Ae Dil Hai Mushkil: Not saying much, but probably KJo’s best work
Quick Synopsis: Alizeh is a free-spirited girl trying to find herself after a nasty breakup when she and Ayan have an intimate encounter that goes sour, but turns into a great friendship. However, when a combination of deeper feelings and exes complicate things, both of them learn a lesson about types of love.
- If you’re going into the theater expecting a lot of Aish, prepare to be disappointed. KJo totally pulled a Jared Leto on her ass…same with Fawad.
- I do want to say the first half is quite cute and reminds me a lot of Anjaana Anjaani with Ranbir’s seedha-saadha character and Anushka’s spunkiness. They have a great ~friendly~ chemistry that’s fun to watch andthe dialogue is so much better than to be expected from Karan Johar
- That being said it wasn’t 10 minutes in until I counted literally 4 references to K3G, KANK, KKHH AND KHNH all at once. Like for real. LET THAT SHIT GO. That’s when I knew more KJo sabotage was yet to come.
- I may be in the minority here, but Lisa Haydon’s appearance was my favorite part of the film. Her character is so ridiculous and she’s just cute as a button.
- Ranbir and Anushka are generally VERY good at emotional scenes when it comes to acting talent and this movie was no exception. The scene when she runs into Ali by chance and breaks down in the hotel room makes you so emotional. AGH she was just so amazing through the whole thing tbh.
- Aish looks 100% phenomenal, but it’s almost wasted by the fact that her character seemed to be totally shoehorned in as her part could have been literally cut and it wouldn’t have made a damn difference to the plot. Hell, SRK’s cameo made more of an impact
- Anddddddd then we get to the second half. When Ranbir’s character turns into the dick of the century. Literally you just want to jump through the screen and strangle him for being a whiny little bitch who throws a hissy fit every 20 minutes because Anushka doesn’t want to fuck him. Like he even gets borderline abusive. It’s literally so unbearable.
- Lastly, the final 20 minutes could be cut. There’s a “big reveal” that has you rolling your eyes so much because 1) it’s totally and completely unnecessary and 2) it means that there’s at least 15 more minutes of movie left that don’t need to be there because, let’s be honest, we either already know what’s coming or we just don’t care anymore. So, I can confidently say Karan Johar shot himself in the foot by giving what could have been a refreshing, young look at a common theme by inserting terribly contrived melodrama. From that point on the stock I had in this movie plummeted.
- Anyway, I would watch if you’re a fan of Ranbir and/or Anushka. It’s a great passtime movie and I wouldn’t be mad if it was a hit, but it’s far from the classic I’m sure everyone was hoping it would be. As far as Aish fans, well, just wait until a good print comes out online.
7/10