ADHM Review : A heartwarming story about love and its complexities

Mumbai: 'Yeh Ishq nahin aasan, bas itna samajh lije, ek aag ka dariya hai, aur doob ke jaana hai' this couplet by legendary Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib on the intricate chemistry of love has been quoted in many a films and Karan Johar's much talked about star-studded "ADHM"(Ae Dil hae Mushkil)' attempts to decipher the mystery of love. The film which saw hiccups and hindrances for its release in the wake of row over participation of Pakistan actors, beautifully brings out the complicated nature of love.

In fact, the adept direction by Karan, the magnificent settings, heart warming emotions and brilliant performances by Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma made 'ADHM' a well told tale about the difficult to decipher nature of love.Ayan (Ranbir) and Alizeh(Anushka Sharma) meet at a bar in London and hit it off instantly.Aryan falls instantly in love with Alizeh.

However, Alizeh has a past with her boyfriend Ali( Fawad Khan) having broken her heart.
Ayan and Alizeh get close, Ayan falls "head over heels" in love with Alizeh and mistakes their friendship for love.


However, he is heartbroken when Ali returns to Alizeh’s life and she gets married to him.
Ayan tries to find solace in the company of the poetess Sabah(Aishwarya Rai Bachchan).
However, their relationship is short lived because of Ayan’s continued love for Alizeh.
The rest of the film deals with whether Ayan’s unrequited love for Alizeh is reciprocated.
The script brings out beautifully the complexities of chemistry of love and the thin line between love and friendship.

This is excellently brought out by the dialogues of the film.In fact, the audience is sure to identify with the emotions expressed in the film and dialogues like 'love thoda teda hota hai' and 'Ek tarfa pyaar ki takaat kuch aur hoti hai, wo auron ki tarah do logon mein nahi bati.
Sirf mera haq hai iss par'.

The chemistry between Ayan and Alizeh is excellent.Also, the chemistry between Ayan and Sabah , as comes out in the posters and trailers of the film, has come out great.The direction by Karan johar is brilliant.'Ae Dil hae Mushkil' again proves that when it comes to portraying the emotion of love and its complexities, there is no one better than Karan.

Emotions in the film are heartwarming with many of scene sex leaving you teary eyed.
The settings are also magnificent.In fact, the beautiful locales of London and Lucknow, the elaborate settings and brilliant cinematography lent a larger than life look to the film.Also, Karan has managed to extract excellent performances from the cast including Ranbir, Aishwarya and Anushka.

In terms of performances, Ranbir is in top form as the heartbroken lover Ayan.
Ranbir seems to have mastered the art of playing a person who is unrequited in love .
As the heartbroken Ayan, he has the heart of the audience going out for him.
His chemistry with both Anushka and Aishwarya has come across as good.
Anushka looks beautiful as Alizeh.

She also impresses with her natural act as the vivacious Alizeh.However, the highlight of the film is Aishwarya with her superlative act as the poetess who is an example of 'beauty with brains'.With her tremendous grace and her sensuous presence, Aishwarya would surely put the current generation of actors to shame.

Despite the short length of her presence compared to Ranbir and Anushka , Aishwarya leaves a lasting impression over the audience.It is a performance which is sure to be remembered for years to come and is bound to fetch her a few awards.

The brouhaha over Fawad khan notwithstanding, his is an impressive presence in ADHM.
He looks really hot as Ali.Shahrukh impresses in a brief role.Alia and Pakistani actor Imran Abbas come across as glamorous in a cameo.

The music by Pritam is melodious with all the songs being a treat to watch on screen.
In short, 'Ae Dil hae Mushkil' is a heartwarming story about love and friendship and about the complexities of love.

Rating:4/5 (one for the script, one for direction, one for performances by Ranbir, Aishwarya and Anushka and one for excellent music)