Ae Dil Hai Mushkil movie review: Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anushka Sharma & Fawad Khan make unrequited love look sexy!

Ranbir Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan simply set the screen on fire with their guarded intimacy, but Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is about Anushka Sharma's Alizeh.

Updated: October 30, 2016 12:30 AM IST

By Shweta Parande

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil movie review: Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anushka Sharma & Fawad Khan make unrequited love look sexy!

And finally! Ae Dil Hai Mushkil has released and we caught the first day, first show of the Karan Johar film that hit theatres on October 28, Diwali. Since it was 8.15 am, the theatre was nearly empty but we know for sure that eventually Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (ADHM) will be a blockbuster! This is because the film, as promised, is high on emotion and especially the emotion of ‘Ek tarfa pyaar’ that is one-sided love. It’s the ek tarfa pyaar of Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan (YES, he is there!). Read our review of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil to find out if it is the right watch for you!

Well, if you are a sucker for romance, and even more, a fan of romances that end on a tragic note (Kal Ho Naa Ho, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Ek Duuje Ke Liye, and more), you will love ADHM! But if not, then skip it and go watch the action thriller Shivaay, written and directed by Ajay Devgn – that one will probably have breathtaking action and cinematography, and good music. Ae Dil Hai Muskhil, on the other hand, is about individuals who are not getting any action! LOL! Jokes apart, yes, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is Karan Johar’s labour of love that focuses on the emotions rather than cinematography, music and all – which are not bad, either. So, all in all, ADHM is a good package with great performances by Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai Bachchan!

Story of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Like we told you in our Ae Dil Hai Mushkil quick movie review until the interval, the movie begins on a promising note with the story of a reclusive singer Ayan Sengar played by Ranbir Kapoor. So the back story in the first half is all fun and frolic, portraying his one-sided love story with the happy-go-lucky Alizeh (Anushka Sharma). Both become friends after hitting on each other, with Alizeh thinking that Ayan can’t kiss for nuts! They talk about their respective lovers and exes. They bond over their common love for Bollywood, it’s songs and dialogues. This part of ADHM is fun, with many references to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Maine Pyar Kiya and more films from Bollywood. In fact, the Bollywood touch to Ae Dil Hai Mushkil continues till the end and people are sure to enjoy it.

But finally, Alizeh thinks of Ayan as her jigra, her BFF only. He thinks of her as a lot more…. The interval happens on a heartbreaking note, which is the premise of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. Heartbreak, Channa Mereya and the two middle fingers, and all goes wrong in Ayan’s life. The immature Ayan who earlier has a very dumb girlfriend Lisa D’Souza (Lisa Haydon) but dotes on her, now cannot get over the quirky Alizeh!

Post interval, enter Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s character Saba – a poet, a divorcee, a person who has seen life and felt pain and that reflects in her poems. Ayan finds another momma whose shoulders he can cry on, and yes, get some action. Ranbir Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan simply set the screen on fire with their guarded intimacy! Their scenes are not boring or slow, like some of Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma’s. But wait a minute! There’s more. Picture abhi baaki hai, mere dost. Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma’s track in ADHM is not over yet. She comes back into his life. What happens next is what the film is about, although a bit predictable but fun.

Performances in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Ooh boy! Where was this version of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan before? She is beautiful (as always) and delivers a mature performance! Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is definitely a film where Aishwarya Rai Bachchan the Miss World has come into her own in the acting department. Maybe it’s Karan Johar, maybe it’s her experience in life, whatever – she is a HOT performer. We want to see her tackle more of such roles rather than just the ones like Jazbaa where she plays a lawyer and a mother and all. In Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, although it’s Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma all the way, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan steals the show. Like Alizeh herself admits when she meets her that Saba is more beautiful than her – as a person and a lover.

Ranbir Kapoor has arrived as the next Shah Rukh Khan in terms of a particular kind of genre that suits him as an actor and what the audience likes to see him as. Even though he has done a Barfi!, Wake Up Sid, Rocket Singh – Salesman of the Year or Rockstar, all these films reflect the naivete and innocence of Ranbir Kapoor’s characters that his fans simply love! If Ae Dil Hai Mushkil doesn’t work for Ranbir Kapoor, nothing will! He badly needs a hit film now and he will get it with ADHM!

Anushka Sharma hits the right note yet again and is the jaan of the film, much like in Aamir Khan’s PK where she plays a journalist and also his only friend, philosopher and guide. Ranbir Kapoor as Ayan in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is as lost as Aamir Khan as an alien in PK! Anushka Sharma comes to the rescue of both. Fawad Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Alia Bhatt, Lisa Haydon and Imran Abbas have cameos that don’t get much footage. But the way Shah Rukh Khan describes unrequited love as the ‘most beautiful’ feeling in the world is amazing!

That brings us to the dialogues of the film, which especially in the second half are awesome, when the sexy poetess Saba enters Ayan’s life. As she says, ‘Dard ko dard dhoondh hee leta hai‘. The songs, of course, are a major part of ADHM, especially the title song and Bulleya, which stay with you.

Verdict

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is a bit juvenile in parts, not just because it is the story of a man child, but especially when they show the ill Alizeh. SPOILER ALERT – Cancer as an illness is shown so casually, it is not funny. Surely the illness is not just about losing hair! And what about the weakness and extreme weight loss that happens in most cases due to the chemotherapy (the reason for losing hair).

Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil with its truly new age romances goes old-fashioned in people crying over unrequited love, and is thus a wonderful combination of the new and the old! But with its modern take on romance, it may just turn out to be bolder than the film touted to be the boldest film of the year – his best buddy Aditya Chopra’s Befikre that releases on December 9! Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor, watch out. As for audiences, go watch Ae Dil Hai Mushkil with all your heart! You may just remember your unrequited love or want it to happen to you. The actors make it look so sexy and en vogue with the pain!

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.

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