Early this morning at 3:31 AM, Karan Johar tweeted ‘#AeDilHaiMushkil 28th October!!!!!! This Diwali!!! Next Friday!!!!!!’
Well, that’s a clear indication of things to come. The BIG DATE is round the corner. Perhaps it is even bigger than 16th October 1998 when Karan Johar made a huge splash with his Shahrukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji starrer Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Now that he has Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma at his disposal, the release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil becomes all the more important.
“First and foremost you tell me which filmmaker has actually managed to make a credible romantic musical this year,” questions an ardent filmgoer, “None of the big hits actually belong to this genre. Look at the Top-5 grossers of the year so far – Sultan, M.S. Dhoni – The Untold Story, Airlift, Rustom and Housefull 3. They have action, drama and comedy as the key pillars. In fact only Sultan and Rustom had some element of a love story but inherently, they were dramas centered on sports and crime respectively. Other than these two films, Baaghi and Ki & Ka worked with a romantic element to them. Then of course there was Sanam Re.”
However, major romantic disappointments like Mirzya, Baar Baar Dekho and Fitoor made one wary around the fate of romantic entertainers in Bollywood.
“Well, with Karan Johar at the helm of affairs, one doesn’t have to worry actually,” an insider adds, “He has a knack for bringing in romantic elements to even bubble gum affairs [Student of the Year], dramas [My Name Is Khan] and family affairs [Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham]. Of course, he went the whole hog for his extra marital film Kabhi Alvidaa Naa Kehna, a film clearly ahead of its times.”
The way Ae Dil Hai Mushkil appears though, it is clearly in line with the times as audiences have been intrigued well enough by the film’s plotline, which has been smartly revealed just in bits and pieces. Now with just a week remaining for the arrival of this musical by Pritam, one can well expect some good Diwali entertainment in play at theaters.
