Raj S. Rangarajan 
Harleen Kaur (Brazilian model, Giselli Monteiro) and Jai Vardhan Singh (Saif)
(Photos Courtesy: Sulekha.com)
Straightaway, one notices this is going to be a Hindi film with English being thrown in regularly – a sign of the times and a staple now of many films from Bollywood. One didn’t need subtitles. It’s perhaps a consequence of many actors’ large fan following in North America. Also, Bollywood celebs are easily accessible here though we had the odd instance of Shahrukh Khan being detained and frisked at Liberty International (Newark) recently. Some called it a publicity stunt.
Literally speaking, Love Aaj Kal is about love nowadays and what it was in the days of yore. Light, sophisticated – sometimes strained and occasionally trivial – the film promotes male lead, Saif Ali Khan in a big way. Wonder if that’s because he was co-producer with Dinesh Vijan.
Deepika and Saif
Jai Vardhan Singh (Saif) and Meera (Deepika Padukone), a young, hip independent-minded couple is involved in a relationship without a commitment. But Jai, a practical guy wants to break up what would possibly be a fruitful relationship. Meera, who restores frescoes in New Delhi, agrees. Flash back: about 30 years. Here is Jai’s older friend, Veer Singh (Rishi Kapoor) from London in his resplendent turban, amazed at seeing Harleen Kaur (played by 20-year-old Brazilian model and Bollywood debutant, Giselli Monteiro), a mellow, conservative Punjabi girl.
Saif plays two roles in the movie: one has the young Jai and the other as a young Veer, both in somewhat comedic roles with success. He seems to carry a mischievous demeanor in his comedic roles that appeals to a younger audience. Director Imtiaz Ali has made yet another easy going film on the lines of his earlier success – Jab We Met (Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor).
Veer (Rishi Kapoor) travels by train from Punjab to Calcutta just to stand under her balcony (Romeo and Juliet, style – of an earlier era). Briefly put, Saif and Deepika are tired of the old ways of courting and want to check out the courting scene before committing. But old-fashioned Veer talks of love being a pure thing and says, one should not deal with it like some type of merchandise. The usual gap between generations. Interaction and dialogues between Jai and Veer constantly revolve round their differences in approaching the concept of love in this film of slightly over two hours. There’s a commendable effort at banter and easy repartee.
These days, the wooing happens across continents with modern social networks such as cell phones and emails, Face Book and Twitter, and one won’t be surprised if one sees soon a Hindi film revolving around the Twitter theme – just as we enjoyed the hit 1998 Hollywood movie, You’ve Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
Imtiaz Ali and his team have worked diligently with deft camera angles in London, San Francisco, Delhi and Calcutta. Some of the shots are really breathtaking. Pritam Chakraborty’s music had a certain resonance that meshed somewhat harmoniously with the film’s youngish theme though editing by Aarti Bajaj was lacking in parts. Following Om Shanti Om, this was perhaps the first time that Deepika had to prove herself and in Love Aaj Kal she has taken her skill level up a notch creditably.
For the older generation and sentimental types, Love Aaj Kal would bring back memories of Cheeni Kum where an older Amitabh Bachchan, as a chef, had an appetizing interlude with talented Tabu. Ali has handled with aplomb the aspect of distance, longing for each other, the seeming apprehensions and confusions that evolve with today’s wide-ranging options, as also the compulsions that a long-distance relationship necessitates. Sometimes, young folks’ careers are the very reason for a breakup and two love-birds just cannot decide in time to make a success of a relationship.
Its perhaps just a trivial coincidence that both the leads – Saif Ali Khan (son of the cricketer, Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan) and Deepika (daughter of Prakash Padukone) happen to be kids of accomplished international sportsmen from an earlier era. Admittedly, that has nothing to do with their acting.
While the ending didn’t surprise too many people, a cameo from an older Kapoor’s real-life-wife brought the “oohs” and “aahs” in loud decibel. You got to see the movie to see who it is.
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[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, reviews books and films for media based in New York, Toronto, Republic of Korea and India.]
