Ae Dil Hai Mushkil: 5 reasons why we love Karan Johar’s epic love saga
David Mccullough Ae Dil Hai Mushkil was a tale of unrequited love. The film told a story about how despite giving your all, sometimes you just aren’t enough. Ever since the film was announced the hype surrounding the project was massive and there many factors behind it. Firstly, it was Karan Johar’s return to direction after Student Of The Year and it also him returning to his home turf - a romantic saga. Nobody understands love better than Karan Johar and he proved it once again with this film. Another fairly obvious reason was the exciting star cast comprising of Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma. So, as the film completes 3 years after release today, we list 5 reasons why the film still holds a special place in our hearts.
1. Karan Johar’s storytelling
People might argue that Karan Johar is one of the most ‘Bollywood’ filmmakers around. His films boast of larger than life characters, visuals brimming with bright and shiny colours and everything that make Bollywood… Bollywood. But, many might not realise that the most important factor in a Karan Johar film is emotion. The director has a knack of letting the audience into the world of his characters which helps them feel every emotion felt by the character. That’s why his films are called larger than life but yet feel so relatable.
With Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, the man brought us yet another story that everyone must have related to in one way or another. We all have experienced heartbreak and once again Karan Johar manages to nail the emotions just right with this one.
2. Ranbir Kapoor’s stellar act
It seems that with every film Ranbir Kapoor manages to up his game. While we have seen Ranbir play a hopeless romantic in films before, we feel this was one of his best performances on screen till date. In the film, he starts off as a carefree and easy going Ayan, who doesn’t take anything too seriously.
However, once he realises that he’s in love with someone who doesn’t feel the same way, we see a restrained and more subtle side of his character. Ranbir’s character was the focal point of the story and he’s able to carry the film on his shoulders by delivering a perfect performance. In fact, Ranbir’s approach to acting in general is more subtle than in your face and that works best for the film.
3. The beauty and grace of Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
While Ranbir was brilliant, the film wouldn’t have been complete without these two gorgeous ladies. The characters of Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan do have a significant impact on Ayan’s life and play a crucial part in making him the man he turns out to be. Even though Aishwarya had less screen time in the film, she manages to pull off a brilliant act and proves yet again that there’s so much talent that comes with the beautiful face. She played the enchanting and voluptuous Saba. A heartbroken Ayan feels mesmerised by her and looks at it as an opportunity to get over his love which he realises was a wrong decision later on.
Many would argue that Anushka has a role equally important part as Ranbir in the film… and they wouldn’t be wrong. Yes, the film is a story about Ayan Sanger as a whole but we cannot undermine the importance and impact that Alizeh (Anushka Sharma) had in his life. Alizeh was everything you’d imagine Anushka Sharma would be in real life - never afraid to speak her mind and wears her heart on her sleeve. The actress nails her part in the film despite her character going through significantly different phases.
4. Iconic dialogues
In the past, Karan Johar films have given us some iconic lines which Bollywood fans remember even till this date and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil certainly was not an exception. It seems that Karan Johar had a special focus on dialogues with this and that reflects in the film. The dialogues are so beautifully written that it’s almost like listening to poetry. Pyaar, Dard etc… Karan Johar checks all the boxes with this one while maintaining a poetic beauty in it all. Here are some of our favourites from the film.
“Pyaar Mein Junoon Hai, Par Dosti Mein Sukun Hai. Main Kabhi Nahi Chahti Ki Hum Dono Ke Beech Jo Sukun Hai Woh Chala Jaae.”
- Alizeh (Anushka Sharma)
“Mohabbat Karna Humare Bas Main Nahi Hain, Uss Mahobbat Se Dur Chale Jana, Woh Humare Bus Main Hain.”
- Ayan (Ranbir Kapoor)
“Ek tarfa pyar ki taqat hi kuch aur hoti hai ... auron ke rishton ki tarah yeh do logon mein nahi bat'ti ... sirf mera haq hai ispe..”
- Tahir (Shah Rukh Khan)
“Aapke Ansoon Bade Wafadar Hain, Aapki Ijazat Ke Bina Bahar Nahi Nikalte.”
- Saba (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan)
And our personal favourite.
"Jab Pyaar mein Pyaar nah ho, Jab dard mein yaar nah ho Jab aasoun mein muskaan na ho, Jab Laafzo mein zubaan nah ho Jab saasein bas yunhi chale, Jab har din mein raat dhale Jab intezaar sirf waqt ka ho, Jab yaad uss kambat ka ho Kyun hun mein rahi jab kisi aur ki manzil, Dhadkano ne saath chhod diya Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil”
- Ayan (Ranbir Kapoor)
Blockbuster Music
Along with dialogues, we’ve also been treated to some fantastic music from Karan Johar movies. With Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, we got a typical Karan Johar album featuring a heartbreak song, a love song and a party number. Ayan’s an aspiring singer in the film and so, we witness the soulful voice of Arijit Singh every time Ayan takes up the mic. Fair to say nobody would be complaining.
While songs like the tittle track and Bulleya became pretty popular amongst the audience, the song Channa Mereya became a ragging success and ended up topping charts all over. Ranbir’s acting int the song made it all the better to watch an already brilliantly written and sung number. Have a look below.
