance relationship. They did not realize how important they were to each other. All they could think was distance and problems due to distance. In earlier times it was unimaginable where people believed that love can triumph not just distance but is also ‘saat janmon ka saath’ (a chu******** concept to the young Jai)!!

Sequences like Saif's interaction with Deepika at her marriage, the gradual change in Saif's behaviour in the U.S. in the course of a song and not to forget the climax scene when Meera (Deepika) breaking into tears are moments which stand out in the movie and make ‘love aaj kal’ a special movie.

Saif is top notch. This wasn’t an easy role to play and he performs with utmost ease. Deepika looks stunning but doesn’t impress much with her histrionics. The problem was with her role which wasn’t woven for her too well. Saif’s character on the other hand was very well written and there was meaning behind what he was doing. Deepika’s performance could have been better if her character was more developed. The Brazilian actress (Harleen Kaur in the movie) looks gorgeous and absolutely straight from Punjab!!

Another issue was the chemistry between Saif and Deepika. There didn’t seem to be too much ardor between them for them to want to be together or get married to each other. Also, you almost predict the end and sense the happy ending after all the confusions and mess ups. I personally did not mind it though ‘coz that is how I like to see every love story turn out in the end. Nevertheless, the positives are much more than these few hiccups. It is a very contemporary feel-good film which shows some realistic modern love for a change but doesn’t necessarily appreciate it. The last 40 minutes of the film when the emotional quotient of the movie gets stronger, is particularly riveting and moves you in a big way.