Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (ADHM) Movie Review

October 28, 2016

An emotional love drama tied in shades of emotional strings.

Movie Review

Release Date: 28 October, 2016

Starring: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Fawad Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Deepti Naval, Lisa Haydon, Alia Bhatt

Directed by: Karan Johar

Produced by: Apoorva Mehta, Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar

Cinematography: Anil Mehta

Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya

Music by: Pritam Chakraborty

Duration: 2 hr. 38 minutes

Genre: Romance Drama

Censor Rating: UA

About Movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

ADHM got unsolicited but probably welcome publicity due to unforeseen circumstances of the Indo-Pak tension that saw Pakistani actors, including Fawad Khan, being asked to leave the country within 48 hours by MNS, a Mumbai-based political party.

The MNS went further with threats of blocking its release in single screen and other theatres if the film included any Pakistani artists. The controversy got further fuelled by Karan Johar’s tweet in support of artists to be kept away from politics.

After much tension and needless controversy, ADHM released to packed houses in India today.

Is ADHM the best work from Karan Johar? Good question. Karan Johar would like us to believe it is, but his other works perhaps contributed more towards building his reputation as an upcoming film maker, while ADHM merely tries to consolidate it.

Karan Johar has tried to delve into the complex shades of love that often expose strings of emotional complexities. Shot in exotic locales of Vienna, Paris, London and Rajasthan, the film has scored with some brilliant performances from Ranbir Kapoor, who continues to cement his place as one of Bollywood’s most talented and versatile actor.

He plays Ayan, a rich jet-setting bachelor with a golden voice who is already a sensation over the Internet. He meets a Muslim girl Alizeh in London, played by Anushka Sharma and the adamant chase begins.

DJ Ali, played by Fawad Khan, adds yet another angle to the budding love saga between Ayan and Alizeh, by being there but yet not quite. The first half is all fun and frolic, travelling and hanging out in exotic locations for the two.

Anushka stands out for her strong performance as an independent Alizeh, as she continues to keep Ayan’s advances at bay, pressing for friendship over love.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan continues to look ever so glamourous as she spouts touching poetry that resonates deeply, in the role of the mature poet Saba Taliyar Khan. Fawad Khan fans are going to love his brief but interesting role as DJ Ali.

SRK’s sensational entry is a high point for audiences, while Alia Bhatt has put in a cameo that’s also gone down well with fans. Deepti Naval and Lisa Haydon continue to make their presence felt with some deep though brief performances.

Plot

Ayan is a popular singer who is already a heartthrob with his young audiences who go wild craving for his songs and his persona. The rich bachelor flies around in his private jet and while partying in London, comes across Alizeh, an attractive and vivacious Muslim girl. Hereon, Ayan just can’t get enough of her as he pursues his one-sided obsession for Alizeh.

The twist in the tale lies in their perception of each other. While Ayan seems to believe his friendship should go to the next natural level called love, Alizeh believes otherwise. The strong-headed and adamant Ayan continues to relentlessly pine for her.

In the second half of the film Saba, an enchanting poetess comes alive, captivating with some alluring poetry that leaves audiences with a great after taste.

Performances

The film has a strong performance from all three – Ranbir, Anushka and Aishwarya but the real highlight of the film is Ranbir Kapoor’s performance. He carries off the film ably supported by Anushka’s vivacious presence. Aishwarya shows why she still commands a strong fan attention as she holds her own playing the svelte and sassy poetess.

Ranbir Kapoor is rapidly evolving as an intense, talented and extremely bankable star in Bollywood. With each film he is consistently outperforming his earlier one. This is one Kapoor to watch out for as he has the potential to stay for the long haul in an otherwise brutally competitive industry.

All credit to Karan Johar as a director for having taken up exploring deep emotions of interpersonal equations, however, he does come a bit short on living up to his earlier films.

Anil Mehta’s cinematography rises to the occasion with some brilliant capturing of exotic locales and succeeds in matching the tempo and mood of the story. The music of the film is captivating.

ADHM Music

Get Amitabh Bhattacharya to write lyrics and Pritam to create music on those lyrics and you have a super recipe of a winner. This is what Karan Johar banked on when he decided to bring the two together for ADHM and they haven’t let him down.

Details of songs in the movie

ADHM – The title song

Singer(s): Arijit Singh

Song duration: 04:28 mins

Bulleya

Singer(s): Amit Mishra, Shilpa Rao

Song duration: 05:48 mins

The title song is the best and Arijit Singh scores yet another winner with this one. Both the title ADHM song and Bulleya are sure shot hits on both sides of the border. Bulleya has strong lyrics and appeal, and has been sung by another rising star – Amit Mishra and backed by Shilpa Rao.

Channa Mereya

Singer(s): Arijit Singh

Song duration: 04:49 mins

Another melodious song sure to touch people on both sides of the border. Arijit Singh once again lives up but is not fully tested on this one.

Break-up song

Singer(s): Arijit Singh, Jonita Gandhi, Badshah, Nakash Aziz

Song duration: 04:12 mins

Now the Break-up song breaks new ground by celebrating a break-up. Bollywood has grown with break-ups being accompanied with heart-rendering music but this one here is a contrarian and the trio of Arijit, Badshah and Jonita carry it off the hip-hop style with aplomb. The visuals keep pace with Anushka playing the funky Alizeh – post break-up.

Cutiepie

Singer(s): Pradeep Singh Sran, Nakash Aziz

Song duration: 03:50 mins

This is a song that could have been a winner for the partying crowd but missed the opportunity. The song visualization is better than the song itself.

Alizeh

Singer(s): Arijit Singh, Ash King, Shashwat Singh

Song duration: 04:42 mins

Alizeh does strike a soft chord with Arijit in doing justice to the mood. This Pritam creation is a song for the soft lights.

What’s good?

If you are a KJo fan then this one is a not to miss. Even if you aren’t, Ranbir, Anushka and Aishwarya are reason enough to see it. Fans who go to see it the second time are more likely to go for the music and brilliant visuals of moods and locales.

What’s bad?

Love dramas have played out in every possible combination in Hindi movies, so it’s a challenge for any Director to really break new ground based on the story itself. Take away the music and visualization and you have just another romance melodrama, and that’s why this movie won’t stand up as Karan Johar’s best yet.

Verdict

It’s a movie for the weekend that will leave you with a nice lingering mushy feeling with music to match. Go for it.