Love Aaj Kal Movie Review

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Love Aaj Kal Movie Review

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rishi Kapoor, Rahul Khanna

One of the reasons Saif Ali Khan has given for turning a producer is that he wants to own the work he’s doing. His first venture in this new role is work he should be proud of owning.

The star of “Love Aaj Kal”, however, is director Imtiaz Ali. His 14-reel-long storytelling is exhilarating, for the romantics for sure. So many movies have been made on the topic of love that it has become difficult to come up with a fresh take on the subject, at least in Bollywood which is facing a shortage of good scripts.

But Imtiaz Ali, who is also...the film’s writer, presents a ‘new angle’ of romance, and ‘discusses’ it deftly, often with the help of witty one-liners and heart-warming moments.

His script seamlessly moves across continents and decades, and the lead characters, both aaj and kal, occupy spaces that are created to reflect what love was and is in the respective eras. It’s all about New Age versus age-old relationships and the timelessness of love.

So we have Jai (Saif) and Meera (Deepika Padukone), a modern-day London-based couple, who are dating each other but without any strings attached. In fact, they are practical enough to break up when career goals separate them. Meanwhile, an old Sikh restaurateur Veer Singh (Rishi Kapoor), whom Jai casually befriends, narrates to him his own love story to make a point about how matters of the heart were dealt with differently in his times.

As a handsome young man in ‘Dilli’ many years ago, Veer (Saif playing the young Veer too) silently and relentless pursued Harleen Kaur, a pretty neighbourhood girl. Both the stories unfold simultaneously on screen, one shot in sepia and the other in all the colours of modern living. The inter-cuts are interestingly done, with the two same situations compared, then and now, on several occasions.

Ultimately, both stories come to a matching end. No matter when and where you may be, the essence of love remains the same even though its form changes, we are told. Though easy to summarise, the script of “Love Aaj Kal” is clearly not an easy one to write, but commendably, Imitiaz Ali makes it seem fairly simple. His narration is invigorating, and with a running time of about 2 hours, the film’s pace doesn’t drop, with even the songs taking the story forward.

The only fault can be pinned to the film’s somewhat abrupt beginning, and more so to the song in the end credits, which gives the movie a ‘filmy’ touch, while it had seemed so real right through. By putting Veer and Harleen in the present times and alongside Jai and Meera in a disco setting, the director adulterates the aura of the ‘kal’ couple, whom you want to remember the way they were shown in the movie. Placed similarly, “Mauja Mauja” worked in Ali’s “Jab We Met”, but “Ahun Ahun” doesn’t work here, it just messes up the continuity of narration.

However, this doesn’t take away much from Saif’s labour of love. He has put his heart and soul into the promotion of “Love Aaj Kal” these last few weeks and the same effort has gone into his roles in the film. We have seem him in many movies as the modern, witty and confused protagonist, so as Jai he’s on familiar territory and does well, just like always. But it’s the character of Veer that really challenges him as an actor, and Saif rises to the challenge with élan. Shunning his uber-cool persona, he gets into the skin of bicycle-riding-tiffin-in-hand Veer with conviction, and gives an endearing performance.

If it hadn’t been for his portrayal of Veer, Saif would have been upstaged in his home production by Deepika, who turns in a stunning performance, her career’s best. For once, her acting deserves more praise that her looks, which are stunning too. While casting for the film, Imtiaz Ali was apparently convinced that only Deepika could play Meera, and he was so right!

The identity of the actress who plays Harleen Kaur has been kept under wraps, though an ‘introducing Rinku Singh” was spotted in the end credits. Whoever she may be, Harleen looks ethereal and does well as the demure girl-next-door who makes Veer fall in love, that one and only time.

Technically, “Love Aaj Kal” is refreshing as well. The visuals are aesthetic and pleasing, with good-looking people and even more pretty locations upping its appeal. The editing is crisp and the screenplay, brisk. The movie’s soundtrack is already dotting the charts.

What more does the aam janta, or Mango people as Jai calls them, need? Go on, fall in love with this one.