After years of KANK, Karan Johar is back with another amazing, deliciously bitter film where relationships (and not romance) take the centre stage. Starring Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, this is an effective film with a brilliant take and touch. It doesn't suggest the false, and tells the story of love with utmost sincerity, plus endearing charm. Yes, it is the most commercial, and mainstream Hindi film you will see this year- and also the most touching one. I'm going with 3.5 stars out of 5 for ADHM. Go with large aesthetic mind-frame and you will be happy.

2nd half is a big disappointment

Soon after the Uri attacks where 19 of our brave soldiers lost their lives, they were calls to cut off all ties with Pakistan on all platforms which included Bollywood as well. Well I am not going to dispute the stance that was called for, but many from the film industry including Karan Johar came forward stating that it was not right to deny Pakistani artists from performing in the country. Frankly speaking, I dont believe many of them actually mean it as their eye is only on the money they can garner from the Pakistani market & one of the easiest way to do it is to include stars from there in the movie. This is exactly what KJo did with Fawad Alam in his latest movie "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil", the promos of which has caught the eye of the public. So was it the typical KJo movie with just glitz & glamour or was there more depth to it???

Based in London, Ayan (Ranbir Kapoor) an aspiring singer & Alizeh (Anushka Sharma) meet up at a bar & try to make out but it turned up to be an absolute drab. However, they hit off famously to end up as close buddies in quick time after the break up with their respective partners. With time, Ayan started having feelings for her but Alizeh wasn't able to take their relation to the next level as she was still in love with Ali (Fawad Alam) who had broken her heart many years back. When she bumps into Ali in Paris, all those feelings gets rekindled which shatters Ayan. Will Alizeh ever able to reciprocate Ayan's unrequited love???

It's been a while since KJo has called the shots as his previous release was "Student of the Year" in 2012. From the outset, it has all the ingredients of a typical Johar movie such as the uber lifestyle of the protagonists, foreign locales & great music. What sets this movie apart is the pull it exerts on the heart cords which feels realistic & genuine, thanks to the terrific leads. Even the dialogues by Johar oscillated from being witty & stupid to sentimental & philosophical which added a lot to the overall impact of the movie. But where this movie falters is that it offers an undeniable sense of deja vu as it seems like a potpourri of "Tamasha" & "Rockstar". It also comes across way too much emotional & brooding which might not be to the liking of a segment of the audience. On the technical side, everything was top notch be it Pritam's music (almost all the tracks were awesome, "Channa Mereya" & "Bulleya" were my favourites) or Anil Mehta's exquisite visuals.

Both the leads were absolutely brilliant, that it's hard to say who has aced it; though I have to say Anushka Sharma surprised me with her confidence & attention to nuances. I couldnt possibly imagine anyone else apart from her as Alizeh. Ranbir Kapoor credentials as a phenomenal actor is well established & this role just reiterated the fact that he is indeed the best of his generation, though he intends to mess up with his choice of movies. Aishwarya Rai has done a decent job but her segment with Ranbir was the weakest in the movie. Fawad Alam barely had much to do while Lisa Haydon was spot on as the bimbette. As for the cameos by SRK & Alia Bhatt, it barely had any impact.

Verdict: KJo might had to bow down to the wishes of the MNS & even put up a message thanking soldiers (nothing more than a gimmick to be frank), but he will be laughing his way to the bank with the initial, It will have the multiplexes & overseas lapping it up, but single screens are unlikely to warm up to him. It should be a blockbuster in the long run as it's surely KJo's most intense movie to date & his lead pairs has just smashed it. In short, if you dont mind emotional drama then definitely go for it!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, a much-awaited film by Karan Johar, falls in the genre of Romance. Similar to a dialogue in this film, it is about “Tedha Love” i.e. crooked love. The film is trying to project the imperfect love, one-sided love, unrequited love, people’s different perceptions towards love, the pain and passion involved in love / heartbreaks, but somehow, the film succumbs more to the lust and the need, the screenplay is also shallow. The film contradicts its one of the dialogue: “Main kisi ki jarurat nahi, balki khwaish banna chahti hoon”; the protagonists are driven more by the need rather than love. Certainly, it is bound to have expectations out of a film when the ensemble cast viz. Ranbir, Anushka and Aishwarya are involved. Besides, the very concept of love is a delight to watch, but the shallowness of the film and the superficial handling of the plot makes the film soulless and heartless. The film is all about being superficial in love, filling one’s void with casual relationships, quickly moving from one relationship to another, handling heartbreaks / failure in so-called love relationship with getting entangled in another relationship etc.

The opening scene of the film is Ayan (Ranbir Kapoor) being interviewed after his success as a singer. When Ayan is asked about his songs’ lyrics pointing towards broken love, incomplete love, he quickly conveys that his love is complete (मेरा प्यार कामिल है) and his love can never die.

The frames further move to the flash back. Ayan meets Alizeh (Anushka Sharma) in a disco floor in London, where both of them have come to get over the bad mood of fights with their respective lovers. Their meeting ends up in casual flirting to non-committal, guilt-free physical proximities. Both Ayan and Alizeh belong to rich families. Ayan is pursuing MBA, but wanting to be a singer, and Alizeh has registered herself in various courses like Yoga, Bollywood dance etc. She describes herself as Raita, who spreads everywhere. Both Ayan and Alizeh hit it off as friends. During a double date, their respective lovers Lisa (Lisa Haydon) and Dr. Faisal (Imraan Abbas) get caught up in a compromising position. Ayan and Alizeh go for Heart Break Holidays to Paris. Both Ayan and Alizeh’s perception towards their relationship is different. For one, if it is love, for another, it is friendship. To add to this conflict, DJ Ali (Fawad Khan) enters into the scene.

The first half is dull, starts picking up in the last 10 minutes of the film. Post-interval, the film gets some depth with poetess Saba’s (Aishwarya) entry. But the film never tries to grow beyond the superficiality and the emotional vulnerability of the leads. Is that the only truth of the relationships in modern world? Certain scenes leave the audience confused. One such scene is that of the lead protagonist’s claims of not being in love but just being a great friend, still, in a scene, the facial expressions conveyed that the person is in love, and this confusion is not cleared in the film. It is also strange that a serious situation is diluted with silly laughter scenes. By the time, one gets to absorb the depth of the scenes, it is diffused with laughter.

What happens to Ayan and Alizeh’s relationship? How does Ali and Saba become part of this plot ? Trailer shows that Ayan is romancing Saba, so how and when do they fall in love? How the special appearances by Alia and Shahrukh Khan become pivotal to the script? Was Ayan in love with Saba or with Alizeh or with both ? What about Alizeh, was she in love with Ayan ?

As far as the cast and acting are concerned, they are good. Ranbir does bring out the vulnerable & restless Ayan very well. Anushka has projected the unapologetic and mad energy of Alizeh well. The character which brought depth to the film partially is Saba of Aishwarya, and she is looking absolutely gorgeous and stunning. She conveys a lot through her words and expressions. Fawad has a very brief role as DJ Ali, and he did not have much to do, but indeed very good. Lisa and Imraan are in brief roles, they are ok.

The film does have references of Karan’s previous films, Amitabh Bachchan’s name, Yash Chopra’s Chiffon Saree clad heroines, tributes to 80’s songs.

Probably Karan’s vision was to make a film about unrequited love on a very lighter note, he did not want any of his characters to take themselves seriously, did not want to be preachy. To this extent, he is successful.

High point of the film is its music by Pritam and songs Bulleya and the title track stand apart.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is shallow and superficial while conveying the story of unrequited love, one-sided love. The very important ingredient and crux of the film is ‘Dil’, which is absolutely missing from the film. “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” turns out to be ‘Ye hai Mushkil’ for a spectator.