Mask is a covering for all or part of the face, worn as a disguise, or to amuse others. They often hide emotions sometimes rendering them lifeless and hollow. They can even camouflage an inferior tale and give it the gravitas of otherworldly charm.
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil carries a veil of unrequited love that it has stapled upon its entire self. So much so, that the line between its true nature and the disguise has faded away as if they have melted into one. All that remains is a plastic shell filled to the brim with mind numbing sentimentality and in-your-face bullshit. I pity Johar for he is so mighty obsessed with glorifying heartaches that it makes him turn a blind eye towards ground agony of unfulfilled desires for intimacy.
It’s not for the lack of trying, Ranbir Kapoor pours his heart and soul with a tremendously earnest portrayal of Ayan, Anushka is infectious at best and Aishwarya’s exotic to the hilt. What disappoints is the conventionalism of the romance and weariness of narrative that makes it a pain to sit through. There is a certain curse that has been set upon our romantic scripts and one can’t help but sigh as yet another yields to the plague.
In all honesty, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is an ode of gargantuan proportions to the fatal fallibility of an industry which is lost within itself. An industry where the better minds too succumb to orthodoxy for the sake of acceptance. We know, we were better than this.
Author : Kalpit Tandon | Movie Buff | Casually Opinionated | Sarcastic Bull | Self Proclaimed Philosopher | Bookaholic
★★
