Ae Dil Hai Mushkil by Karan Johar

A smooth-mess !

The power of unrequited love, is one among many themes in this Karan Johar film. Ae Dil Hai Muskil is a smooth-mess and for most parts , it works, if not for anything else, surely for Karan’s deft handling of his characters.

On the surface, it is the story of two young and affluent persons, Ayan (Ranbir) and Alizeh (Anushka) who fall in love with each other but differently – one romantic while the other, platonic. The premise of ‘love vs friendship’ has found a place in many Bollywood movies . But you will be amazed to capture, how KJo journeys you through his characters from friendship to unrequited love , from desire to understanding the other person .

But is the film as moving as it unashamedly intends to ? Perhaps, not. The story and the emotions on the outset seem promising but it doesn’t quite feel natural or from the heart, in the process eventually. Yes, the sparkling chemistry between Ranbir and Anushka is refreshing . Yes, Ranbir is consistently superb in his acting throughout,  camouflaging accurately to the character’s skin. Yes, the songs find all the right beats. Yes, the exotic locales are a treat to the eyes. But, unfortunately all these single-elements combine to deliver not so much a lasting impression on the viewers .The characters might seem to you as over glossy. And particularly, the last act comes off as a desperate attempt to manipulate viewer’s emotions, sadly so.

There are some really touching moments in the movie -particularly the one in which the three, Ayan, Alizeh and his romantic love, Ali( referred to as meri ‘tabahi’ by Alizeh) are near the airport and Ayan, quite scared that Alizeh might swim back to Ali, says “The plane isn’t going to come back .” Also, another moment in the film when Ranbir makes use of his fingers ( not the thumb, mind you !) to speak, adds to the film’s emotional connect.

To summarize it, there are two ways to watch ADHM – 1. If you are an admirer of KJo and his school of cinema or say a fan of Ranbir or Anuska, you will be only more happy to see this piece of work and you will find a connect with the emotions .But if you go into the hall with an unbiased plain-motto of watching some good cinema(as in my case), you will be attracted to the intensity and the film’s characters but which, hasn’t quite tug at your heart-strings.