Its always challenging to write about movie which is complete all aspects. There is a predicament if one would do justice - and needless to say "Love Aaj Kal" falls into the same category. If I were to list the top 3 movies of 2009, it would be - Kaminey, Dev D & Love Aaj Kal.
There is no earth-shattering love-story in "Love Aaj Kal". The USP of "Love Aaj Kal" is juxtaposing the past with the present using "Love" as the baseline. In DDLJ Anupam Kher says a memorable line "Mohabbat ka naam, aaj bhi mohabbat hain" and Imitiaz effectively translates this on silver screen to convey that the core emotion/ feeling "Love" is still the same - unadulterated & pristine, the dynamics however may have changed with times.
¤ Saif: Reprising the character of modern/ contemporary "Jai" comes quite naturally to Saif and undoubtedly his its his forte. I particularly liked the way "Jai" goes on verbal diarrhoea when he gets confused. It takes a while for the audience to get around rustic sepia "Veer Singh" but once that mental block is jumped over, you would appreciate two distinct characters played by Saif and yet again conjoined to Rishi Kapoor. And yes, donning the hats of the producer is indeed praiseworthy.
¤ Deepika: There are varied shades to her character and it lives within the defined boundaries. Her conviction to follow the philosophy "Set your love free...." is well portrayed. Author backed role and she delivers with utmost perfection (to the extent that you can't imagine anybody else in her shoes). And yes, her best performance till date, and maybe long way to go until she manages to surpass it.
¤ Giselle Monteiro: She was fantabulous as Harleen, and keeping the secret under the wraps? Only Imtiaz could have managed to pull such a spectacular feat.
¤ Rishi Kapoor: Spot on. You will fall in love with this large- hearted Sardar.
¤ Rahul Khanna: Nearly forgot! He was adequate but his character was more of a stocking filler.
Songs by Pritam are neatly-blended into the storyline. The foot- tapping numbers are bound to stay on top charts for a while. Nicely complimenting them is the choreography. The costumes designers deserve a special mention. Technical department namely story, screenplay and script are the strongest point of "Love Aaj Kal". The passion of Imtiaz Ali gets reflected in each frame.
"Jab We Met" had set a new bar and I was sceptical if Imtiaz would manage to get even close. But after "Love Aaj Kal", yet again he has set a new precedent.
Raj Kapoor was extremely passionate about his movies - he narrated the story from the bottom of his heart, the female characters were fleshed out strongly and the music was rich. The Bollywood can now rest for a true successor to the "Showman" has arrived.
PS: The last frame in "Love Aaj Kal" was a pure master stroke.
