Review of Love Aaj Kal (2009) by Niral G — 07 Aug 2009

I have a general theory regarding talented Hindi film directors.....Their first or second movies are generally their best creations. The list includes Aditya Chopra,Karan Johar,Vidhu Vinod Chopra,Milan Lutharia,John Matthew Matthan,Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra etc etc. And now Imtiaz Ali....

You go into the cinema hall imagining the fun you had watching Socha Na Tha and Jab We Met and how this would be quite similar. But alas!! I am not saying Love Aajkal is a bad movie. But its nothing compared to the previous two. The innocence, the charm, the fresh as a daisy feel is just simply not there.And thats because the director tries to incorporate too much in the movie (for commercial reasons) and thereby misses out in focusing the small moments of the films. Great romantic movies are not about super cinematography, great locales, the hiphop, the good looking protagonists, super drama and numbing stills.Its how well the director captures the small moments and forms a collage of such beautiful scenes that differentiate a OK film to a very good romantic movie.

Scenes like when Abhay Deol and Ayesh Takia spend a romantic night at the light house or the adventurous night of Shahid Kapur and Kareena Kapoor in Ratlam are simply missing in Love Aajkal.Instead we get a fast paced drama with little soul.

Jab We Met was one of the few films in recent past in which the songs were genuinely a part of the film.Love Aajkal has a decent score but not one song actually deserves its place in the storyline.

Saif Ali Khan is good but he has done such roles umpteen number of times.His Punjabi is pathetic but likeable.Rishi Kapoor is lovable.But the biggest disappointment is Deepika Padukone.That lady needs some serious acting lessons.The entire performance is summed up in the last scene where on a ladder she is supposed to be emotional and cry.I can bet Katrina Kaif's mom could have done a better job with that.

In all, a decent movie with good peppy dialogues but it will be much better of you rent Socha Na Tha again !