I sauntered into the cinema hall with humongous expectations and high hopes on Imtiaz Ali as I was playing the characters of Geet and Aditya in my mind. JWM is one of my favorite movies which had some deft screenplay, great music and brilliant performances. But as the first reel of LAK started unwinding in front of me, I had to erase the fact from my mind that this is not a journey flick where hero and heroine meet and then fall in love and their hardships. Rather, it was the other way round. They meet, break-up and then meet only to fall in love all over again. But the innovative aspect of this movie is that it also shows us a parallel story of love in the 60s in the vision of another character who indirectly teaches the hero what love actually is.
I liked the openness in the characterization of both Jai (Saif) and Meera (Deepika). They care about each other yet, their career stand in their way which doesn't allow them to proceed further with their relationship. Without realizing the love for each other, they end breaking-up with mutual consent with a never before heard break-up party. The movie gets a third angle in the form of Veer Singh, a cafe/restaurant owner in London (and also caters to the party), who brings another dimension to this love tale.
While Jai and Meera are trying to throw each other out of their life by acquiring new partners, the bond between them actually strengthens as they are constantly in touch with each other even after breaking up. As the tale progresses, the love of aaj gets juxtaposed with the love of kal and both the versions actually drive home the same point that love is same and it is a feeling which you cannot overcome no matter how much you try to. ~~Spoiler alert ahead~~
The scenes depicting the love of kal are refreshing and love conveyed through minimal talking and eyes is shown beautifully. The determination of a lover and I-can-do-anything-for-you is convincingly portrayed. That brings a wonderful ending to that tale as the hero breaks all barriers to get the girl. The love of aaj is also the same but it is a little complex and so are the scenes. Say for instance, you have Meera, who is getting married, and then meets Jai before marriage as she feels he is not okay. Jai blurts that he would have left anything for her and then just leaves the place for good only to see Meera married to someone else. The next day, Meera realizes that she has made a mistake and repents. From the writing point of view, I felt that Meera's characterization faltered at this point. However one decision which Meera takes to not tell Jai that she is waiting and the song Main Kya Hoon showing Saif's life getting to boredom and eventually realizing about Meera are amazingly contrived and make us feel that her decision was maybe not wrong, though taken at the wrong hour. This is where Imtiaz wins and rises the movie graph from falling flat and also shows the complexity in the love today.
The music by Pritam is a big plus however the much rocking Twist is definitely a speed breaker, and comes out of nowhere. I loved Main Kya Hoon and Ye Dooriyan as they weaved beautifully into the screenplay. Chor Bazaari was good. The cinematography is good with the beautiful top view angles of SFO and the Qutub Minar in India which stands out. The editing is okay.
Saif is natural and full of humor as Jai and also does great job as Veer's visionary hero of kal. His effortless one liners and enthusiasm brings the character the added charm. Deepika was not bad though she could have done much more better. She is very good especially in the climax when she has a conversation with Saif and almost break-ups into tears when she says "tho main neeche aa jaon". Rishi Kapoor does a commendable job and Neetu Singh makes a fleeting appearance and looks great. Rahul Khanna shares very less screen space and does justice to his character. The girl who plays Harleen is tall and good and acts okay (non-expressive many times) though she struggles hard to dance in that one song.
A very good attempt by Imtiaz Ali and there is not a shred of doubt about that. I expected much more from this amazingly talented director but the story is the culprit here. The plot is waferthin and within the parameters of the plot, Imtiaz builds up a convincing story. However, it is hard not to notice that the movie does give you a have-seen-it kinda feel at some places.
I liked the openness in the characterization of both Jai (Saif) and Meera (Deepika). They care about each other yet, their career stand in their way which doesn't allow them to proceed further with their relationship. Without realizing the love for each other, they end breaking-up with mutual consent with a never before heard break-up party. The movie gets a third angle in the form of Veer Singh, a cafe/restaurant owner in London (and also caters to the party), who brings another dimension to this love tale.
While Jai and Meera are trying to throw each other out of their life by acquiring new partners, the bond between them actually strengthens as they are constantly in touch with each other even after breaking up. As the tale progresses, the love of aaj gets juxtaposed with the love of kal and both the versions actually drive home the same point that love is same and it is a feeling which you cannot overcome no matter how much you try to. ~~Spoiler alert ahead~~
The scenes depicting the love of kal are refreshing and love conveyed through minimal talking and eyes is shown beautifully. The determination of a lover and I-can-do-anything-for-you is convincingly portrayed. That brings a wonderful ending to that tale as the hero breaks all barriers to get the girl. The love of aaj is also the same but it is a little complex and so are the scenes. Say for instance, you have Meera, who is getting married, and then meets Jai before marriage as she feels he is not okay. Jai blurts that he would have left anything for her and then just leaves the place for good only to see Meera married to someone else. The next day, Meera realizes that she has made a mistake and repents. From the writing point of view, I felt that Meera's characterization faltered at this point. However one decision which Meera takes to not tell Jai that she is waiting and the song Main Kya Hoon showing Saif's life getting to boredom and eventually realizing about Meera are amazingly contrived and make us feel that her decision was maybe not wrong, though taken at the wrong hour. This is where Imtiaz wins and rises the movie graph from falling flat and also shows the complexity in the love today.
The music by Pritam is a big plus however the much rocking Twist is definitely a speed breaker, and comes out of nowhere. I loved Main Kya Hoon and Ye Dooriyan as they weaved beautifully into the screenplay. Chor Bazaari was good. The cinematography is good with the beautiful top view angles of SFO and the Qutub Minar in India which stands out. The editing is okay.
Saif is natural and full of humor as Jai and also does great job as Veer's visionary hero of kal. His effortless one liners and enthusiasm brings the character the added charm. Deepika was not bad though she could have done much more better. She is very good especially in the climax when she has a conversation with Saif and almost break-ups into tears when she says "tho main neeche aa jaon". Rishi Kapoor does a commendable job and Neetu Singh makes a fleeting appearance and looks great. Rahul Khanna shares very less screen space and does justice to his character. The girl who plays Harleen is tall and good and acts okay (non-expressive many times) though she struggles hard to dance in that one song.
A very good attempt by Imtiaz Ali and there is not a shred of doubt about that. I expected much more from this amazingly talented director but the story is the culprit here. The plot is waferthin and within the parameters of the plot, Imtiaz builds up a convincing story. However, it is hard not to notice that the movie does give you a have-seen-it kinda feel at some places.
