Love Aaj Kal : ****

Team A consists of those went to the movie and came out saying "Yuck !!What a crap movie. What was that all about ? "

Team B consists of those who went to the movie and came out saying "Wow !! What a refreshing movie. Great story well told."

Having seen the movie, I can safely say this.. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ALL YOU TEAM A PEOPLE ??? I mean, seriously, get a life !!!!

This is easily the best Bollywood movie script to come out this year. It is awesome simply because it is real. Yes, I said real. This is how we've become. There is no glossing over the fact. Gone are the days when a taxi driving Aamir Khan kisses a heiress Karishma Kapoor ( Raja Hindustani ) forcibly in the rain and she's in love with him forever.

Mind you, this isn't Saif Ali's film. Nor is it Deepika Padukone's.. it is director Imtiaz Ali's all the way. It is a screenplay that deals with how much love has changed over the past few generations... and yet, how little really has changed.

Two stories play out before our eyes in parallel views.. we have the contemporary, hip dude Saif Ali Khan holding a breakup party with his girlfriend Deepika at the very onset of the film ; the decision to break up being the possibility of a strained relationship once she moves to India from UK. It is a celebration of the times they had, rather than a mourning of love lost... it is an indicator of things to come. In breaking up, they become more liberated in their conversations and dealings with each other and this will, in the end, redefine their relationship.

Watching this unfold is a puzzled Rishi Kapoor who in the course of time, reveals to Saif the story of his own love to a girl he never spoke to for over a year, young Harleen Kaur.

The Saif of 1965, playing a young Rishi Kapoor, is of course, the man we're used to seeing in Bollywood films... the man who falls in love at first sight, who travels beyond state borders just to see a girl he's never spoken to... just to fall in love. And in his story, are some of the best moments of the film. In particular is a scene when they first meet after he arrives in Calcutta to see her after spending a year in love with her memory... her reaction to his gift is amazing. Believe me, that moments alone made me wish I was in love again. Of course, inspite of how different they are, the Saif Ali Khan of 2009 eventually realises just how alike he is to Rishi Kapoor... how even though they don't agree with each other, their heart says differently.

In between this, of course, both Saif and Deepika find love / companionship in other partners, but even then, they both feel incomplete and it shows. And that is perhaps where so many people find fault with the film. They complain "If they love each other, how can they be with other people ?" I say that is, in fact, one of it's biggest strengths... showing us for what we are. It isn't about making grave mistakes, we all do that ; it's about continuing on with life and still having hope for redemption... still clinging on to the hope of love. It's about being scared to commit, being scared to be alone, being bold enough to live your dreams... or shatter them a day after you've finally realised them. In short, it's about life as it exists today. As Rishi sagely points out " In the olden days, we gave up our careers for true love, today you kids give up true love for your careers." Wise words indeed...

For me, this was a beautiful love story. It was genuine ( no mean feat considering Bollywood's been churning out a 100 romantic films a year since 1950. ), it was funny, it was heartfelt and well executed. There were so many moments you could relate to, from both the love stories.

The songs, like in his eariler directorial venture, Jab We Met, grow on you. Whether it be the dance number "Twist" or the heart rendering "Dooriyan", they do find a place in your heart.. Saif and Deepika both have roles tailor made for them while Gisele Monteiro , a Brazilian model playing a homely Punjabi kudi, is an ethereal beauty... I mean WOW !!! Talk about inspired casting !! Watching Rishi Kapoor too is a joy... he always brings a certain charm to his roles.

My two cents ? This is a movie for those young at heart.. for those who have felt the pangs of love and want to relive it again. This is the movie to take your gal / guy along and slowly remember why the two of you fell in love with each other before.

This is, in short, a worthy follow up, to Jab We Met.