Karan Johar is like that favourite aunt of yours whom you pay a visit every Eid, knowing exactly what you’ll be fed but you still go because you just love the taste of the food. So you can expect lots of beautiful people, in fact lots of rich, beautiful people, exotic locales and great music. Somewhere tucked in between the eye candy is a message: remember ‘pyar dosti hai,’ the famous punchline from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai? Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’s plot is similar with a minor twist. This time it is ‘dosti pyar hai!
Here’s why you should still watch the film…
- The entire cast could be Pakistani!
You’ve got Alizeh, Ayan, Saba, Faisal, Tahir, and Ali and half of them were supposed to be from Lahore! The dialogues are witty, fresh and are essentially in Urdu (not Hindi). Kudos to stars who seem to have perfected their Urdu especially Anushkha Sharma (Alizeh) and Aishwariya Rai (Saba) who initially, including Fawad, were all playing Pakistani characters but due to the Indo-Pak issues their nationalities were not revealed in the film. You will realize that Anushkha says “Lucknow†but her lip sync is “Lahoreâ€.
- A very haute OST
The music of the film is super and has topped every chart. But Karan Johar, being the Bollywood bacha that he is, revisits old hits and it’s the old Bollywood songs knitted in the plot that steal the show. You will hear classics from Bollywood as well as a couple of Urdu numbers like Nur Jehan’s ‘Mujhse pehli si mohabbat’ to ‘Lag ja gale’ to Farida Khanum’s iconic ‘Aaj jaane ki zid na karo’. Karan Johar appeals to his Pakistani audience with referencing Faiz and Nur Jehan and Farida Khanum and it’s such a pity that this has fallen to deaf ears.
- Ranbir fans will be delighted!
ADHM is entirely Ranbir’s film. You might feel that his performance resonates with his earlier projects like Rockstar and Tamasha but he was terrific in those films as well, hence the déjà vu is forgiven. He conveys both vulnerability and bratty boyishness with such ease that he wins you over from the word go. Anushka too is high on energy and acts her part well. Her reactions are just perfect and she goes from plateau to peak with the ease of a pro. You cannot take your eyes off Aishwariya Rai. Her aura is bigger than all the actors combined. She is there for only 20 minutes but she makes her presence felt and absence even more. She has never looked this beautiful ever, not even on any of the Cannes red carpets.
- Fawad and even Imran Abbas are well worth the watch
Contrary to what you’ve heard, Fawad Khan’s screen time has not been slashed in the film. And that’s a good thing because we can’t imagine anyone else in that small yet terribly significant role. He may not be around too much but he is the reason why the film’s story unravels as it does. Plus, you had to be there (in the cinema) to believe the applause and the whistles when he first appears on screen; the noise was nothing short of the excitement when an Amitabh Bachan walks out of bomb smoke in Trishul or perhaps a Shahrukh comes running out of a helicopter in K3G. Amongst the guest appearances, which also include Shahrukh Khan, Alia Bhatt and our very own Imran Abbas, it’s Lisa Haydon and Imran Abbas who actually make a very cute scene.
– Sadiq Saleem is a Dubai based entertainment journalist. He is also an SH correspondent and can be contacted on his page fb/sidsaidso
