Watching Love Aaj Kal was like driving on the Mumbai roads in the rains. P(l)otholes in between super smooth narration and after a while it gets irritating and you almost predict the next bump.

Let’s get the story out of the way first. Jai(Saif Ali) and Meera(Deepika Padukone) are a modern couple but career pressures force them to split but they break-up amicably(almost an oxy-moron there). No heartbreaks, rona dhona etc. But does love let you get away that easily? That forms the theme of this film. This premise is also narrated to the happy go lucky Jai in a parallel or analogous manner by Veer Singh(Rishi Kapoor), a restaurant owner in London who talks about his affair with a Sikh girl Harleen(Giselle Monteiro) in Delhi many years ago.

The positives : The movie is sprinkled with some really witty dialogues and interesting layered narration techniques. The first one hour of the movie takes it to its peak. Cinematography(awesome bridges) and locales are top notch. The songs are classy even though they are a hindrance sometimes (remember potholes). Dooriyaan stays with you long after you leave the hall.

The negatives : Somehow Jai’s and Meera’s relationship lacks that depth that convinces you that they are really made for each other. The movie just casually touches on the nuances of a relationship and hence fails to bring about that dramatic effect of the lows of separation and long distance relationships. Rishi Kapoor’s tale is fine and sugary uptill the point when all is lost for the love torn Sardar and he uses force to get his love. It was an inappropriate conclusion. That’s when you feel the movie has a heavy Dil chahta hai, DDLJ and Jab We Met(JWM) hangover.

Performance wise, Saif Ali Khan once again comes out on top. His expressions and delivery are perfect for a vulnerable and nervous yuppie, looking for love. Rishi Kapoor as always is first rate. Deepika, great figure, hot body notwithstanding, has a lot to improve in the acting department though. It doesn’t help that her character is sketched badly but in certain scenes that require her to be subtle, she is kind of loud and her face contorted. She is better in the second half but here is a request to the Bangalore Bimbo - Please don’t dance. Giselle Monteiro(yeah i know she is Brazilian but looks amazingly Indian) has nothing to do except look pretty which she does adequately. Rahul Khanna is wasted in an inconsequential role.

Overall, the takes on contemporary love and relationships which are evident in the first half get muddled in the slapdash potpourri of the second half. Somehow writer-director Imtiaz Ali while covering most bases with his script, sacrifices the raw charm of Socha na Tha, JWM and Ahista Ahista(writer only) for commercial masala in Love Aaj Kal.

Don't get me wrong, Love Aaj Kal is an eminently watchable movie for its wittiness and catchy music but the film could have explored more. It could have been better.

P.S. Allow me to digress and also maintain my earlier instructions as to, with whom you should be watching this movie. You can watch it with your uncles, aunties, 1970's ke lovebird parents only(statistics say that maximum elopements took place in that decade), your better halves ( ambidextrous people barred from watching) and long distance bf/gf (the power of communication c'mon). I watched it with a guy friend while the whole theatre was empty. Just the two of us, absolutely no one. And that's when, 10 minutes into the movie (when the breezy romance on screen was getting me high), I got up from my seat and barked the following words at my friend
"Why the f*** are you a guy?"