Tamil Movie Review

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rahul Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Vir Das.
Directed By: Imtiaz Ali.
Produced By: Saif Ali Khan, Dinesh Vijan.

Love Aaj Kal (Love Now and Then) is the process of relationship that might be different in different eras, but the experience of being in love remains the same. Love Aaj and Love Kal is about late reactions followed by urgent, remedial actions.

Love Aaj Kal begins in London where Meera Pandit (Deepika Padukone) and Jai Vardhan Singh (Saif Ali Khan) meet and date. He squints, talks gibberish and cracks bad jokes ("we are mango people, aam aadmi"), while she is poised, independent and inert. Because they are a modern couple, they engage in small talk, some petting and lots of texting. She dreams of restoring ancient Indian fresco's, and he wants to work on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. So they decide to split. Since they are so modern, they throw a "break up" party to certify that he's hereafter a "khulla saand" (fancy-free ox). Meera knows she's in love with Jai, but won't say. The two part with happy hugs, but the SMSes and latenight chats don't stop.

Now Enter's Veer Singh (Rishi Kapoor), a cafe owner and love guru. Veer sees his young silly self in Jai and decides to impart prem gyaan which essential to involves flashbacks to 1965. In a Delhi colony of red-brick houses and kite shops, young Veer (Saif Al Khan) spots pretty and shy Harleen Kaur (Giselle Monteiro) and falls in love This love is expressed though whistles and toothy grins, and acknowledged occasionally with a lingering look.

The movie flits between these two worlds -- Jai is moving on to new girlfriend Jo and Meera to boyfriend Vikram (Rahul Khanna), while Veer is oblivious of Harleen's engagement.Meera accepts Vikram's marriage proposal and the two get married.
Now Jai must go though shrinks and muggers to see what's obvious to all.
And Veer must brave a house full of agitated Sardars and steal his beloved.

This love is not just commitment phobic, but is also passionless. His old love story works much better - it's hot-blooded, and there's loads of chemistry between Saif and newcomer Giselle Monteiro. Saif too gives much effort to Veer While his Jai is annoying and lame, his Veer, despite the bad Punjabi, is adorable and alive. You don't get enough of him.

When compared to Jab We Met, Imtiaz's Love Aaj Kal is a letdown. He tries to pull a Karan Johar, but the emotional quotient is too low for it to work. Though Pritam's lilting music is lovely, and the movie has moments where you will laugh and may even shed a tear, but you often find yourself wondering why the lovers are so passive.

Deepika Padukone wears her dresses short and looks quite long. She is tall and charming, and yet is missing something crucial. Her connect with the audience is sporadic and her acting all about face-making.

Giselle Monteiro as Harleen is the movie's delightful surprise. She has exactly two dialogues and yet is compelling and real. She talks with her eyes and stays with you for a long time.