Love Aaj Kal

I was quite disappointed by Imtiaz Ali's Love Aaj Kal. So much hype before and after release, and for what? For an ordinary story with nothing new to offer. The film is light and simple, but while in some cases these are the good qualities of a film, in this case, these are actually the film's pitfalls. There is actually no real story to speak of, and the film is slow-paced and at times simply boring. Love Aaj Kal is about a young guy named Jai who just ended his relationship with his girlfriend Meera. He then meets a mature Sardar named Veer Singh who tells him of his own story. From then on, the past and the present run concurrently. Saif Ali Khan plays Jai, and in the flashbacks, he plays the young Veer, whose older version is played by Rishi Kapoor. This kind of narrative style is not one to my liking, but it could have been more interesting had it been used and treated differently. For one, I could not understand why Ali had to cast Khan to play the young Rishi Kapoor. If there was some family connection between the characters of Veer and Jai, it would be more tolerable. Also, one has to note that there is absolutely zero resemblance between Khan and Kapoor, which makes it quite odd that the former played the younger version of the latter.

The film is not unwatchable by any means, but it is just not a film I personally would want to watch again. There are good things about it, no doubt, but they cannot save the story from being stale and uninspiring. The songs are quite nice to listen to, particularly "Yeh Dooriyan", which is wonderfully sung by Mohit Chauhan, and "Aaj Din Chadheya". The entire soundtrack really fits the film's mood. Saif Ali Khan repeats his young, carefree Don Juan role as Jai. His character has shades of Karan from Hum Tum (according to me his career-best), where he played a modern, cool and kind-hearted womaniser. Khan in an actor of unmatched comic talent, and though he is a bit old to play a character of this sort, here too he performs well and successfully portrays his character's gradual growth. The problem is, as said, casting him in the role of the young Veer. A younger actor would be a more interesting choice for the part. Deepika Padukone is an extremely pretty and attractive lass, and her smile lights up the screen, but something is missing there. Though she does well in some sequences, she fails to register the growth in her character. Rishi Kapoor is wonderful as Veer Singh, Rahul Khanna is okay as Vikay, and Giselle Monteiro is decent as Harleen.

Love Aaj Kal has some nice sequences. It was quite funny to see Jai and Meera celebrating their separation, and then regretting it after realising their true feelings for each other. The dialogues are good for the most part. Loved the scene in which Jo, Jai's new girlfriend who is played by a foreign beauty called Florence Brudenell-Bruce, decides to leave him as she notices his indifference towards their relationship. The film can be an entertaining watch with family and friends, though towards the end it has its share of clichés and becomes very predictable. After watching a charming and entertaining piece like Jab We Met, I had high expectations from this Imtiaz Ali film. Unfortunately, in this one the chemistry between the leads is missing, and though the film grows on you as it nears the end, it ends up being worthy of just a one-time watch. I am sure Ali is capable of making much more than just an ordinary love story like this one. Hope he does so in the future.

well i had many expectations from this movie after the jab we met blockbuster by imtiaz ali.. it doesn't fit on my expectations actually coz i expected more.. the movie is quite slow paced in the initial half.. it creates interest in the later half building up some emotions at a time and binding the entire script.. the movie is all about saif having the major role and the center of attraction .. the movie is scripted on an ordinary storyline with extraordinary direction h, hats off to imtiaz for it.. deepika is stunning as usual.. saif fits in both the characters accurately.. the songs are mind blowing 8.5 on 10 for music.. it sets the mood.. the climax is guessable but it has a certain twist.. well typical happy go ending as usual.. the song ahun ahun don't let you leave your seats in the casting as well.. so a good one time watchable movie for me..

The three films that Imtiaz Ali has directed so far have a common theme running through them - the protagonists do not realize that they are in love till the very end. In all three the real drama is not in how the lovers meet or fall in love or the peripheral characters (like family or friends). It is about realization. That he does it successfully third time in a row probably tells that Imtiaz Ali either feels very strongly about the concept or that he has had some real life experience of his own.

Love Aajkal starts with Jai (Saif) and Meera (Deepika) breaking up. They are apparently very practical about their relationship and plan it such that it goes along with their other plans for life. Only that life, as always, has plans of its own. The more time they spend away from each other, the more they realize they are meant to be together. To catalyze the Jai's end of the realization process we have an amiable old café owner, Veer (Rishi Kapoor). Veer's love story in flashback is a parallel track to Jai-Meera's. Both the stories run juxtaposed with each other to a predictable but nevertheless heart warming climax.

Saif plays both Jai and the young Veer. He is top notch in both roles. Flambouyance comes naturally to him when he plays Jai and he is very convincing as the rugged and (at times) clumsy Veer. Deepika is at ease in the role of Meera. It seems as if she is playing herself. At the dramatic scenes, however, like the one immediately after her marriage where she is impatient to talk to Jai, and the scene following that when she is talking to Jai over the phone, she betrays that she still needs to learn the ropes. She looks stunning in every frame. Perfect foil to the glamorous Meera is the docile and beautiful Harleen. She is pretty as a picture, though she hardly speaks in the entire film.

Imtiaz Ali is an inspired director. He knows his characters and his story. He is more focused on technique this time, compared to Jab We Met or Socha Na Tha. I guess that is because he was aware that he has a weaker story in hand. He handles the two tracks brilliantly, managing to keep both engaging. His editor delivers the goods for him to achieve that. A noteworthy good work by the editor is the sequence at the beginning where we see the cast and crew credits. It is a collage of scenes from the complete film.

The songs go well with the film (though with Pritam, I don't know how much of it is original). The background score could have been more imaginative.

Love Aajkal is easily the best romantic comedy of the year so far. Worth watching.

Its always challenging to write about movie which is complete all aspects. There is a predicament if one would do justice - and needless to say "Love Aaj Kal" falls into the same category. If I were to list the top 3 movies of 2009, it would be - Kaminey, Dev D & Love Aaj Kal.

There is no earth-shattering love-story in "Love Aaj Kal". The USP of "Love Aaj Kal" is juxtaposing the past with the present using "Love" as the baseline. In DDLJ Anupam Kher says a memorable line "Mohabbat ka naam, aaj bhi mohabbat hain" and Imitiaz effectively translates this on silver screen to convey that the core emotion/ feeling "Love" is still the same - unadulterated & pristine, the dynamics however may have changed with times.

¤ Saif: Reprising the character of modern/ contemporary "Jai" comes quite naturally to Saif and undoubtedly his its his forte. I particularly liked the way "Jai" goes on verbal diarrhoea when he gets confused. It takes a while for the audience to get around rustic sepia "Veer Singh" but once that mental block is jumped over, you would appreciate two distinct characters played by Saif and yet again conjoined to Rishi Kapoor. And yes, donning the hats of the producer is indeed praiseworthy.

¤ Deepika: There are varied shades to her character and it lives within the defined boundaries. Her conviction to follow the philosophy "Set your love free...." is well portrayed. Author backed role and she delivers with utmost perfection (to the extent that you can't imagine anybody else in her shoes). And yes, her best performance till date, and maybe long way to go until she manages to surpass it.

¤ Giselle Monteiro: She was fantabulous as Harleen, and keeping the secret under the wraps? Only Imtiaz could have managed to pull such a spectacular feat.

¤ Rishi Kapoor: Spot on. You will fall in love with this large- hearted Sardar.

¤ Rahul Khanna: Nearly forgot! He was adequate but his character was more of a stocking filler.

Songs by Pritam are neatly-blended into the storyline. The foot- tapping numbers are bound to stay on top charts for a while. Nicely complimenting them is the choreography. The costumes designers deserve a special mention. Technical department namely story, screenplay and script are the strongest point of "Love Aaj Kal". The passion of Imtiaz Ali gets reflected in each frame.

"Jab We Met" had set a new bar and I was sceptical if Imtiaz would manage to get even close. But after "Love Aaj Kal", yet again he has set a new precedent.

Raj Kapoor was extremely passionate about his movies - he narrated the story from the bottom of his heart, the female characters were fleshed out strongly and the music was rich. The Bollywood can now rest for a true successor to the "Showman" has arrived.

PS: The last frame in "Love Aaj Kal" was a pure master stroke.

It is for mango people! the dialogue rocks!

Simply great movie a truly sensible and for modern lovers. This is a strong film reflects on how the old style of true love is still alive in this generation. It is also strongly appealing that god exists, belief exists and true love exist

finally Saif, and Deepika rocks they both share a good chemistry on screen.And of course how can we forget Rishi Kapoor I think he is well tailored for this role

A very predictable end but the way it ends is simply superb i think all 'HUM TUM' lovers will like this.