Love for a Metro Sapien : Love aaj kal

No drama, no frills, no nervous breakdowns on soulmate's marriage or break up and moving to other city, No hamming I love yous being thrown across the screen to show how two people and their lives are connected by a simple yet incredible emotion called Love. For a friday bollywood release produced by a filmstar and directed by someone who had just hit big time with his previous movie, Love aaj Kal comes across as breezy, profound and yet very very earnest.

I will try to keep this one short cos most of the time, my friends sleep through my technical and emotional connect with films that comes across as a review. So lets start with basics: Story. At story level the movie will sound absolutely plain, tasteless and bland. Like last year's Jaane tu ya jaane na, heres where screenplay takes over and paves way for dialogues. They may sound corny, maybe too much, too soon but this movie has got some very casual cool conversational lines that just connect to audience, to situations and characters without trying too hard. Just like Saif's character is advised in movie to stop trying to be cool and that's when you become cool, Imtiaz Ali and Saif have cracked this movie and its coolness quotient by not being wannabe. No preaching here, no judgements being passed by director on his characters... he lets pre marital sex, break ups, decisions of their life be natural as characters progress in the story. This leaves audience with no will to judge but only to know more about them, see the movie.

Well i am in love with the movie, cos it took me back to junctures in my life, made me relive my tongue tied farewells, impulsive decisions to be practical and let someone who might have been my soulmate go by. Now for a summary - Deepika is amazing, she lives the panache of her character and it shows. Big doe eyes help her in a character who speaks less but understands more. Saif is super duper and i think after Salam Namaste and Omkara gives one more honest performance.Pritam's music is well used though two songs are just mandatory to take the story ahead.

Cinematography is great. Editing is patchy but i choose to look over it. Duration wise the climax maybe bit of a drag cos nothing dramatic happens there (oops a spoiler but you can only see the movie if you are not expecting any high jinx). Rahul Khanna and Vir Das might have been wasted but thats also okay. Rishi Kapoor doesnt have significant much to do but is pleasant to have him on screen here.

For me, the beauty of this film is its earnesty. Hero gets beaten, heroine is independent and is okay with break up but longs for hero to marry her or see her off at the airport. Its like us. People like you and me today. It reflects us. its a mirror that shows our flaws and asks us to correct. it also shows what we have and do not appreciate. It shows life of a metro sapien, who could be anyone. It shows how conscience remains the same. We all want to love and be loved no matter what the pretences our lives bring upon us, the truth remains.

Love aaj kal is a brilliant film. Thank you Imtiaz Ali for making my belief in Indian film industry stronger. For all those. Thank you Saif for not hogging the screen time like Kamal Hassan while producing. Thanks to all who made my evening a bundle of mixed emotions and left me pondering and questioning about this four letter word , how it defines me as i define my love and what it means to me today

Resolve

A karma I have carried for aeons

I am weary now

Torn from within

The battle never ceases

The voices in my head cry

Each step is a war

I am bound and free

I am old but am new

I chose this thawing

I chose this churning

I pray

I breathe

Move on no matter what

I have to find my trust

I have to find my hope

Theres no turning back

I have to face my mirror

I have to be a victor

I can cry but I wont

I am weak but strong enough to say it

I pray

I breathe

Move on no matter what

I have lost before

I am losing even now

Its a struggle called life

I refuse to give in anymore

Looks like a punishment but its a choice

I want to get to the other side

Am i happy?

Yes I am

Deep within there is a smile

It springs every time I face my darkness

It grows every time I defeat the wrong

Ignorance has gone, I have awakened

I pray

I breathe

I have just one thought

Move on no matter what

mohabbat aur main

Tha shayad junoon ya khel koi, sab samajhe ke pyaar tha
Khayalon mein sawaal liye chalta raha dil mera beqaraar tha
Har aahat uski sunke dhadak jaaya karta, jaane chahat pe kyun na iqtiyaar tha
Kuch lamhein khamosh se, kuch hansi se goonjte hue, har kadam pe uska intezaar tha
mila jo woh toh shartein apni chod gaya, mera naseeb uska karobaar tha
karta raha main bekhud hi uski marzee, apni khushi mein mile uska gham is baat se mujhe inkaar tha
bozhil safar ho gaya kuch durr, main kya bataata usse ke tujhse milne se pehle main kitna khush gawaar tha
Badhtha raha hoon main us raaste pe humsafar dhoondne jahaan ajnabiyon se hi sarogaar tha
Aaj tuta jaise saaz koi, sailaab aaya jo armaanon ka, na kashti, na koi nakhuda, main beech majhdhaar tha
Haath chutt gaye aur na alvida kiya, lab bhi na khule, ek aansoo keh gaya main kitna bezaar tha
Maanta hoon woh manzil nahin tha meri, to kya hua ke woh aur kuch na ban saka, woh saathi nahin tha par phir bhi mera yaar tha
Rukke poocha khuda se yeh bataa kya meri tamaam umra ki mehfil, meri tamanaon khushiyaan ka har pal tere liye koi tamaasha - ek hasraton ka bazaar tha?
Baraste aasmaan ki boondon ne chua, chedte hue suna gayii ke teri talash ek awaara pan hai, safar hi tera maqsad hai - saath nahin, tu hamesha se hi khaakgaar tha