Movie Review : Love Aaj Kal
2009
Tags: Aaj, Bollywood, Chhote Nawab, Dipika, Dipika Padukone, Imtiaz Ali, Kal, Khan, Love, Love Aaj Kal, Movie, Movie Review, Padukone, Review, Saif, Saif Ali Khan
Secondly, it’s the characterisations that literally set the screen on fire, with their highly individualistic streak coupled with their sad vulnerability. Here again, Saif Ali Khan’s Jai and Deepika’s Meera aren’t your run-of-the-mill Romeos. While cool dude Jai dreams of building bridges like the Golden Gate and cannot see romance coming in the way of his career, restoration artist, Meera too feels long distance relationships are a drag when she decides to move from London to repaint frescoes in Delhi. Refreshingly, this romance actually begins with a break and then goes through umpteen twists and turns, before the new age Jai realises he ain’t much different from the old-fashioned Veer (Rishi Kapoor) who lived out the Heer-Ranjha story in the less cluttered 1960s. Both Jai and Meera try to live out their lives independently, simply as friends, pursuing their careers and different love interests. But ironically, they keep bumping into each other at odd junctures of their life, babbling incoherently (and funnily) to avoid the senty soulmate signals. And Saif’s absolutely delightful with his gibberish take on I’m okay, you’re okay, we’re okay, while the scene’s actually yelling out something else.
Thirdly, like Jab We Met, this film too scores in the lush atmospherics that anchor the drama so exotically. London, San Franciso are fine, but it’s actually Delhi that once again sweeps you off your feet as it stands by as a sweet and vibrant witness to the wooing and shooing, both in the 1965 romance and the 2009 something-like-love story. Playing a major role in creating the right ambience is Pritam’s foot tapping music score too which boasts of a number of chartbusters.
On the flip side, the first half does ramble a bit and takes time to build up into a riveting second half. But the alluring performances by the lead pair do cover up for the langorous bits. Deepika is definitive and strong as Meera, the modern girl who has an individuality of her own. But it is Saif who renders so many shades to his character to make it seem so very real: confident, confused, careerist, homebody, fancy-free, foolishly in love.
Final query. How do Meera and Jai resolve their long-distance-relationships-don’t-work dilemma? We’d like to believe the bridge-builder moves in with the restoration artist in saddi Dilli! Go watch it for it’s GenNow feel and it’s ekdum modern appeal.
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Tags: Aaj, Bollywood, Chhote Nawab, Dipika, Dipika Padukone, Imtiaz Ali, Kal, Khan, Love, Love Aaj Kal, Movie, Movie Review, Padukone, Review, Saif, Saif Ali Khan
