Love Aaj Kal: Love In Every Era

This had to be coming its way for quite sometime, after some blundering steps here and there. Finally,“Love aj Kal” aka LAK, arrives full square and looks like it is meant to score high with the audience. The storyline is fresh and settling and leads the audience along on a journey that is of comfortable pace.

Imtiaz Ali’s latest is not meant to disappoint any one. A lot of expectations had been trained on him in relation with LAK, after his second venture “Jab We Met” took the box-office by storm and sealed the fates of both the leads, Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor, in the higher rungs of the industry.
In his this venture, Ali takes to look at love as an unchanging phenomenon in any era, and if changed, how is it perceived now.

We therefore have a very experienced and elderly Veer Singh (essayed by Rishi Kapoor) and Jai (Saif) sit and tell their tales of love to each other, to prove in the end that love is never changing. Veer tries showing Jai how love acts as a driving force, which Jai plays down saying it is a notion of an era that is by gone. What Ali tries to put across is that love used to make people a whole lot serious in earlier times. Now, people getting serious about their life and profession, bid adieu to love. However, love finds its own course in due time.

Saif as Jai is successful in his portrayal of the emotions that he under goes as he goes blundering through life, sometimes discovering love, at others disowning it because of his ego, and well, because he is human. Deepika Padukone plays Jai’s love interest Meera and fits the role to perfection so that it looks tailor made for her.

I worked very hard to look Sikh- Saif

The been refrain from Nagin in Love Aaj Kal has caught on like wildfire.
“I’m glad. Because my producer Dinesh Vijeyan chased it up obsessively and we paid a small fortune to get the rights for that music from Sa Re Ga Ma,” informs Saif.
Kareena predicted that music will play at every discotheque in the country.
Saif and his director Imtiaz Ali held a press conference at a Gurdwara in Mumbai on Wednesday, before Sikh heads and prominent members of federations.
Says Saif, “That’s the way they wanted it and we didn’t mind at all. As long as the Sikh community understands that our intentions are completely honourable, we didn’t mind doing anything to appease the sentiments of the Sikhs.
” Saif says he worked really hard to get the nuances of the Sikh character right. “Imtiaz and I didn’t want the character to be even slightly caricatural. We worked very, very, hard on the body language, and the speech. Then if the beard appeared not long enough, we couldn’t help it. Once people see the film they’ll know, there’s nothing to protest about. Everyone will be proud of me.”
But was the media interaction allowed in a Gurdwara?
Says Saif, “It wasn’t really inside the Gurdwara; but in an office, within the premise. We all met and sorted it out.”

Today love is more physical- Rishi Kapoor

The favourite lover boy of Bollywood fans for over decades, Rishi Kapoor will next be seen in Imtiaz Ali’s Love Aaj Kal. Here is a brief tête-à-tête with the veteran star.
You still possess the same energy and passion for cinema like that of your younger days and have not changed.
(Laughs) No, No, I have put on a lot of weight now, there comes by few roles that you pick and chose, I enjoy working even today and I am still passionate about cinema. Unfortunately, very few roles are written for actors our age. One can’t keep repeating the father and brother roles. You have to choose and pick the best amongst the lot. The character has to be an intrinsic part of the plot. But technically, films have become more superior.
What is your opinion of heroes who are in their 40’s and still dominating the screen?
I think I was the only actor who worked beyond his 40’s as a hero. I worked with the youngest lot of heroines like Juhi Chawla and Divya Bharati in Deewane. No hero has beaten me to it.
What do you feel about cinema today?
The days of silver jubilees, golden jubilees, and even diamond jubilees of films are no longer there. I feel proud that I stood the chance of having those jubilees and trophies to my name. Today it is the era of the multiplexes. Only the initial days are counted.
Tell us about your role in Love Aaj Kal. You are making a comeback with your wife?
I play the character of Veer Singh Panesar along with Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone. Neetu has just given one obliging shot in the movie. You have all got it wrong. She is not doing a full-fledged role. We are actually making a comeback with another film titled Do Dooni Char being directed by Habib Faizal. I am playing a school teacher and she plays my wife in the movie. Love Aaj Kal is film about what people perceive of love today. It’s is a film about relationships. I perceive Saif as the younger Rishi Kapoor in the movie as I take him through the journey of my love story.”
Can you tell in two lines what Do Dooni Char is all about?
The film is very close to my heart. We play a Punjabi couple in the film. I play a math teacher who is trying to make ends meet by teaching in a school, and giving tuitions by the night.
What is your perception of love?
Love during our times was pure. We used to woo girls over a cup of coffee. Our commitments were serious. Today love is more physical. It’s too big an ambit to talk about. How was it working with Saif and Deepika? Saif is a wonderful boy, a wonderful producer. He has done a brilliant job. So has Deepika. She is a competent actress. The film belongs to both of them.

Saif's beard in Love Aaj Kal stirs religious sentiments

Saif Ali Khan's ‘Love Aaj Kal’ has been in news for all the right reasons. The film has a hot onscreen pair of Saif and Deepika, the music of the film is top of the charts and the promos of the film are definitely hinting that Imtiaz Ali has got a winner this time as well. However, the film has hit the troubled waters due to Saif's 'Sardar' look in the film.
Charan Singh Sapra, the President of Punjabi Cultural And Heritage Board has objected on Saif's beard look in the film, reasoning that Sardars do not sport a trimmed beard (as carried by Saif Ali Khan in the film). Sapra has also sent a memorandum to Saif Ali Khan, Imtiaz Ali and Dinesh Vijan regarding the same. Not just that, he also added that if the said look was not corrected, then, they (members of the Punjabi Cultural And Heritage Board) will be writing to all the major Sikh organizations to protest and stall the release of the film all over the country.

Elvis is Singh! Saif dons the legend’s robes for ‘Love Aaj Kal’

Was that the late rock-and-roll legend Elvis Presley doing the jig in the promotional track of “Love Aaj Kal”? But why was he wearing a pagri? Take a closer look — it’s our very own Saif Ali Khan.

For his home production “Love Aaj Kal”, Saif has appeared in one of the getups of Rock-n-Roll legend Elvis Presley. He has done so for the promotional track “Aahun Aahun” which has just been unveiled.

“It wasn’t planned this way but things just fell in place. I was in conversation with Dolly Ahluwalia, the costume designer, and we were discussing the retro outfits from the mid-60s. There was just one answer that we got — Presley,” reveals director Imtiaz Ali who got Saif into the costume.

The song is a twin celebration of sorts since it showcases Saif from both 60s as well as the current times.

A fusion piece that has various flavours of Punjabi, Hindi as well as English coming together not just lyrically but also musically, “Aahun Aahun” features the 60s Saif as a Sikh singing in Punjabi while the current generation Saif croons in Hindi and English.

“That’s the way the entire song was designed,” said Imtiaz.

“Even though ‘Aahun Aahun’ is a promotional song, we didn’t want Saif to slip out of the character. This is the reason why we had different costumes, settings and dance moves designed for both.”

Building on the idea, the team thought of showcasing Saif in a dance competition.

“Once we had the Elvis idea in place, the dance competition too fell in place. There is an elaborate sequence as a part of the song where Saif as a Sikh gets into the Elvis garb with his trademark white outfit. He challenges the modern day Saif in a dancing competition and the result is to see two Saif Ali Khans trying to be one up over the other in the same frame,” Imtiaz said.

The song also features Deepika Padukone in a stunning western outfit.

Pritam has put together the entire Punjabi-English-Hindi composition, while lyricist Irshad Kamil has brought youth flavour to the song. It has been sung by Neeraj Sridhar, Master Saleem and Suzanne.

Imtiaz says that though “Aahun Aahun” is a promotional track, it won’t be killed in the film.

“We can’t infuse it unnecessarily as a part of the narrative because it won’t make sense,” said Imtiaz.

“However, though it comes in the end credits of the film, it won’t be wasted. Just like ‘Mauja Hi Mauja’ [Jab We Met] which got its due, even ‘Aahun Aahun’ will have its place under the sun.”

War on the sets of Love Aaj Kal

he central theme of Love Aaj Kal revolves around black tea and black coffee, and this has started affecting the crew of the film as well. We know that the director of Love Aaj Kal is very fond of black tea and drinks lot of black Darjeeling tea. And so a few crew members developed an increasing curiosity towards this beverage.

Now, Deepika drank black coffee for the very first time on the film, like her character Meera, who is very fond of the same. And now the crew is swinging and switched to drinking black coffee

It was like a war, one side Saif Ali Khan and Deepika drinking coffee and on the other side director Imtiaz gobbling up tea-pots

Will Saif-Deepika jodi be a hit?

Saif Ali Khan seems to make a good pair with younger women. We aren’t just referring to his real pairing with a much younger Kareena Kapoor, but also his reel life pairing with the 23 year old Deepika Padukone in Love Aaj Kal.

The movie’s already making news for its peppy music and the chemistry between the lead pair. Both Deepika and Saif are working together for the first time but they look great and extremely comfortable together. Ask Saif about his jodi with Deeps and he confidently says, “Though we don’t know each other so well but I think on screen we suit each other a lot.”

Saif says if he is looking good with Deepika, all credit should be given to director Imtiaz Ali. “I think chemistry is not something that you can organize. It comes out of the script and from the situations which is a director’s job.” Finally talking about Deepika, Saif says, “She is very hardworking and professional and has delivered a really nice performance.”

Kareena recommended Imtiaz Ali: Saif Ali Khan

Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan, who has turned producer with his forthcoming film “Love Aaj Kal”, says it was Kareena Kapoor who recommended Imtiaz Ali as director for his first production venture.

Kareena had worked with Ali in the successful romantic comedy “Jab We Met”.

“Kareena highly recommended Imtiaz when I decided to produce a film. At that time ‘Jab We Met’ hadn’t released. So I met him… it was the script and the way he narrated it to me that really impressed me and we decided to make ‘Love aaj Kal’,” Saif told reporters here.

“I love the way Imtiaz works. He is amazing,” he added.

Saif was in the capital Thursday with his co-star Deepika Padukone and Ali to promote the film that is scheduled for July 31 release.

The film also stars yesteryear hit couple Neetu Singh and Rishi Kapoor along with Rahul Khanna and focuses on relationships in two different eras, showing that the experience of being in love remains the same.

Asked why he decided to venture into production, the 38-year-old said: “I decided to turn producer because I wanted to own the work that is done. I wanted to be more creatively involved in a project apart from just acting in it and take the responsibility. Basically, after working in the industry for so many years, I wanted growth.”

So did he change in anyway after taking this step?

“Yes, I have become more conscious of small things now after becoming a producer – I became more conscious about small details during shootings like whether an artist is coming on time or not, production plans are working in close coordination with other, et al,” Saif said.

The actor, who is co-producing the film with Dinesh Vijan under their banner Illuminati Films, says it is an unconventional move and will appeal to viewers.

” ‘Love Aaj Kal’ will appeal to people since it has got very genuine dialogues. It has a certain newness and boldness in character. It is unconventional, yet very commercial,” he said.

Playing a Sikh character was a big responsibility: Saif

Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, who is playing a Sikh in some parts of his debut production “Love Aaj Kal”, says essaying the character meant a lot of responsibility for him.

“You have to work with great responsibility while playing certain characters so that you don’t end up hurting others’ sentiments. I have played the role of a Sikh gentleman in this film with sensitivity. A lot of work went behind it in order to make the character authentic,” Saif told reporters.

“We took care of the costumes, the look, mannerisms, dialect and a lot of other things like I was told not to smoke while wearing the turban while we were shooting for the film in Patiala,” he added.

“Love Aaj Kal”, directed by Imtiaz Ali of “Jab We Met” fame, also stars Deepika Padukone and is set to release July 31.

Kisses and expletives, but ‘Love Aaj Kal’ a family film: Director

Imtiaz Ali openly admits that his upcoming “Love Aaj Kal”, which stars Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, has unabashed kissing scenes and shows the lead actors mouthing expletives, but the director insists that it will still be a complete family entertainer.

The director says he has included the so-called objectionable scenes in the movie’s promos so that people are already used to it by the time they see the film.

“See, it’s the way you put it in the film and treat it. It’s up to the filmmaker not to make his film some fodder for perversion or lechery.” Ali told .

Ali promises that “Love Aaj Kal”, which is Saif’s production debut, is a film that would be accepted by an entire family.

“Kisses included,” he winks. “Nobody will feel inhibited watching ‘Love Aaj Kal’. No one will hesitate walking into the film with his family. All that is potentially objectionable in the film in the strictest of sense has been taken care of in the first promo. If you have warmed up on it, rest assured you will love ‘Love Aaj Kal’,” the filmmaker said.

“Love Aaj Kal” is his third love story after “Socha Na Tha” and the blockbuster “Jab We Met”.

But there were people around Ali who weren’t too comfortable with the idea of showing Saif trying to hold Deepika’s butt, then share an unabashed kiss with her in the car and also mouth Hinglish expletives on a date right in the promo itself.

“They thought that people may get an impression that the film was only about these things but I had my own viewpoint,” explains Ali.

“My argument is that audiences are really smart. They pretty much see the intention of the filmmaker and make up their mind to watch the film accordingly. We better start taking them seriously rather than attempt at fooling them by considering ourselves over smart,” he says.

To substantiate his claim, Ali goes on to share an anecdote from his experience during the making of “Jab We Met”, which starred Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor.

“Remember the sequence in the second half of the film when Kareena curses her ex-boyfriend on phone? She goes on to say ‘Teri Maa Ki’ and a lot more. Did the audience feel awkward? Not at all. In fact they laughed during the entire scene and not a single soul came and told me that he/she felt offended by the language,” Ali reasons.

The director, however, admits that for “Love Aaj Kal”, the prime target audience is the younger crowd.

“And that’s more by accident rather than planned,” he says. “The film caters to them mainly because it’s this age group that goes and sees films in theatres. Due to this, even when I am conceptualising a film and then putting it on celluloid, I feel safe from my target audience perspective,” he explains.

With music by Pritam and lyrics by Irshad Kamil, “Love Aaj Kal” is set for a July 31 release.

Fatka and Jhatka in Love Aaj Kal

Love Aaj Kal is the dream project of Saif Ali Khan, being his home production film.

We heard they had lots of fun during the shoot but there were few incidents which created a bit panic situation.

Our sources reveal that, “The film had almost come to an end but suddenly an incident took place where we have to re shoot 4-5 scenes as the camera broke down.”

“The crew was surprised when they learnt that suddenly the sequences that they have shot with the actors have been vanished. They got a new camera of worth Rs. 5 lakhs and had to shot all over again. It was one of the most important sequences of the flick,” adds the source.

Talking about the Jhatka, our khabroo reveals that, “While shooting for a melody number with Saif, Deepika had a great fall from the stage. It was a panic situation but everyone felt relief when she got up and said that “I’m fine’.”

It was the masti number, Chori Bazari…, “In the song she was suppose act as a drunker and while doing this she lost the balance, hurting herself,” concludes the source.

Now Saifu must have realised that it’s not halwa to producer a film. Now everyone including the actor himself is just waiting for the release with Box office result.

Despite NEW YORK, disasters continue to dominate

Ok, so NEW YORK has been a huge success while coming weeks promise jumbo size entertainment as well, what with KAMBAKKTH ISHQ, SHORTKUT - THE CON IS ON, SANKAT CITY, JASHNN, LUCK, LOVE AAJ KAL, AGYAAT and KAMINEY arriving in quick succession. However, it would still be too early to forget some of the recent disasters that Bollywood has faced during the fortnight gone by.

First and foremost let’s talk about RUNWAY, the film which released alongside NEW YORK. The film has been kicked and buried deep down with not many being even aware about this Amarjeet Shukla and Tulip Joshi starrer. Despite some melodious music, the film would be most remember for it’s shoddy direction and downmarket treatment.

Films that released a week earlier have been ‘red’ as well for their investors. PAYING GUESTS, for all the claims by it’s makers to be a success, has bitten the dust and is hardly in the reckoning in it’s second week. The film is a flop, what with just 6 crores coming from it’s first week in spite of a big release of 500 cinemas. A comedy, it has just not excited the audiences and should soon be finding a release on home video. The only person who has come out unscathed is Shreyas Talpade who has done well once again in a comic outing after GOLMAAL RETURNS. However, it would be a surprise if PAYING GUESTS would ever ‘return’ despite producer Subhash Ghai and director Paritossh Painter being gung-ho about coming up with a sequel.

The other three films that released alongside PAYING GUESTS have been all disasters, as indicated by less than 10 lakhs that they all have earned between them. Yes, you read it right - sum total of collections of LET’S DANCE, HUM PHIRR MILEINGE and RAFTAAR hasn’t even crossed 10 lakhs. While Gayatri Patel’s debut flick LET’S DANCE, which was centred on dance, was the best reviewed of the lot, it’s 4 lakhs total in week one immediately qualifies it as a box office disaster. As for Sarvar Ahuja, the young man continues to make poor selection of movies that hardly justifies the talent that he possesses. His HUM PHIRR MILEINGE has managed just 2 lakhs across the country. Similar are the collections for a small time film called RAFTAAR which released without any promotion and disappeared over it’s opening weekend itself.

If one talks about the bigger films then KAL KISSNE DEKHA, which cost quite a fortune for it’s makers, has completely drowned with a fall of more than 80%. With just 1 crore more coming in the second week, the film has almost closed shop at 6.5 crores. As for Mithun starrer ZOR LAGAA KE HAIYAA, lesser said the better. The film’s 20 lakhs total is lesser than what Mithun Chakravorty’s Ootywood movies have made in the past.

With such pile up of movies expected to be a thing of the past, one sincerely hopes that the era of disasters is over and better months are there ahead for the Hindi film industry.