The first Love Aaj Kal, which had released back in 2009, has by far been Director Imtiaz Ali's most mainstream venture, which automatically translated into it becoming his most commercially successful film at the box-office. Yup, you read that right it's a myth that Jab We Met and Rockstar are Imtiaz's biggest hits, both of which actually achieved semi-hit status in the trade beside not being loved as much by the masses at large (though a section of the audience swears by them). To date, 2009's Love Aaj Kal remains the filmmaker's biggest success both at ticket windows and in general moviegoers' hearts. Post Rockstar, it's been a topsy-turvy journey for him with Highway and Tamasha gaining huge critical acclaim, but failing to click with viewers while Jab Harry Met Sejal was just a flat-out dud to the point that it gave Shah Rukh Khan his first and only disaster in his career. Sadly, Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan's Love Aaj Kal reboot isn't going to gain any favours for Imtiaz Ali either with critics or the audience.
Scroll below to read my full Love Aaj Kal review...
What's it about
It's very much like the first film, with the plot following a non-linear trajectory between past and present, where the leading man plays a dual role (Raghu and Veer, played by Kartik) his love story with a woman in the past, narrated by his future self (Rishi Kapoor swapped for Randeep Hooda) serving as a catalyst to impact the outcome of the present-day romance. Except for the leading lady, Zoe (Sara), listening to Raghu reminisce his saga of love, pretty much everything in this Love Aaj Kal remains the same, till it doesn't, with Imtiaz striving (and failing) to shake up his formula and take things in a different direction.
What's hot
The first half, while not that good or wholly enjoyable, at least has more than a few telling moments. You may feel confused at some of the plot elements that unfold, but there's enough curiosity, too, to be vested enough to know what comes later. Furthermore, regardless where the film holds or dips, Kartik Aaryan is in top form, nailing both his roles (despite Raghu being so poorly defined), and proving to one and all (or at least those who haven't heard of his little known gem, Akaash Vani) that his talent lies far beyond than only excelling at comedy. Sara Ali Khan plays an admirable foil in a shower part to that of her hero even if she goes overboard in a few instances while Randeep Hooda is also effective in a supporting role to his younger costars. Technically, Love Aaj Kal has been shot quite will by Amit Roy and Aarti Bajaj edits it as well as she can, given the substandard content and lackluster direction she's saddled with
What's not
Imtiaz Ali tries doing a Sigmund Freud or Carl Jung on love and relationship, but all he ends up being is a paltry government-sanctioned student counselor, with an online degree, who's masquerading as a pseudo-psychologulist, without the first clue in the world of what he's taking about or getting at.
BL Verdict
Love Aaj Kal is destined to end Kartik Aaryan's golden run while also having Sara Ali Khan her first outright failure, beside continuing Imitiaz Ali's poor form. And yes, I am already predicting the film's fate because that's how bad it end up being, particularly the second half. I'm going with 1.5 out of 5
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