Love Aaj Kal (2009)

I was quite disappointed by Imtiaz Ali's Love Aaj Kal. So much hype before and after release, and for what? For an ordinary story with nothing new to offer. The film is light and simple, but while in some cases these are the good qualities of a film, in this case, these are actually the film's pitfalls. There is actually no real story to speak of, and the film is slow-paced and at times simply boring. Love Aaj Kal is about a young guy named Jai who just ended his relationship with his girlfriend Meera. He then meets a mature Sardar named Veer Singh who tells him of his own story. From then on, the past and the present run concurrently. Saif Ali Khan plays Jai, and in the flashbacks, he plays the young Veer, whose older version is played by Rishi Kapoor. This kind of narrative style is not one to my liking, but it could have been more interesting had it been used and treated differently. For one, I could not understand why Ali had to cast Khan to play the young Rishi Kapoor. If there was some family connection between the characters of Veer and Jai, it would be more tolerable. Also, one has to note that there is absolutely zero resemblance between Khan and Kapoor, which makes it quite odd that the former played the younger version of the latter.

The film is not unwatchable by any means, but it is just not a film I personally would want to watch again. There are good things about it, no doubt, but they cannot save the story from being stale and uninspiring. The songs are quite nice to listen to, particularly "Yeh Dooriyan", which is wonderfully sung by Mohit Chauhan, and "Aaj Din Chadheya". The entire soundtrack really fits the film's mood. Saif Ali Khan repeats his young, carefree Don Juan role as Jai. His character has shades of Karan from Hum Tum (according to me his career-best), where he played a modern, cool and kind-hearted womaniser. Khan in an actor of unmatched comic talent, and though he is a bit old to play a character of this sort, here too he performs well and successfully portrays his character's gradual growth. The problem is, as said, casting him in the role of the young Veer. A younger actor would be a more interesting choice for the part. Deepika Padukone is an extremely pretty and attractive lass, and her smile lights up the screen, but something is missing there. Though she does well in some sequences, she fails to register the growth in her character. Rishi Kapoor is wonderful as Veer Singh, Rahul Khanna is okay as Vikay, and Giselle Monteiro is decent as Harleen.

Love Aaj Kal has some nice sequences. It was quite funny to see Jai and Meera celebrating their separation, and then regretting it after realising their true feelings for each other. The dialogues are good for the most part. Loved the scene in which Jo, Jai's new girlfriend who is played by a foreign beauty called Florence Brudenell-Bruce, decides to leave him as she notices his indifference towards their relationship. The film can be an entertaining watch with family and friends, though towards the end it has its share of clichés and becomes very predictable. After watching a charming and entertaining piece like Jab We Met, I had high expectations from this Imtiaz Ali film. Unfortunately, in this one the chemistry between the leads is missing, and though the film grows on you as it nears the end, it ends up being worthy of just a one-time watch. I am sure Ali is capable of making much more than just an ordinary love story like this one. Hope he does so in the future.

Fmovies: After so many years at last there is movie which can be more than once. Saif Ali khan has tried his best 9/10 for him .He can still work on his Punjabi.Deepika Padukone very heavy accent for a British .She should neutralize her thick Bombay-type accent for her own good. If you live outside India you can relate more to this movie. Rishi Kapoor is brilliant as usual. and for Imtiaz Ali , He has some special thing for Punjabi and turbans. He has done a great job with this movie. 10/10 .Great sense of humor running through the movie. MANGO PEOPLE..

Movie has a Hollywood feel when it starts ,which can be a negative for some audience but later it . Overall not your average mas-ala movie, you need some overseas exposure to understand the concept and idea behind this flick

Once again Imtiaz Ali manages to transform an ordinary love story into an extraordinary experience. Quite like his previous film 'Jab we met', the actual story of this movie isn't exceptional, but he manages to portray it in such an interesting way that you are left in awe.

The story begins with a very happy couple Jai ( Saif Ali Khan ) and Meera ( Deepika Padukone ) who get along unusually well with each other. But once Meera has to leave the country for good because of her work, they mutually and gladly decide to break up for the fear of not being able to handle a long distance relationship. This happens in a coffee shop owned by an old man Veer ( Rishi Kapoor ) who takes a keen interest in their affair and decides to find out more. Once Jai opens up to him, Veer confesses that he was quite like Jai in his own time. This is when, bit by bit, Veer starts revealing to Jai his own love story. Initially Jai finds Veer's thinking and approach very amusing. But as his life continues, he sees an uncanny reflection of his own love life in Veer's decades old love story. The whole plot of the movie revolves around the events and happenings in Jai and Meera's life thereon with a delicate backdrop of Veer's love life and its relevance to their life.

The beauty of this film lies in the portrayal and comparison of these two parallel love stories. The basic idea of the film is to show how, even though approaches and ideologies have changed over the years, 'love' as a concept still remains the same no matter what era. The striking resemblances yet the subtle differences between Jai and Veer's love stories are shown brilliantly.

All the actors have done a commendable job in the movie. Saif Ali Khan, specially did a fantastic job playing both 'young Veer' and Jai. Deepika Padukone was upto the mark and Rishi Kapoor was impeccable as usual. The music of the movie deserves a special mention. Pritam has done an outstanding job once again with "Aahun Aahun" and "Yeh Dooriyan" probably being the pick of the lot.

All in all a great fun film to watch! Highly recommended.

Love Aaj Kal fmovies. The long wait for Bollywood to shake off the shackles of mindless masti is officially over. Long have fans waited in earnest for a movie that would captivate their minds and take them on a journey of love in a way only bollywood knows how. Love Aaj Kal is more than a refreshing foray into long unvisited areas, its a return to the classic principles of a modest and true love.

Many films have struggled to portray such stories amidst the backdrop of a modern society and understandably so. Much has changed since the day 'raj' introduced himself to 'simran' on a moving train carriage (DDLJ). But Love Aaj Kal does this to near perfection. The realities of a modern day relationship are brought to intense scrutiny under the principles of old age chivalry and modesty. The result is an enthralling plot where the reconciliation of both unfolds in a most untypical manner. Believe me when I tell you that this story is not typical, nor are the many directions it takes.

Locations such as England, the US and India are effectively utilised without resorting to a plethora of scenic shots in an attempt to add to the films credibility. The flashbacks themselves are tastefully created, giving the audience a breath of fresh air whilst carrying the story to its much appreciated climax. The story, the dialogue and the camera work combine brilliantly and give the film a sense of professionalism and artistic sense, both of which appear to be lacking in most of the movies being churned out by the industry.

The acting is brilliant. Saif manages to find a middle ground between the charismatic 'nickhil' (salam namaste) and the intensity of 'Ishwar' (Om Kara), thus demanding empathy and guaranteeing laughs. Deepika proves her credentials as an actress in this film, her beauty already a forgone conclusion. Rishi Kapoor is an ever-reliable foil to the young protagonist (Saif) and guides the movie well. Lastly, the actress playing 'Harleen' also deserves recognition. Much pressure must have been placed on the young girl who had to shoulder the responsibility of a story parallelling that of stars such as Saif and Deepika. But this she handled with aplomb. She was more than believable as 'Harleen' and perfect for the plot's intentions of a modest romance. A slight qualm of mine is the western actress chosen to play 'Jo', whose acting was the usual unconvincing performance that is becoming commonplace in Indian movies with westerners (Lagaan the exception). A better character and actress could no doubt have been sought.

I recommend this film to all who wish to see what emotions a bollywood love story is capable of invoking. The 90's brought with it the melodious love of DDLJ, yet it is in 2009 that bollywood brings a practical love story equally capable of capturing our imaginations.

We are now living into a materialistic world where even the relationships are now built on calculation...but does that mean that the essence of true feelings have gone obsolete? Finding answer of such trivial question would take you a long time unless you want to see a 2+ hours movie called "Love Aaj kal". I am sure now the bells would not ring but definitely in time to come people would realize that the message delivered by the movie is much deeper than what it feels from the first look.

This movie is a journey of love from past to present, to convey the message that something doesn't change with the time and at the end one has to follow his/her heart because that's what is the real pursuit of happiness.

The story of movie revolves around two protagonists, one from the present and one from past. Only with the glitch of time -frame change, both the stories follows the same path and ultimately ends at the very point where essentially a true love story should end, A happy ending. The only difference in both the stories is the way realization happen, in the one of past the realization is much of obvious where as in the present it's quite melodramatic yet very close to a real life incident which you could see around.

Yet after being such serene,pure and refreshing what this movie lacks is the attachment with the characters, you would not be able to connect to the characters as you should, may be the soul of it is missing due to lack of chemistry between the lead actors Saif and Deepika.

I wouldn't say they didn't perform well but still I was kind of disconnect to them though I felt more connected to story of past..may be because I still have my faith on age old love sagas :-). I guess the chemistry between Saif-Deepika didn't work as well as it was expected.

Performance wise, I guess Deepika was standout of the entire cast, she played her role of straight headed career oriented woman with much of ease and really was completely involved in her role (May be because her traits belongs to the same). Saif was looking much of a confused person not only because his role demanded it but also because may be he was not hitting the right cord along with Deepika. Role played by Rishi Kapoor is fantastic, he was the best fit for the role and the urge, excitement and emotions he portrayed were so true to be real that it always made you feel it was coming right from heart and you would want to follow them.

Music is really peppy and catchy, few tunes are foot tapping and there is a very nice soft song "Dooriyan" which would slowly intoxicate you. Cinematography is also very nice and so as direction, the best thing of direction is that Imtiaz never does copy of anyone's style but his improvisation is so nice that he somewhat creates a cult, be it "Socha Na Tha" or "Jab We Met".... you would find people relating themselves to the characters, I am sure this would continue after Love Aaj kal as well. He always come to characters not larger than life but true to life, absolute treat to watch his movies.

All in all this is a good bet to spend your money.

It is for mango people! the dialogue rocks!

Simply great movie a truly sensible and for modern lovers. This is a strong film reflects on how the old style of true love is still alive in this generation. It is also strongly appealing that god exists, belief exists and true love exist

finally Saif, and Deepika rocks they both share a good chemistry on screen.And of course how can we forget Rishi Kapoor I think he is well tailored for this role

A very predictable end but the way it ends is simply superb i think all 'HUM TUM' lovers will like this.