Love Aaj Kal

Saif Ali Khan doesn’t know what love is, even after falling in it ‘15 times’. He isn’t waiting for that eureka moment either.

Current girlfriend Deepika Padukone is another specimen.

She is thrilled to throw a “break-up party” as they part ways. And Imtiaz Ali begins his Gen-X (Y or Z, if you may) love story there.

No heartbreaks, no tears, no complaints... Only that cupid gets the pink slip when career takes over. Architect Saif dreams San Francisco while Deepika goes to Delhi for her art restoration job.

Now, that’s something new and fresh. Everything is so casual and so ‘to day’ that Love Aaj Kal connects immediately. Don’t expect a Jab We Met though.

Here, the freshness fades (to reappear randomly) as the movie goes through a heavy Hum Tum hangover. Imtiaz Ali could have used his narrative resources in a much better way, especially when he has an uber-performer like Saif. (His Sikh act is equally endearing).

Still, Love Aaj Kal clicks. And dialogues (call it the modern lingo) contribute majorly.
The lines alternate between witty and naughty. There is room for some oldie romance too, courtesy the been-there-done-that Rishi Kapoor, who gives Saif a lesson — sorry, a thesis — on “one love”. The veteran’s pyaar track runs parallel to the main story. One is concrete, the other is cotton. Finally, the hero attains enlightenment, the typical Bollywood way.

Deepika does a decent job, while Saif is a delight. It’s old love in new bottle. But definitely worth a gulp.