Ae dil hai mushkil – Why Karan, why?

Have you seen Rockstar? Have you seen Tamasha? Lost in between these two stories is this emotional turmoil of a movie called Ae Dil hai mushkil. I am a careful moviegoer. When there is a big name release I usually hold myself back to gauge some reaction before I watch the movie. ADHM didn’t garner encouraging talk. I found out why, yesterday. Karan Johar has come a full circle. From Kuch kuch hota hai to ADHM he has gone from friendship kinda love to love kinda friendship.

Karan Johar is the writer and director of this movie. One thing that is assured in a Karan Johar movie is sappy romance. What KJ does with ADHM is to add a touch of cool and the current. It is supposed to be a representation of the kind of romance the current generation, a la millennial, will indulge in. In portraying that the characters indulge in nonstop cacophony for a good 45 minutes at the beginning of the movie. He casts Ranbir Kapoor in the lead. It is my firm belief that in the modern day if we have to look at a category where there is Ranbir Kapoor and his contemporaries then there isn’t a better actor. He is absolutely superlative. There is some criticism levied on him but I just don’t see it. Look at him in Rockstar and Burfy and you are convinced that a star is indeed born. What is biting him is his need to do the movies with the elite. Well, not everybody is an Abhay Deol. Abhay does great movies and hence we don’t see him so often. But what pains me is the wastage of Ranbir Kapoor, the actor. Make no mistake that in some of the scenes he is utterly brilliant. But one can’t help but notice him getting straightjacketed in stereotypical roles. The goofy lover, the rich spoilt brat and the grown up kid. He plays either one or a combination of these roles. Thank god, he still has movies like Rajneeti in his resume.

Anushka Kapoor is the female lead. Now, this lass can act. She has done some good work and does a great job in her movies too. As Alizeh, the female lead in ADHM she doesn’t cut it. The whole role felt really forced on her. It had similar shades of her role from Dil dhadkne do. She barely made an impact.

Aishwarya Rai , in her second innings, as an actor is featured in ADHM as an uber cool smoking hot but also dreamy poet. Aishwarya Rai looks really nice. But that’s all one can say about her. She is a very unconvincing “shayra”. The chemistry between Ranbir and Aishwarya is forced and almost uncomfortable. And there is the mandatory 5 mins for Shahrukh Khan to say something profound.

The music has already done wonders and Filmfare thought so too. Pritam’s magic was great but just didn’t blend into the movie.

The movie had a lot of tender moments. That’s expected in a KJ movie. They are nicely done and are potent enough to make one’s eyes well up. Ranbir is excellent in those emotional scenes and he seems to have an ease of walking into one frame from another and just about fit into context. The moment where the “Channa mere ya” song breaks out is one of my favorite moments of the movie. In there lies KJ’s strength. But I think it is too coy to make a movie that will largely make you emotional and cry in the day and age of today. If I were KJ and have done so much work in the industry I would just say why not. I don’t need the flab of terrible portrayal of modern day stories. But I would do something a little different as well. I am the creator of my story. Hence I will ensure that the guy who loses in love doesn’t lose the person to death as well. Poetry can be found that way as well.