Love Aaj Kal Trailer Review: It Looks Like A Step Up For Kartik & A Step Down For Imtiaz Ali

The  trailer  of  the Kartik Aryan-Sara Ali Khan  helmed Love Aaj Kal left me  confused. Is it  a  remake  of  the  earlier film of  the same title starring Sara’s pop Saif?  Or is  it a variation on the theme  of love transcending  distances?

The  new  Love Aaj  Kal  instantly recalls Imtiaz Ali’s  Love Aaj Kal in  2009 when  Saif Ali Khan  wooed and won the firangi model Giselli Monteiro who masqueraded rather  ineffectually as  a Punjabi kudi in one (bygone) era while Deepika Padukone  was  the contemporary chick battling career and heart issues in present times. In both Saif  was the  lover-boy, a Sardar in  the past and a  clean-shaven dude in the present.

 In  the new Love Aaj Kal  it is Kartik Aryan clean-shaven past, 6’o clock-shadow in  the  present. In both  the  eras Kartin is seen singelemindedly wooing the two  ladies  Arushi Sharma and  Sara Ali Khan. Both the ladies,  I’m sorry to  say come across  as pretty unimpressive,though Sara tries hard to play the aggressive woman of  today with a tonal ferocity that plunges her  into the thrill of the shrill.

Kartik seems far  more in control  of  his dual character.  Here he is a  clean-shaven school student  in one and  a stubble-adorned dude in   the other. In both  the avatars he  keeps pursuing the  ladies  until they are shown pissed  off by his attention. “Tum  mujhe tang lage ho,” pleads Sara.

I hope the  film doesn’t make us feel the same  way.

Is that what the  film tries to say? That no matter  what the era, a man should keep  his  love and  libido in check? I am not very sure  of  what Love Aaj Kal  is  trying to  say or do. The trailer seems  to be  a beguiling at times fascinating mélange  of  nostalgia and contemporary  mores,  of  landline phones and hash tags, of salwar-kameez  and  denim-decked budtameez.

As  far as  trailers  go, this one  could have  found better moments to highlight  between Kartik and  the two  leading ladies. The dialogues are  more aspirational than inspired.

She:  “Are  you attracted  to girls?”

He : “I am. Aren’t you attracted  to boys?”

She: “I  am”

He: “I also feel like drinking petrol.”

She:  Silent.

We: Zapped.