LOVE AAJ KAL
Stylishly conceptualized cute, charming & syrupy romancer sings for the urban & dances in the hearts of the rural
by Vishal Verma

An Illuminati Films presentation in association with Eros Entertainment.
Released by Eros International.

Producers : Saif Ali Khan & Dinesh Vijan
Excecutive producer : Sunil Lulla
Writer- Director : Imtiaz Ali
Genre : Romance
Target Audience : General

Shooting Locations (City & Country)

London (United Kingdom)
India
United Kingdom

Shooting Studios
Mehboob Studio

Starring

Saif Ali Khan...... Jai Vardhan Singh & Young Veer  
Deepika Padukone...... Meera
Young Harleen………Giselle
Old Harleen ……. Neetu Singh
Vir Das...... Shonty
With
Rishi Kapoor as Veer & Rahul Khanna

Technical Analysis

Imtiaz Ali does it again & this time with more erudition & pizzazz. Previously, he smartly restructured ‘DDLJ’ in ‘Jab We Met’ & now he mixes the elements of ‘Jaane Tu Jaane Na’ & surprisingly ‘Devdas’ (realizing love for his friend & getting unmanageable) to give us an impressive saga that debates is love real or love is real in ‘Love Aaaj Kal’ that is bound to take the B.O of India just as swiftly and certainly as Bebo & Saif stole each others hearts.

Despite the fact that basic premise is a bit predictable and has thus in one respect makes the film dated but the combination of superb performances, smart conceptualization, sharp, stylish, neat direction make that easily forgotten. Brilliantly conceptualizing the theme of love in today’s times which follows the mind & relating it with yesteryears which only followed the heart.  

We at Bollywood have always been lovers of romantic musicals through the ages, there are many personal favorites but this one helmed by Imtiaz who loves to experiment also gets notice for its romantic appeal, whimsical qualities, & the debut of Giselle as young Harleen, the girl looks so cute & delicate that you fear that she may break if somebody touches her. The girl rightly enters your heart with her performance.

Imtiaz wonderfully establishes the chemistry between Saif & Deepika & it’s a delight to watch them together. As in many romancers this two also travels the sane lane where the two lovers actually identify themselves & their feeling in the last reel. But its works far more effectively than any other love stories & all the credit goes to the Imtiaz who writes & directs the film as a sophisticated, fashioned, delightful, witty, and heartwarming narrator of love to his valentine.

Saif as Jai Vardhan Singh & the young Rishi is endearing - a lover of yesteryears who is doing his best he can to inject a liking and feeling of love in her beloved heart towards him. Or the happy go lucky yuppie of tdy’s who is practical, real & thinks from mind & doesn,t believe in the language of heart. Saif delivers his career best after Omkara.
 
Shinning in all her beauty Deepika gives a superb performance. Without Deepika the love story would be incomplete as she gives a splendid portrayal of tdy’s career oriented woman we meet regularly who later has to battle her heart as she tries to do the right thing for his fiancée while yearning for her lover.

One of the best things about ‘Love Aaj Kal’ is its simple portrait that time & place may change our mind & expectations about love & dreams but in the end a person has to follow his/ her heart & respond to their romantic riches.

Deserving of special mention is Rishi Kapoor who as the kind hearted Sardar is likeable as always his better half Neetu Singh comes as a pleasant surprise just before the last shot.

With A- 1 production values, beautiful lense work by N Natarajan Subramaniam & sharp editing by Aarti Bajaj & fine detailing in Teddy Maurya’s art (the posters of benagli flick in Kolkatta, the look & feel of Delhi) & trendy costumes by Dolly Ahluwalia & Anahita Shroff Adajania who give the flick a  hip look, Imtiaz attempt gets more polish & wins extra attention.

On the flip side, musically it’s a let down by Pritam. The only song that you try to take home is ‘Aahu, Aahu’ other songs are well choreographed & picturised but they only look good while watching the film.
& the other drawback which one cannot ignore is the fact that in the run of sophistication Imtiaz unfortunately puts dust on the so called popular elements which where very familiar in his previous endeavor ‘Jab We Met’. The women elements though present in ‘Love Aaaj Kal’ doesn,t comes out strongly as in the case of popular bollywood romancers like DDLG, KKHH, Jab We Met or RNBDJ.

All said & done ‘Love Aaj Kal’ scores 3&1/2 out of Five

One for the smart conceptualization

One for superb performances

One for the narration

& the last half for the technicalities

The movie loses on music which is an important ingredient in Bollywood romance & ignoring other popular elements required in a bollywood romancer

The Story

Veer (Rishi) does not understand how Jai (Saif) can treat matters of the heart without passion, like a financial transaction. Jai does not understand how Veer Singh could have been so naive and silly about Harleen (Giselle) 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.

Promotion

Decently promoted, the outdoor & indoor publicity is rightfully doing the trick, the tie –ups etc will be an attraction for the urban audience. Musically, it has its limited potential. Anyways, the publicity & the hype will attract reasonable legs to the plexes.

Business Analysis

Smart conceptualization, strategic marketing, the in look & feel with identifiable emotions that goes heavy on the love theme, Love Aaaj Kal’ is a perfect multiplex outing for anyone who belives in love. It will attract decent legs on the opening day at the plexes & will grow sustain thereafter by positive word of mouth & open market. Saif is most likely to enter in the list of successful producers & influential in adding weight to the resumes of everybody involved in this project.

Other Credits

 Cassettes and CD's on Eros Music: Lyricist: Irshad Kamil. Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty. Background Music: Salim Merchant & Sulaiman Merchant. Cinematography: N Natarajan Subramaniam. Choreography: Ashley Lobo, Bosco Martis, Caesar Gonsalves & Saroj Khan. Art: Teddy Maurya. Editor: Aarti Bajaj. Sound: Dileep Subramaniam. Costume: Dolly Ahluwalia & Anahita Shroff Adajania. Publicity Designs: Himanshu Nanda, Rahul Nanda & HR Enterprises. Media Consultant: Rain Drop Media. Reviewed at PVR, Phoniex Mills, Mumbai on July 30, 2009. Running Time: 2 hrs 10 minutes (approx).

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