LOVE AAJ KAL: A RARE SCRIPT!

By Tapan Pattani

In 2005 , Dharmendra produced a happy go lucky romantic film to launch Abhay Deol and Ayesha Takia . The film was called Socha Na Tha and the it was tv writer and director Imtiaz Alis debut film as director. The film did not perform well at box office but it was noted by critics for its simplicity and natural characters. Then came Jab We Met , Kareena Kapoors easily best performance! The film made Imtiaz Ali a household name. What next? He made a difficult to write, a rare kind of love story called Love Aaj Kal in 2009. My thoughts on this.

LOVE: Its easily one of the most common thing to appear in 99.99% Hindi films since inception of hindi cinema! So what makes Love Aaj Kal special? It’s the parallel story of 2 generations told in much simplicity where the filmmaker compares the value of the word LOVE and COMMITMENT which was more valid in old generation and now only limited up to physical relations in new generation. I personally think to conceive and write a film like this needs pure genius mind. It’s not easy to compare the sensibilities of both different generations and keep engaging viewers though the film might sound difficult to digest initially to some as viewer may get confused what is happening actually in the film specially in the initial reels.

PLOT: Love Aaj Kal tells the tale of 2 generations and their perspective about love.

Today’s, Saif is normal man who just enjoys the physical things in relationships and does not believe in eternal love and marriage etc. he represents the today’s generation who are more involved in their careers and are PRACTICAL . For them flirting and then enjoying is more important than commitment . We young generation is so busy in making money and achieving professional heights and have forget about heart and think from mind . MANGO PEOPLE!

Yesterdays generation Rishi Kapoor , where young Rishi Kapoor is played also by saif believes love is most important and divine feeling and emotion and it happens only once and more than physical, its spiritual feeling . The respect and commitment towards partner is more important .

The film follows the kind of pattern which can confuse a viewer initially and it takes some time to settle and understand the story as past and present times are interwoven and time is swinging in film. It’s basically a dialogue between 2 people and their perspective towards love and career.

Imtiaz ali is a mastermind! The contrast of generations and their thinking is presented very well through dialogues ! eg( OLD MAN ). Aaj ke zamane main ho jaye who kuch kuch, baad main poochte hai behenji aapka naam kya tha? Hamare zamaane main baanta nahi karte the hum woh kuch kuch! Ek tareeka tha , thezeeb thi. ( NEW GENERATION ) Hum practical log hai paaji. Apna career hai uska bhi career hai. Aisa hota hai hi. Yeh laila majnu types sirf kitabo main hote hai. We are aam junta MANGO PEOPLE!

DIRECTION: Imtiaz Ali follows a slightly different way of storytelling mixing the two stories from different generations but finally meeting the same fate. It’s like two rivers colliding in same place. The writing would have been a difficult part.

MUSIC: Pritam totally creates chartbusters for this film! Every song is a chartbuster ! Chor Bazari takes you in your youth carefree times, Aaj din chadeya invokes the feeling you must have had in your life towards the girl you loved but could not say., Yeh dooriyan takes the pain one feels when the loved one goes away from life , twist takes you to party level and climax song proves the whole point of the film. This is one of the best works of pritam along with METRO.

PERFORMANCES: Saif has played the urban cool guy character in many films ( Hum tum, salaam Namaste etc ) but this time to play two generations is not an easy task but saif plays it with gusto! Initially I felt Saif looked older than Deepika as a lover boy but he manages to gel well with Jay singh the character . Deepika has also done a decent job and looks eternally beautiful specially in chor bazari song. It was her initial phase of career and to match up with a seasoned actor like saif is not an easy task but deepika shines in that. Rishi Kapoor as usual is charming and plays a guide to younger generation with perfect portrayal.

Special mention to editor Aarti Bajaj as this film needed a capable editor as like in rang de basanti the story flips between past and present very fast

FINAL WORD: Many people may find this film boring devoid of emotions and not a perfect film, but that’s perfectly OK! This may not a perfect film but it is enjoyable and actually philosophical tale of of the notion and importance of love. Rishi Kapoor became a good responsible man because to win his love and Saif left his love because he wanted career. Pure contrast! It teaches the importance of lifelong commitment and relationship .