• Despite the occasionally mawkish undertones and the blatant attempt at emotional manipulation in its final act, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil gives you a hero that makes you care. I suspect you’ll be a slobbering mess at the end of the film, a puddle of tears when the lights come back on. Johar knows how to do that. It’s a skill that’s stayed with him even if his grammar has changed.

  • Raja Sen
    Raja Sen
    Rediff

    8

    Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is a film about tedha love — crooked love, love that refuses to stay straight — and about the unshared, pure potency of unrequited passion.

    It is a film about words long and sharp, elaborate and precise, and about the way we muck up and often manage to slip — inadequately and without definition — between them and between the lines.

  • Jyoti Sharma Bawa
    Jyoti Sharma Bawa
    Indian Express

    -

    The chemistry of all the couples is palpable, so is the hurt. Love comes in all shapes and sizes — sometimes it comes with violins, sometimes it shows you the middle finger. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is the latter, maybe that is why it feels so real.

  • Sarit Ray
    Sarit Ray
    Hindustan Times

    4

    Kapoor plays a character that’s rather familiar: a mash-up of roles, from the youth coming of age in Wake up Sid to the deviants in Rockstar and Tamasha. Sharma carries on in the same vein as her character from Dil Dhadakne Do.
    And by the time Johar throws in his final twist, he’s turned his no-mance into a soppy story and is just squeezing for the last drop of melodrama.

  • As much as its protagonists look for perfect words to articulate their findings on love, friendship, a space in between and beyond, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil simply reiterates the nature of its unpredictability through a twist I didn’t foresee or like.

    Except that’s what makes this feeling so darn precious and difficult to part with.

  • Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is by far Karan Johar’s best film to date: mature, sure-handed and thoroughly entertaining.

    It employs the devices of mainstream Bollywood, but does so with an acute awareness of exactly where to draw the line so as not to stray into overt bubblegum territory.

  • “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” has neither gravitas nor the charm to be worth remembering.

  • Nihit Bhave
    Nihit Bhave
    Times Of India

    8

    On the downside, there’s a bizarre twist in the last 15 minutes that could have been replaced with a scene or two of good conversation, but if you have an appetite for melodrama, you might just like it.

    That said, you usually come away from a Karan Johar movie dreaming of singing sweet tunes in the Alps; but ADHM makes you realize just how cold it is, up there. Go watch it for a relatable portrayal of modern-day relationships.

  • Sarita Tanwar
    Sarita Tanwar
    DNA India

    6

    ADHM is conversational, intimate, complex and fierce in terms of its approach towards love. Ranbir Kapoor is a delight on screen while Anushka Sharma delivers her most nuanced performance.

  • Suhani Singh
    Suhani Singh
    India Today

    4

    Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is at best a good watch for Ranbir Kapoor fan[girl]s who have been waiting to see the actor play the lover boy with a musical bent. That Ranbir is back and here he is even lip-syncing the songs with conviction.

  • Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is all about accepting ‘I Friend You’ over ‘I Love You’. Trust me getting friend zoned never looked so good.

  • …a contemporary and a progressive take on relationships from the master story teller Karan Johar. It is a perfect Diwali entertainer which packages rich visuals, chartbuster music and an engrossing screenplay on a large canvas. At the Box-Office, the tremendous hype, combined with the festive period and an extended weekend will translate into amazing returns for the makers. In a nutshell, AE DIL HAI MUSHKIL has got ‘S-U-P-E-R-H-I-T’ written all over it.

  • Rachit Gupta
    Rachit Gupta
    Filmfare

    7

    Despite its hits and misses, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is an experience worth having. Karan Johar peppers this love story with countless movie references, some his own, some of his mentors at Yash Raj and others of his idols from Hindi cinema. His homage driven treatment adds the right kind of spunk to the film. Barring the minor hiccups in the narrative, this film is easily one of the best efforts of his career. It’s a film that makes you cry, makes you laugh and makes you fall in love.

  • Vishal Verma
    Vishal Verma
    Glamsham

    7

    ADHM is all-good feel-good candy-floss and a nicely packaged new outing from Karan Johar but the big argument is why is Karan Johar still grappled with the temptations of repeating himself instead of forging a fresh path even after delivering the goods in MY NAME IS KHAN six years ago.

  • An enjoyable ride derails in the finale, and you wonder when will we see a film where Ranbir Kapoor, for all his efforts, dammit, gets the girl. A lazy attempt at emotional manipulation apart, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil delivers on nearly all it promised.

  • Manisha Lakhe
    Manisha Lakhe
    NowRunning

    4

    You enjoy the first half which is bubbly and frothy and Anushka Sharma’s fun, feisty character steals your heart. Then the film becomes more of a ‘mushkil’ than a tale of ‘dils’. Suffering from a case of ‘One-sided love’?

  • BookMyShow Team
    BookMyShow Team
    BookMyShow

    -

    Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is a typical Dharma film as it has a bit of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, and Kal Ho Na Ho. The film stars good-looking actors, who are in prime form; has a musical score that’ll be on your playlist for a while, and an unconventional love story that will touch your heart. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil isn’t Karan Johar’s best film but is good enough to keep you entertained for 2 hours 38 minutes. 

  • Tushar Joshi
    Tushar Joshi
    Bollywood Life

    5

    Ae Dil Hai Mushkil has some really nice moments, but they are few and suffer the curse of a weak second half. Nevertheless watch it for Ranbir and Karan’s interpretation of love, loss and longing.

  • Uday Bhatia
    Uday Bhatia
    LiveMint

    -

    Ae Dil Hai Mushkil has a run-time of 158 minutes, but there’s surprisingly little filler, and a better ratio of good to bad jokes than one might expect from a Johar film.

  • IANS
    IANS
    Sify

    6

    By the time ADHM gets into a full-on Devdas mode, we are in no mood for tragedy. But what to do? Karan Johar won’t let his characters enjoy their self-inflicted pain without a pay-off. These people love the good life and must pay a price for it.

  • The film is sprinkled with actual conversations, something I find lacking in Hindi romantic films. The dialogue is snappy and you could miss out a witticism here and a good line there if you don’t pay keen attention.

  • FullyHyd Team
    FullyHyd Team
    Fully Hyderabad

    7

    Karan Johar is no heart surgeon. He isn’t the most talented story-teller. But his story’s got heart. And he’s sincere about telling it. He reminds you of that friend who’d dabble in poetry and would recite some in a get-together. You wouldn’t perhaps remember much of it the next day, but if you indulge him he could stop the evening from getting dull. Only difference is, Johar has enough money to get his poems published.

  • Namrata Joshi
    Namrata Joshi
    The Hindu

    -

    ADHM is the latest in the brand of cinema that isn’t so much as plot driven as it is focused on characters, relationships and interactions. But all this is executed in a squarely Bollywood way. It’s all about two individuals — Ayan (Ranbir Kapoor) and Alizeh (Anushka Sharma) — thrown unexpectedly together and their journey through friendship/love.

  • Kapoor steals the thunder from the two women. His anguish and his propensity to wail when he’s dumped makes him immensely lovable. Reserve this for a one-time watch. What’s not to love about a posh posse who are stupid and stubborn in love?

  • Madhuri
    Madhuri
    FilmiBeat

    6

    Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is one of Ranbir’s honest performances where he gives you ample of reasons to love him. ‘Ajeeb kahaani hai pyaar aur dosti ke rishtein ki…pyaar hamara hero, dosti hamari heroine’ and the actor makes sure to give you lessons in both! This one is worth a watch.

  • Bratty and Bubbly are best buddies. Bratty loves Bubbly. But Bubbly loves the Beyond-Borders-Bearded-Boy. Then Bratty falls in love with the Bold, Beautiful and Bachchan. And amid this quadrangle of Bratty, Bubbly, Bearded and Beautiful, we get three hours of heartbreak, unrequited love and a free trip to three gorgeous cities in Europe.  

  • As a Diwali hamper, it is passable. You laugh at the jokes, you cry a little. The music is great. If you don’t mind watching Rockstar marries Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and has a child named Fault in your stars in two-and-a-half hours, then you can watch Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. This Diwali, it is the less ridiculous of the two releases.

  • The movie’s self-conscious and almost apologetic sober approach, muted shades (the cinematography is by Anil Mehta), and grown-up acting persists all the way till the ridiculous pre-climax twist.

  • Technically speaking, the film is an ace in all departments. There are flaws that are very miniscule in nature and can be totally ignored. With not very good movies currently playing, Mirzya is not a bad watch.
    Go for it!!! 

  • Yes, the first half of the film is riveting for the most part when it is not being too (pop-) corny, repetitious or stretched in parts. But, while our hopes escalate as the second half begins, we find in it a shockingly disparate and disconnected narration from the first part. The last 25 to 30 minutes seem to go on for eons, and are frankly unbearable and hopelessly clichéd.

  • Jyotsna Basotia
    Jyotsna Basotia
    TheStatesman

    7

    In his trademark style, KJo brings the curtains down in high spirits, promising 100 percent entertainment on your platter. It’s time to gorge on the movie, spread love and light in the festive mood and celebrate Ae Dil Ki Diwali!