Love Aaj
London, San Francisco, Delhi - 2009. Jai and Meera are a modern-day couple in London. They are very happy together but do not believe in tying each other down. So when life pulls them in different directions, they decide to go with the flow. “These Heer-Ranjha, Romeo-Juliet type janam janam ka saath type couples exist only in story books”, Jai says. In the real life, we have to be practical.
Love Kal
Delhi, Calcutta - 1965. Veer Singh is struck by the thunderbolt when he sees Harleen for the first time. Soon after, he stands under a tree and swears that “is janam mein aur har janam mein… yehi meri votti banegi – Harleen Kaur.” He travels a thousand kilometers by train to stand under her balcony only to have a glimpse of her face. And yet not speak a word with her.
Love Aaj Kal
Veer does not understand how Jai can treat matters of the heart without passion, like a financial transaction. Jai does not understand how Veer Singh could have been so naïve and silly about Harleen in the days of his youth. But as both stories unfold, we realize that the process of relationship might be different in different eras, but the experience of being in love remains the same. So there is the frolic and despair of modern living. The liberation and confusion. And there is the past – the times of innocence and compulsion. And there is distance, and the fondness that increases with distance. Gaps widen between two people, but bridges keep growing too.
Love Aaj Kal
Maxabout Review
Coolest film of the year, makes you fall in love with love all over again.. .
Friday, July 31, 2009
LOVE AAJ KAL is not an easy film to write and execute. Sure, it's a love story, but it's not one of those mundane love stories that talks of love and heartache. Here, the two stories, set in different eras, run parallel, but have a similar end. The reaction after watching the film has to be similar to a child who has laid his hands on his fav toy. The joyous smile would say it all.
To be brutally honest, it takes time to grasp the plot, since the past and present run concurrently. If you aren't attentive, chances are you'd lose the plot. Also, if you aren't aware by now that Saif enacts dual roles in the film -- playing his part as also the part of young Rishi Kapoor -- the goings-on would confuse you no end, when the transition occurs.
There are three reasons why you must catch Love Aaj Kal ASAP – dialogues, performances and music. Imtiaz Ali's tale of love, then and now is a light hearted and refreshing watch. Like Socha Na Tha and Jab We Met, Imtiaz Ali's third film also rests on a wafer-thin plot. The director uses smart one-liners and life-like situations to take the story forward
The film captivates in bits and spurts in the initial portions. Partly because the writing is so different. But the writing breaks new grounds in the second hour. It's in this hour that the film grips you completely, when the fragmented pieces are put together and a mesmeric picture emerges.
Imtiaz Ali is a genius. The film bears the stamp of an accomplished storyteller. This is a forward-thinking film that handles the new-age relationships with complete understanding. The scenes between Rishi and Saif are bound to remind you of the advice your dad gives you about settling down in life. As a technician Imtiaz shows shades of Yash Raj romances.
LOVE AAJ KAL is a director's show entirely. After making the much loved Jab We Met, Imtiaz Ali succeeds in giving us an extremely different love story that we have never witnessed before on Indian screen. He scores high on his writing and his treatment of the film. The relationships here are complex because the couple in love lives in complete denial. It is to Imtiaz Ali's credit that he has
penned an offbeat story, developed a complex but comprehensive screenplay and extracted sensitive performances from the principal cast. At the same time, the writing isn't the type that would appeal to all sections of movie-going audience. Besides, the execution of the subject and also the pacing in the first hour are deterrents.
Here's a film with both head and heart.
In the initial 10 minutes he successfully establishes Saif and Deepika’s relationship and their character quirks. He surprises you then by putting a melancholic song (Ye Dooriyan) as opening credits role showing montages of various important twists of the plot that lie ahead. In fact his screenplay is indeed full of surprises ahead, especially in the second half. As you begin to anticipate a particular thing happening ahead in the plot, almost 9 times out of 10 he proves you wrong.
Making the film extremely relatable to everyone who has ever been in love and broken off with his/her partner, Imtiaz takes it notches higher by his dialogues that sound simple but convey a lot. They are once again straight out of everyday conversations. Plenty of scenes stay with you as you come out.
The second half could have been 20 minutes shorter. Also, while the easy pace of the film works for the theme, it often tends to get slow. This film wastes little time in the boy meets girl part and is quick to get to the point. But the point could have been made in under two hours.
Imtiaz has repeated his technical team trio of JWM – Aarti Bajaj (Editing), Teddy Maurya (Art Direction) and Cinematographer (N. Nataraj Subramaniam) and each of them have excelled in their respective departments. Music of the film by Pritam is already ruling the charts and thankfully none of the songs act as speed breakers. The picturisation of Main Kya Hoon in San Francisco showing various changes in Saif is simply fantastic.
Without any doubt, these are career best performances of both Saif and Deepika and it should not be a surprise if they both end up winning most of awards for this year.
Saif has always been at ease playing the cool no strings attached dude but in here he also succeeds in playing the brooding romantic Sardar Veer Singh very well and is extremely impressive in the
post interval emotional sequences.
Deepika wins hearts not just by looking extremely attractive throughout but also with the effortless ease she portrays her complex character.
Rishi Kapoor is extremely loveable as the mature Veer Singh and lends tremendous dignity to his character. Debutante
Giselle Monteiro manages to speak volumes just through her expressions.
Rahul Khanna in a special appearance is good and suits the character perfectly well.
Raj Zutshi playing Harleen’s father reminds of Pawan Malhotra’s character of Kareena’s uncle in Jab We Met.
Florence Brudenell Bruce playing Saif’s Swiss girlfriend doesn’t have much to do but manages to do a good job.
LOVE AAJ KAL is for the young and romantic at heart. Sure, it's not perfect, but the terrific performances, melodious music and stirring emotional moments more than compensate for the hiccups.
Love Aaj Kal is a film definitely not to be missed. It offers us something fresh and and is a unique experiment in story telling and direction that works big time. It is one film that Saif, Deepika and Imtiaz shall always be proud of whenever they look back at their career. LOVE AAJ KAL makes you fall in love with love all over again. Makes you value your loved ones all the more. This film is special!