FILMIKHABAR

Imtiaz Ali, the name that made a mark in Bollywood with two beautiful movies, be it 'Socha Na tha' or 'Jab We Met', both touched youth tremendously. Now when such expectations ride on your shoulders and you take almost a U-Turn in your career and opt for rather serious business, It's a big risk but that make things interesting too. I remember when i saw promos of 'Love Aaj Kal' i was really impressed that I'm heading towards something contemporary but with rather different angle. So, stakes and expectations both were high and i was witnessing some of the most finest screenplays lately. Scared, Excited and with lots of things on my mind i saw 'Love Aaj Kal' with an open mind. So, was it worth? Well, the answer is I was not disappointed much.

'Love Aaj Kal' is a story of Jai[Saif Ali Khan] & Meera[Deepika Padukone] and their illusion of being practical in everything. It's a story of relations of today and yesteryears, how they are differently handled but practically same. The movie itself starts off confused and in ten minutes you hear one of the most beautiful songs of recent times 'Yeh Dooriyan' that make things a bit more confusing. At the interval you are relaxed but still thinking what director wants to say? Sceenplay in first half is dull in bits and places. Second half was better and leads story 'happily' to the 'Happy End'.

Best part about screenplay and direction was usage of flash back of Veer[Rishi Kapoor & Saif] and Hurleen [Giselle Monteiro]story, best scenes are conceived in that part. When you come out of the hall you are quite satisfied rather elated with the proceedings.

Direction on the whole was good but below expectations, Imtiaz handled two parts of story elegantly but lost grip at some places, still not bad job. Sceenplay like i said was a bit dull in bits and places manage to offer you look at relations seriously. Now the best part, the music of the movie, though i felt one-two songs popped up rather quickly yet they leave you with a mark, same goes with the Background music, it was fantastic. Best picks from the movie are 'Yeh Dooriyan','Aaj Din Chadeya' & 'We Twist'.

Performances on the whole were quite impressive, Saif have played such characters before but he excels here in two different characters. I would say his third best performance after 'Hum Tum' & 'Omkara'. Deepika Padukone on the other hand was tolerable, she should do something about her dialogue delivery and should borrow some more expressions. Deepika next time 'Smile Only' will not work. Rishi Kapoor was brilliant in his role, nothing left to be said about him. Giselle Monteiro was innocent and her silence leaves a mark too. Rahul Khanna in his small role was fine.

On the whole, 'Love Aaj Kal' is interesting in bits but enjoyable.Frankly, it has nothing new to offer but not the same way to offer either. It's 'Black Coffee with No Sugar' and that's the interesting part. Do watch it once with open mind and leave 'Jab We Met' out of the hall, you won't be disappointed.

3/5(Good)

Written by :

DON

 

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Waqas  - NICE ONE!   |115.186.99.xxx |2009-08-02 11:39:26 A nice one! the introduction was good to the movie:D and what u said about depika :)) Reply | Quote 0   0

Shaan Khan   |67.83.154.xxx |2009-08-02 14:53:00 Don Tell me what you found dull (holes in screenplay) ? One of the problem of this movie is that it attempts to show us the mindset of today's youth. THAT IS HARD Yet Imtiaz Ali has managed to do very well. I think this movie reshuffles the deck in Bollywood. LAK exposes how over rated Rakesh O Mehra is. Reply | Quote 0   0

DON   |Manager |2009-08-02 15:42:42 Shaan Bhai Good to see some comment on my review that too by you, well it was dull in bits for me. Deepika character wasn't upto mark may be because of her own incompetence or what. Now Screenplay part, it became very cheeky in between, it had valleys...He handled it well in two stories going in one side but leave clueless at bits and places. It had nothing new to offer like i mentioned but the way was not old and he succeeded in it but not completely. I had expectations, tried to put them off my mind during movie! If you compare Dooriyan promo with the movie both have magnanimous difference. I said what i felt, its contemporary & delicious but certainly not great in my books! Reply | Quote 0   0

avirup2008   |Publisher |2009-08-02 15:55:12 Valid points, but I would like to add that these were the very fabric why the story seems so real and emotionally relatable to every romantic at heart. Deepika's incompetence is not because of her acting, but the insecurity that laces her character throughout the movie. She is unsure about being sure of life, and that complex dilemma is enough to make her go through a roller coaster emotional love. If she is lacking in emotions, its because her character demands it, not her acting prowess. As per Dooriyan promo, I thought the song was executed brilliantly in the movie, and handled in a more mature way than the promo. look carefully and you will see that Dooriyan on opening credits is actually a flashback of shots which appear later in the film, a manner of reverse storytelling which keeps the audience guessing about the ambiguity of the relationship. I personally found this feature to be an ingenious craft for a master ... Reply | Quote 0   0

DON   |Manager |2009-08-02 16:00:01 Don't tell me Deepika character had to do that type of delivery and should have lacked expressions. Hurleen was bound to be that way not Deepika. She was delivering dilogues plainly. I agree with that 'Yeh Dooriyan' argument of yours. But i never denied his brilliance in Direction, did i? Reply | Quote 0   0

DON   |Manager |2009-08-02 16:06:48 I'm myself part of this contemporary relations world but there is a part in screenplay between Jai-Meera which is cheeky. Reply | Quote 0   0

avirup2008   |Publisher |2009-08-02 17:15:00 Deepika's character Meera belongs to a genre where emotions are overpowered by practicality, love by compatibility, and faith in the option to let each other go. If Deepika lacked expressions, it was because Meera had grown up in an environment which did not allow her the choice of subtle emotions, but rather a tongue-in-cheek humour. If parts were cheeky, it was deliberate to show a "certain section" of contemporary society, not in the general form. And yes, I believe Deepika produced a brilliant combination of innocence, cheekiness, poise and maturity in the film, just what the character needed of her! Reply | Quote 0   0

Shaan Khan   |Manager |2009-08-02 17:30:12 Don One way of looking at this is that it can only happen today. It would have never happen in "olden" times. The way Deepika acted was how a lot of girls are today. In order to protect themselves from getting hurt they cover their feelings and position. Saif (guys) are no different, they just hide behind a false bravado. You can say that Deepika's inability to express her true desire or what she really wanted bothered you. But that is how things are today. We have a zillion tools to communicate (snail-mail, emails, twitter, SMS, phone...)yet we cannot express ourselves. For me Deepika was just being true to her character. She did well, but Bebo would have been better. Now the cheeky part. In an age of "friend with benefits", an age where "oral sex" (i.e. between man and women, not between Akshay Shaggo and Dr Rajen Dang) amongst high school teenagers is considered no big deal,this all is NORMAL. . Reply | Quote 0   0

DON   |Manager |2009-08-02 18:06:41 Okay Guys, after all opinions and take which i found interesting so I'm gonna take another look just to see where i or you guys went wrong:P Reply | Quote 0   0

DON   |Manager |2009-08-03 18:19:27 I saw movie today again and let me admit and confirm some things here. 1-I agreed with Yeh Dooriyan point of Avirup and its brilliantly put together with Backward-Forward thing. 2-Direction was brilliant, which i agreed in my review. Movie is very cleverly directed. 3-Script had some problem, but whatever Imtiaz had on his hands he did best with it. 4-Best take on contemporary love, no doubt about it. 5-Script thing may be because of restrictions in Indian Cinema, which will not go like that, it will take time and it's easing out. (3.5/5)[Because of Clever Direction & Restrictions Script had] Reply | Quote 0   0

DON   |Manager |2009-08-03 18:21:44 6-Deepika, i still say wasn't doing any good to the movie, she could have been 100times better. Reply | Quote 0   0

Shaan Khan   |Manager |2009-08-03 23:21:54 Don In a few years, your rating for LAK will become 4/5 and then 4.5/5. It will go as per the gazal, Pehle Jaan, Phir Jaanejaan, Phir .....Ho Gaye. Rafta Rafta Woh Mere.... :) Even DDLJ was just DDLJ at its release. It snow balled into "D D L J" with time. No doubt that "D D L J" is a tremendous movie and perhaps LAK is a few chips shorts of being today's DDLJ, but it touches the nerve of today's youth just like DDLJ did in its time. For that you have to give credit to Imtiaz Ali and to Nawab Sahab. Reply | Quote 0   0

DON   |Manager |2009-08-04 09:00:04 Shaan Bhai That won't be the case, final reaction to it was the one i told, i rectified some points and on some points i still hold on. It's way short of DDLJ even in terms of contemporary love too. DDLJ had all the way new thing with new handling. Reply | Quote 0   0

raj  - a nice time pass   |122.162.42.xxx |2009-08-03 18:34:34 I expected a lot more from this movie as it was touted to be this rainy season blockbuster or something like that.But somewhere deep within I knew imtiaz might not live up to the expectations as he is IMTIAZ ALI -THE JAB WE MET DIRECOR now.We look at him differently now.But if we look at the film considering its a mediocre film made by a mediocre directoe,we wont be dissapointed.The film is riddled with witty and sharp dialogues and the pragmatic screenplay is definitely a new thing to watch.Also its a very practical and today-ish take on love.Its kindaa cool!!!.Performance wise saif was uber -cool as always!but nothing new from him.nevertheless he was fantastic.Deepika was not bad.but yes she has to do something abt her dialougue delivery. Reply | Quote 0   0

raj   |122.162.42.xxx |2009-08-03 18:38:52 She looked gorgeous though:).The flashback part was sweet.The new girl is pretty and her silence conveyed a lot:)rishi kapoor as usual did justice to the character.The cameo by neetu singh was a pleasant surprise:).overall a nice time pass.not a great movie though!I so agree with the last line of the review of don!that is my last opinion abt the movie as well Reply | Quote 0   0

Waqas   |115.186.99.xxx |2009-08-04 10:24:12 Just one bad point of the movie is deepika !!!!! my rating 4/5 Reply | Quote 0   0

Fenil  - :)   |120.138.108.xxx |2009-08-06 09:19:40 Excellent review Mansoor! U already knw my views on it...but I loved your take too! Keep rocking! FENIL Reply | Quote 0   0

DON   |Manager |2009-08-06 12:12:31 Fenil Thanks Alot Bro, I'm learning from you guys. Reply | Quote 0   0

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