Love Aaj Kal – Review
For one thing, Imtiaz Ali’s latest directorial venture Love Aaj Kal doesn’t compare with his 2007 runaway hit Jab We Met, which, for many, was an exemplary and-they-lived-happily-ever-after comedy that satisfied audiences in two unique ways. First, it was a perfect valedictory ode to the Shahid-Kareena pair’s real-life love story, a staple of gossip magazines. Second, it celebrated the triumph of love without hurting anyone’s sense of morality which is so fundamental to the success of a romantic story. This is not to say, however, that Love Aaj Kal lacks everything that Jab We Met boasted. The new film has a hip cast in the lead – Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, and Rishi Kapoor’s wise Sikh persona also does a real good job. N. Natarajan Subramaniam’s cinematography is unquestionably great and there are moments when the dialogues bespeak the scriptwriter’s genuine sense of humour. Yet, for all these merits, Love Aaj Kal falls short of a well-rounded romantic comedy.
The story of Love Aaj Kal is quite unlike that of the run-of-the-mill Bollywood flick. It involves two parallel narratives – love aaj (present-day love) and love kal (love as it used to be). The narratives intersect and contrast each other, highlighting the changes in the attitude to and protocols of love and courtship.
Jai (Saif) and Meera (Deepika) are a happy-go-lucky couple enjoying all that modern-day London has to offer. They booze, dance, kiss and cuddle, without, however, making any serious commitments to each other. When Meera, an art restorer by profession, has to leave for India, Jai suggests they celebrate their break-up with a party. The party goes well, with neither side getting too maudlin or wistful about their happy days together. They part on friendly terms, promising to keep in touch.
So, the couple carry on a long-distance relationship – she, in Delhi, frescoing the walls and ceilings of Mughal buildings; he, in London, honing his skills as an architect. Meanwhile, Meera’s boss Vikram (Rahul Khanna) proposes to her and Jai also finds a new girlfriend – a blonde – for himself. When Meera and Jai meet again in Delhi, he persuades her to marry Vikram. So, she ties the knot with her boss and Jai leaves for San Francisco to work on the Golden Gate project.
Almost immediately after marriage, Meera tells Vikram that she must return to Jai whom she loves. The suddenness of his wife’s confession stuns Vikram, but he’s left with no other choice but to accept the truth with resignation.
After an initial burst of excitement and wonder, Jai also grows increasingly lonely in San Francisco and makes up his mind to visit Meera in Delhi.
The couple now re-unite as lovers, with Jai uncharacteristically extolling the greatness of the folk love stories of Heer and Ranjha, and Laila and Majnu.
All this while, however, the Jai-Meera story – the love aaj of the title – is punctuated by an Indian restaurateur’s recollections of his own courtship and marriage in the 1960s. Told by Veer Singh (a turbaned Rishi Kapoor) to Jai in London, this story forms the love kal of the title and chronicles a young Veer’s (again Saif) courtship of Harleen Kaur (Giselle Monteiro).
Love Aaj Kal, thus, juxtaposes two perspectives on love from two generational angles, thereby calling attention to the conventions and ethos associated with man-woman relationships. This becomes especially evident in Veer and Jai’s conversations where they criticise and make fun of each other’s romantic fopperies.
Having said all this, Love Aaj Kal is not a feel-good movie in the sense that Jab We Met was. In fact, an ideal romantic comedy never allows any grave injustice to the good characters – any injustice done to the good is redressed by a greater reward at the end. In Love Aaj Kal, Vikram suffers. But why must he suffer as he does? He’s an essentially good character cuckolded by his wife, and his resigned acceptance of Meera’s love for Jai makes Imtiaz Ali’s film a problem comedy that might hurt many viewers’ sense of justice in a romantic comedy.
Love Aaj Kal Photo Gallary:
Love Aaj Kal Theatrical Trailer Video
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