A unique take on love, Saif and Deepika’s ‘Love Aaj Kal’ hit the screens

Love is a weird concept, but, it has been shown and rehashed in Bollywood in all the possible ways. So, what happens when one of the most prolific storytellers of our time, takes it upon himself to show us the mirror of how love is always the same, aaj, or kal? And that’s what Imtiaz Ali did, when he brought to our screens Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, and Rishi Kapoor-starrer ‘Love Aaj Kal’. After the stupendous success of ‘Jab We Met’, naturally, eyes were up for this one too, and it did not disappoint us. The concept of two people, from different generations, discussing about the concept of love, with their love stories being shown in parallel, past and present, was unique, and beautiful. Imtiaz Ali’s storytelling awed us here too, when the movie hit the screens, all those years ago, on this day, precisely.

There are many interesting things that turned this film special. The first one being the mesmerising onscreen pairing of Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, who shared the screen space for the first time. Being fresh, their chemistry crackled, as they both emoted superbly and excelled in each and every frame, be it an intense romantic one, or an emotional one. They later went on to work together in films like ‘Cocktail’, ‘Aarakshan’ and ‘Race 2’, where their chemistry won hearts yet again, though not as much as this one. (Also Read: ‘Sacred Games’: Saif Ali Khan makes his debut in Netflix’s original web series)

‘Love Aaj Kal’ marked Saif Ali Khan’s debut as a producer along with Dinesh Vijan under their banner Illuminati Films. When it comes to debut, Giselli Monteiro, the Brazilian model also began her acting career in Bollywood, as she portrayed the role of Harleen Kaur, the love interest of Veer Singh, the character in the past who essays his love story in the present. The movie also witnessed veteran actress Neetu Kapoor making a comeback to the silver screen after almost 26 years, in the short but sweet role of a present Harleen, which was shown in the climax sequence.

Talking about the film, how can we forget the melodious tunes provided by Pritam, from club favourite ‘Twist’, to street smart ‘Chor Bazaari’ and ‘Aahun Aahun’, to the soulful melodies like ‘Aaj Din Chadheya’ and ‘Dooriyan’. The music proved to be one effervescent catalyst to this beautiful story, and we have the album on our playlists till date. This was Pritam’s second collaboration with Imtiaz Ali, after ‘Jab We Met’.

One quick trivia. Did you know that Saif Ali Khan actually wanted Kareena Kapoor Khan (they were dating at that time) to feature opposite him in this film? But, Imtiaz Ali was keen to cast Deepika for this role and ultimately, it did go to her and what a beautiful performance she gave. It began a long professional relationship between Imtiaz and Deepika, that continued in movies like ‘Cocktail’ (where Imtiaz was a co-writer) and ‘Tamasha’.

So, grab some popcorn, and plug in to watch this beautiful culmination of past and present, giving us the definition of love. Because aaj or kal, love remains the same.

Amod Pandit

Quiet, resonant, and creative, he can be seen immersed in his own world, and puts in his heart and soul into the one passion that he has, Bollywood. His line for survival? Feel happy to be a part of it.