Movie Review : Love Aaj Kal
Stars: 2/5
Love Aaj Kal tries to be a cool, contemporary, cosmopolitan story meant for the so-called multiplex crowd ( those who are essentially tasteless, love over-eating on popcorns at unearthly hours, have assured jobs , wear 3/4ths and walk around as if the multiplex is their private baap-ka-ghar and are constantly fidgeting with SMS messages which lighten up like night-flies every 3.27 minutes ). Judging by the awkward response to some in-the-face sexually explicit digs made by Deepika Padukone to her middle-aged lover it is pretty obvious that this rather over-preachy and exaggerated love-tale has missed the point with it’s apparently niche audience. It has.
Firstly guys, let me tell you all movie critics ( not me, I go to see a Hindi film to enjoy principally it’s illogical absurdities) have gone over-board in giving this very sub-standard fare just too many stars and moons than it deserved. If a person is not talented enough to be a novelist, said Norman Mailer, not smart enough to be a lawyer , and his hands are too shaky to perform operations, he becomes a journalist. It is the residual remains from this lot who becomes a movie journalist. If you don’t believe me go read the reviews of one Taran Adarsh on www.BollywoodHungama.com who literally is the self-appointed marketing whiz for several productions ; his reviews appear before anyone else and his eulogies would even embarrass the producer himself. He does not merely write lengthy passages in pedestrian flattery of badly-made cinema but even predicts the box-office success of a film ( he gave Chake De just 2 stars and estimated it would be a colossal wash-out) . Anyway, I am sorry but I have started reviewing the movie critics themselves ( we shall do so at some other time) instead of Love Aaj Kal.
The film explores the dilemma of modern-day lovers; does sex have to necessarily lead to marriage etc etc ? Especially as several distractions with similar challenges are also groping around for quickie alternatives and are freely available at the drop of an underwear. The work-life thing only adds to the confusion and the heart-break. According to Imtiaz Ali , sex in 2009 is like an economic theory where demand = supply. If you want to fornicate, you will get some and more depending upon whether you are like Saif Ali Khan or Deepika Padukone. Good luck!
Since this is Bollywood, Imtiaz Ali ( whose Jab We Met was rather nice although it stood out in a year which saw mediocre woman-centric stories) must make sex take the back-seat and bring in the old world charm of the 1960s, where expressing lust was only for vagabonds and all you could do was to give each other coy looks , sidelong glances and sweet curd . No touchy-feely crap, no self-shooting on mobile/video voyeurism , no have-to-grab-you-on-first-date-pressures ; all that naughty stuff was only shaadi ke baad. Mercifully, although boringly predictable and an exact replica of DDLJ ( if you don’t know what that means , go watch an Akshay Kumar film as a punishment) at least this track is well-enacted. But the constant chatter between the age-old romantic ( Rishi Kapoor) and the insatiable Casanova gets pretty boring after a point. Too many words, no action.
What happens in the second – half post the “ break-up” party after both have found new soul or bed mates is unintentionally hilarious. Both their temporary appendages are treated like disposable adult diapers while the main couple dither and dance around like confused puppies chasing their own tails. The last 30 minutes is outrageously stupid despite the fact that Ali apparently thinks he is pushing the envelope. Instead he ends up pulverizing our senses.
Finally, true love triumphs over casual sex and live-in stuff. And everyone is all smiles.
Khan is good as a Sardar in love, but as the modern-day dude in ripped jeans and a roving eye he is just about as unbearable as Kareena Kapoor is in her interviews . Padukone is a leggy lass who shines in lighter moments but in the scenes demanding some serious tears and emotional churns she is like an ice-cream, sweet but cold. Dooriyan which is really a fabulous romantic number strangely enough comes in the beginning instead of where it ideally should have been, in the end. The chemistry between the lead pair lacks physics, biology and zoology.
As for Imtiaz Ali , at least he is different. Both his films have tried something new even if the novelty has not been the best experiment. There is always a third time.
Any kind of stereotyping is only a generalization, the more sweeping it is the thinner is its base. Your take on what the director / critics’ image of the target audience is thus interesting, but does it hold substance?
This movie could be easily identified with by a modern day parent with an adult son or daughter, who in turn does not shy away from the taboos of the yester years. Who also have a healthy dialogue with their parents and like to talk to each other as equals, recognizing and respecting the adult in each other. Or is such a family only a myth?
People need to only wake up to the world as it is today. I believe this was an attempt by the director to show the world as it is only to reassure the old timers that what they did was right, and this is how “love” is / must be.
I am dying to see movies which talk about an individual who falls in love more than once without being made the villain. A movie that will show how each of these interactions only enriched his / her life and taught that individual and his / her ex valuable lessons about themselves and life in general. A movie where one sees this same individual living finally with one / many partners responsibly and in all honesty; all his / her past experiences only leading to a fuller and happy existence.
Why do people so strongly believe that we can fall in love only once in our life? Why limit oneself? Why are movies made that only propagate and propound this theory? How will youngsters learn that life is also about moving on and rebuilding? Will Hindi cinema ever be mature enough to show such a theme? Will the audience that feels vindicated when fed on a heavy dose of drama take a moment to think, understand what it is to manage emotions, understand why that is necessary instead of being swept away by them all the time?
These questions and many more swirled in mind as I lay in the arms of my 3rd love… Just thought I should share them with you and any who read your blog.