Pyar Today Tomorrow
With Love Aaj Kal, director Imtiyaz Ali of Jab We Met fame returns with another romantic comedy; or so it seems. Starring Saif Ali Khan (who also doubles up as the producer) and Deepika Padukone in lead roles, the movie revolves around the life and times of Jaywardhan Singh and Meera Pandit. The duo is in love with each other but cannot continue the relationship for supposedly practical concerns. Long Distance Relationships don’t appeal to them, apparently.
The premise of the movie is understandable, if not apparent. It is about the trials and tribulations of a new age couple and the seemingly innocuous way they treat the feeling of ‘love’. It is about the stark comparison between love stories of the past and the present. It is about the notion that love needs to be taken care of beautifully, and not be treated like waste paper — throw away when you’re done with it. The title is apt, for one.
With Love Aaj Kal, the director aims to communicate that the olden (and perhaps, golden?) brand of love still exists. That people actually want to fall in love and share the whole of their lives with their loved ones, even in this fast paced world. That the virtues of affection and longing are still present, only that they are buried deep down.
The only glitch is that Imtiyaz Ali fails to tell the audience anything like that.
The screenplay is abrupt and disconnected. The director wants to follow a non-linear storyline, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, I would have liked it better if he took it slower. In the opening credits itself we are presented with incoherent scenes from the film, leaving us bewildered to say the least. As the movie progresses, we are presented with the worst-est (yes, doubly superlative!) dialogues we have ever heard in any recent movie (I haven’t seen Kambakkht Ishq though!). As the story builds up and things finally start making nonsense (some kind of sense, at least), we are presented with an overly obese Veer Singh (Rishi Kapoor in his sardar avtar), who becomes a kind of Love Guru to Saif.
Veer Singh narrates his love story to Jay (and that’s where the blast from the past comes), who listenes with rapt attention — not exactly mesmerized, but intrigued nevertheless. Having just broken up with Meera (and throwing a party to celebrate the occasion), he gives an impression that nothing has changed. He is happy and she is happy, problem over!
However, for we can never trust a Bollywood movie to come up with something ever so simple, complications arise. Jay and Meera get into separate relationships while still remaining in contact — never apparently realizing that they actually love each other, even after the break up!
Throughout the movie, Veer Singh keeps Jay in good humor by reminiscing parts of his love story in frequent intervals, completing it just before the climax — which is as unconvincing as the rest of the film.
As far as the actors are concerned, Rishi Kapoor is in fantastic form and Sail Ali Khan acts well. Deepika Padukone would want to brush up her dialogue-delivery skills before signing up for another film. The supporting cast has performed their roles with apparent ease.
Music is perhaps the best thing to happen to Love Aaj Kal. I certainly liked the sound of Chor Baazari and the lyrics of Ye Dooriyan. However, since it is given by Pritam, it will turn out to be plagiarized from some foreign album sooner or later. 
By the looks of it, Love Aaj Kal could be one of the best Indian movies ever made with its unconventional story and equally unorthodox way of storytelling. However, it fails to leave a mark. The screenplay has too many faults to overlook and Deepika certainly disappoints. I would not recommend any of you to go and watch the movie if I had my way. Even Bachna Ae Hasino was better than this, and that’s saying something!
