Cast: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Fawad Khan, Deepti Naval, Lisa Haydon
Banner: Dharma Productions
Music: Pritam
Cinematography: Anil Mehta
Producers: Apoorva Mehta, Hiroo Yash Johar & Karan Johar
Writer-Director: Karan Johar
A onetime watch Love Vs Friendship Conflict
Plot:
Ayan Sanger (Ranbir Kapoor) and Aleeza Khan (Anushka Sharma) are two fun loving individuals who meet accidentally. In their brief journey, Ayaan gets attracted to Aleeza who sees him just as a friend because her only love was Ali (Fawad Khan) with whom she shares a void. One day when Aleeza sees Ali at a dance bar, she decides to leave the place along with Ayan but when Ali apologizes to her, she decides to stay back. In a crucial choice between love and friendship, Aleeza chooses love at that moment. This hurts Ayan who eventually realizes that he loves Aleeza and can’t be her friend anymore. What happened to the love stories of Aleeza, Ayan and their 'love vs friendship' conflict forms the rest of the plot.
Performances:
ADHM is a recent example of the belief that a drama can be largely sustained by acting performances.
India’s finest actors Ranbir & Anushka carry the film upon their shoulders. And there is not a moment without them loving/hating/crying/having a blast as they strike an adorable chemistry.
While Fawad & Lisa are irresistibly hot, Aish was bold and beautiful as her poetry in the film.
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has a pleasant surprise for you (well we had to afford this spoiler – come on, its SRK!)
Analysis:
Disclaimer: Well we aren’t a Karan Johar fan/hater (so you can count this review).
Karan Johar once again tried to play around his strength – a romantic drama (this time with a contemporary flavour). He taps upon the 'Love vs Friendship' conflict (of course the most over used word in the review but guess this is the most clichéd concept in films too) and manages to dish out a watchable drama. The best part is his clarity over the conflict point in the plot and the way he acknowledges the paradoxes in it.
We all deal with both love and friendship (and sometimes the fateful conflict too) in our daily lives and it has been evolving over the ages. Karan tries to reflect all the contemporary perspectives, flaws, strengths and paradoxes in his writing. His characters and impeccable actors do this job for him. Though that desperate attempt not to sound clichéd and melodramatic was quite evident now and then, Karan was successful in keeping it engaging, if not endearing.
The first half was a fun ride and a predictable yet emotional pre-interval block give you those ‘hit’ vibes (abhi picture baaki hai mere dosth). Except Aishwarya's episode, the second half is nothing but a squib.
Looks like Karan largely relied upon performances to pull off without much magic in his writing. And the ‘musical love story’ expectation is just a bubble...Uhahaha! (yes...supposed to be a villainy laugh).
Music:
Pritam’s music is already a chartbuster. However the songs command their position and occupy space in the narrative. On the other hand, the back ground score also rightly aids the performances elevating the mood of film without being melodramatic.
Others:
The film is largely shot in abroad and the productive design surely deserves a thumbsup! (of course, it is truly worth it)
Verdict:
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is a one-time watch Love vs Friendship drama that largely relies upon the performances and goes clueless towards the end - Thoda fun, love, romance but jyaada friendship and the rest its extension!