Incidentally, they left for their secret retreat a day after Saif’s birthday. According to sources, they were busy with prior commitments in Houston due to Independence Day, after which they had to attend a meet and greet event in Chicago. They reached Chicago late in the evening on August 15 and attended the event with Shah Rukh and Katrina, after which they had dinner with them.

Kareena planned the holiday to surprise Saif, informed sources. The destination is still unknown and they will be back in Mumbai by the end of this week.

“Well, LOVE AAJ KAL wasn’t really a straight forward love story as some people out there suggested. It was quite a nuanced experience and had to be done very carefully. In fact you have to watch the film quite closely to get a hang of so many things that are actually happening in the background”, says Saif when asked if working in LOVE AAJ KAL came naturally to him.

“In fact it was quite a challenge to act in the film as I had to get into the skin of this character that thinks and talks at the same time”, he laughs, “He is so verbose and talks non-stop. I still shudder when I remember those two page dialogue sheets that Imtiaz used to hand over to me. I used to exclaim- ‘Oh my God, here comes another chunk!’ See, normally there are one or two scenes in a film where an actor has to get into a monologue. However, in LOVE AAJ KAL there were four such major scenes. Also, the challenge was to make them entertaining rather than boring.”

Still, a section of audiences felt that he wasn’t able to pull off a younger role like this?

“See, the age of the character was not really relevant to LOVE AAJ KAL. This man could be in his mid-20s or early 30s; it didn’t quite matter. Of course, I accept all kind of criticism and if some felt that I didn’t really suit the character then fair enough. However, when I read in some reviews that I had played such characters before or Jai had nothing new to offer, then it saddened me. I guess that was too harsh and below the belt. The character that I played was quite complex and indeed very difficult to enact”, details Saif.

However, all of this shouldn’t matter much to Saif considering the fact that his film has taken a record breaking opening of 45 crores net in India alone. Add to that a stupendous response in overseas and the film is pretty much en route to the super hit status. With his feet firmly placed in the industry now even as a producer Saif would be pretty assured that he has many more successful films on his way. ‘Kurbaan’ and ‘Agent Vinod’ could well be a testimony to that!

Saif happened to fly to Delhi for the special screening of Love Aaj Kal on Thursday but after the screening the entire team returned to London, except Saif, who stayed back to be with his family. It was an entire day of family bonding where Kareena made sure that even their cell phones were not brought in and bonded extremely well with Saif’s mom and dad. Saif was all relaxed and stress free, and more than convinced that Kareena was the real one with whom he would want to be for the rest of his life.

The film is said to be doing exceptionally well and Saif is enjoying every bit of attention and success that is coming in with this film. All of this concludes to the fact that Saif has entered the world of production with a bang.

Studying in London, Jai (Saif) and Meera (Deepika) are in a relationship for two years but when career beckons, they mutually break off their relationship. Meera prepares to go to India to pursue her career in old historical places restorations whereas Jai waits in London with a hope of getting his dream job in San Fransico’s Golden Gate Co.

Movie Review: Love Aaj Kal (2009)
Rating: 4/5
Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, debutantes Giselle Monteiro and Florence Brudenell Bruce, Rishi Kapoor and Rahul Khanna (Sp.App)
Director: Imtiaz Ali

The couple though broken off decides to keep in touch via net and phone calls and continue to remain friends. Restaurant owner Veer Singh (Rishi Kapoor) is a silent observer to their break up process since it happens in his restaurant. Unable to bear the far too casual approach related to affairs of heart of the couple, he tries to convince a reluctant Jai that he is making a mistake.

Sensing that Jai is not taking him seriously, Veer then starts narrating him his own love story with Harleen Kaur (Giselle Monteiro) which took place far back in 1965 in Delhi. From then on begins the unfolding of these two love stories running parallel together which incidentally end up with a similar culmination after many twists and turns which also are similar despite the different period zones.

After making the much loved Jab We Met, Imtiaz Ali succeeds in giving us an extremely different love story that we have never witnessed before on Indian screen. He scores high on his writing and his treatment of the film.

In the initial 10 minutes he successfully establishes Saif and Deepika’s relationship and their character quirks. He surprises you then by putting a melancholic song (Ye Dooriyan) as opening credits role showing montages of various important twists of the plot that lie ahead.

In fact his screenplay is indeed full of surprises ahead, especially in the second half. As you begin to anticipate a particular thing happening ahead in the plot, almost 9 times out of 10 he proves you wrong. Making the film extremely relatable to everyone who has ever been in love and broken off with his/her partner, Imtiaz takes it notches higher by his dialogues that sound simple but convey a lot.

Plenty of scenes stay with you as you come out. Imtiaz has repeated his technical team trio of JWM – Aarti Bajaj (Editing), Teddy Maurya (Art Direction) and Cinematographer (N. Nataraj Subramaniam) and each of them have excelled in their respective departments. Music of the film by Pritam is already ruling the charts and thankfully none of the songs act as speed breakers. The picturisation of Main Kya Hoon in San Francisco showing various changes in Saif is simply fantastic.

Without any doubt, these are career best performances of both Saif and Deepika and it should not be a surprise if they both end up winning most of awards for this year. Saif has always been at ease playing the cool no strings attached dude but in here he also succeeds in playing the brooding romantic Sardar Veer Singh very well and is extremely impressive in the post interval emotional sequences.

Deepika wins hearts not just by looking extremely attractive throughout but also with the effortless ease she portrays her complex character. Rishi Kapoor is extremely loveable as the mature Veer Singh and lends tremendous dignity to his character. Debutante Giselle Monteiro manages to speak volumes just through her expressions. Rahul Khanna in a special appearance is good and suits the character perfectly well. Raj Zutshi playing Harleen’s father reminds of Pawan Malhotra’s character of Kareena’s uncle in Jab We Met. Florence Brudenell Bruce playing Saif’s Swiss girlfriend doesn’t have much to do but manages to do a good job.

Love Aaj Kal is a film definitely not to be missed. It offers us something fresh and and is a unique experiment in story telling and direction that works big time. It is one film that Saif, Deepika and Imtiaz shall always be proud of whenever they look back at their career.

Also Read:
Saif, Deepika promote Love Aaj Kal
Saif promoted the Love Aaj Kal Apparel Line at Shoppers Stop
Saif, Deepika at Love Aaj Kal press meet

Saif at special screening of Love Aaj Kal for Sikh Community
Imtiaz & Pritam promote Love Aaj Kal on Big FM

Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Imtiaz Ali promote Love Aaj Kal in PVR on 29th July 2009.

Sikh Community clears Saif Ali Khan’s Love Aaj Kal on 29th July 2009.

Saif Ali Khan promotes Love Aaj Kal on Radio Mirchi in Lower Parel, Mumbai on 28th July 2009.

Saif Ali Khan at Hungama-Love Aaj Kal media meet in Grand Hyatt, Mumbai on 28th July 2009.

Reveals a trade insider, “Eros, the co-producer of Kambakkht Ishq and Love Aaj Kal, doesn’t need to despair looking at the falling collections of Kambakkht Ishq because their upcoming film Love Aaj Kal just might shake the box-office. The craze for the love story, directed by Imtiaz Ali, is growing with each passing day, thanks to its catchy promos and catchier (read super hit) music by Pritam. By the time the film is released on 31st July, the public will hopefully be in the grip of Love Aaj Kal fever. In the big cities at least, it shouldn’t be a surprise if Saif’s maiden home production, co-starring Deepika Padukone, took a cent percent opening. Yes, yes, Saif is not known to big opening initially, because rarely has any of his solo starrers taken a flying start. But then, there’s a first time for everything. Love Aaj Kal just could be that first solo starrer of Saif to take a bumper opening.”

Bollywood’s latest actor turned producer Saif Ali Khan showed similar excitement however, he took his anxiety to an altogether different level. It so happens, that Saif and his Illuminati Films production partner Dinesh Vijan, after receiving the first final copy of the film, couldn’t resist watching it as soon they could. They immediately arranged a trial theater for the same and watched the film. Incidentally, it was 2 am in the morning when their show began.

So what was the final outcome after the show? “They were extremely overjoyed on watching it, as it fulfilled all their expectations.” our source reveals.

Shoppers Stop Love Aaj Kaal wear wallpapers.

Saif Ali Khan promoted the Love Aaj Kal Apparel Line at Shoppers Stop ~Get the ‘Love Aaj Kal’ look exclusively at Shoppers Stop! ~
Bollywood Superstar and Producer Saif Ali Khan promoted the Love Aaj Kal Apparel Line at Shoppers Stop Shoppers Stop & IIFA Bling along with Love Aaj Kal present The ‘Love Aaj Kal’ Apparel Line under the exclusive brands i-Jeanswear and Haute Curry 2 Lucky Shoppers Stop customers to win the original outfit worn by Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone in the movie Mumbai, July 23, 2009.

Bollywood Superstar and Producer Saif Ali Khan visited Shoppers Stop to promote the ‘Love Aaj Kal’ Apparel Line. IIFA Bling for Shoppers Stop’s exclusive brands i-Jeanswear and Haute Curry present the ‘Love Aaj Kal’ apparel line exclusively at Shoppers Stop stores. Saif Ali Khan stole the show with his signature panache as he promoted the ‘Love Aaj Kal’ Apparel Line at the Shoppers Stop store in Juhu.

Shoppers Stop customers can now emulate Saif Ali Khan’s & Deepika Padukone’s fashion quotient from the most awaited movie of the year ‘Love Aaj Kal’. i-Jeanswear brings alive the youthful essence of the movie with the hip & trendy tees of Jai (Saif) & Meera (Deepika) available for Rs.499/- onwards. Haute Curry offers the traditional bling look of Meera (Deepika) available for Rs. 1299/- onwards.

Shoppers Stop has crafted enticing offers for its valued customers! On purchases worth Rs.3000 from i-Jeanswear or Haute Curry, early customers will get a complimentary ‘Love Aaj Kal’ music CD free. On purchases worth Rs. 3500 from i-Jeanswear or Haute Curry between July 17 and August 2, 2009, early customers will get two complimentary movie tickets for ‘Love Aaj Kal’.

And that’s not all! Between July 17 and August 23, 2009, on purchases worth Rs.4000 or more from i-Jeanswear or Haute Curry, lucky customers will win an original outfit of Saif and Deepika from the film.

Saif Ali Khan, Bollywood Actor and Producer, added, “I am glad to be present at Shoppers Stop to promote the Love Aaj Kal Apparel line. It is great to see retail majors like Shoppers Stop joining hands with Bollywood to recreate and make accessible the fashion in films for our millions of fans. The youthful essence of Love Aaj Kal has been very aptly captured by Shoppers Stop’s exclusive brands i-Jeanswear and Haute Curry. Thanks to Shoppers Stop our fans can now take a piece of Love Aaj Kal home with them!”

Also, present at the occasion, Jayakar Shettigar, Customer Care Associate & Trading Manager, Shopper’s Stop Limited, said, “ In India, Fashion is largely driven by trends and imagery in films. Shoppers Stop is committed to meeting the aspirations our valued customers. In the past we had brought alive the magic of movies for the millions of movie buffs with the exclusive Om Shanti Om collection at Shoppers Stop. This year, we present to our customers the wardrobe of Saif and Deepika through the Love Aaj Kal Apparel Line our exclusive labels i-Jeanswear and Haute Curry. The movie’s youth appeal and understated elegance coincide perfectly with the fashion quotient of our popular brands. Going by the early response, our customers are thrilled with this new collection! We wish the entire team of Love Aaj Kal all the very best for the impending release of this much awaited film.”

So, rush to Shoppers Stop and grab the look Aaj not Kal!

Saif Ali Khan, Urvashi Sharma, Imtiaz Ali at special screening of Love Aaj Kal for Sikh Community in Preview Theatre, Bandra, Mumbai on 21st July 2009.

But Kareena’s ghost haunts not just Deepika Padukone’s presence in the film. Saif’s character in a bizarre so-far undisclosed way is also wedded to Kareena.

It now comes to light that in one segment of the film Saif plays Rishi Kapoor who happens to be Kareena’s uncle in real life. And when we say Saif ‘plays’ Rishi Kapoor we mean Rishi Kapoor’s character grows younger in the plot to become Saif.

This isn’t the first time that two actors have played the same character. Smriti Mishra and Kirron Kher played two phases in the life of Shyam Benegal’s Sardari Begum.

But they were not connected the way Saif and Rishi are by Kareena.

Without giving away the plot a source discloses, “The same character is played by Saif in a flashback and then Rishi Kapoor in present times. Unfortunately, Chintuji has little screen time with his son’s girlfriend Deepika. But he gets to bond for a major screen time with his niece Kareena’s boyfriend and yes, they play the same character in two different time zones.”

Without giving away the plot, let’s just say Rishi’s character plays the passionate lover-guy who believes love conquers all. “At the end we see him with his real-life love interest and soul-mate Neetu Singh who makes a one-shot appearance,” says a source.

The Kapoors and the Khans couldn’t have hoped for a better merger before Saif and Kareena’s marriage.

Raving about getting the much needed creative freedom in making Love Aaj Kal, Imtiaz notes, “Although Saif has reinvented his career as a producer with this film, but he never ever intervened in the making.”

As a matter of fact Saif did not intimidate the cast by throwing-off his weight as a producer; instead he tried to break the ice between the cast and crew, and even made the shy and reclusive Imtiaz comfy on the sets.

Wonder how Saif achieved the great rapport on sets? Simple, by doing what he knows best- Hard-core Partying

Saif worked hard and partied harder with his crew

We hear the party went hand-in-hand with the shoot; the film has been shot at 3 different locations- San Fransisco, London and India. And those are the exact places Saif took his party to After wrapping up the shoot, the crew would go in for night long hard-core partying.

Imtiaz excitedly confirms, “We would party all night and crash to bed the next morning and go off to sleep before flying off for a different location.”

Are you satisfied with your maiden production venture?Have you given it hundred percent?

Right now, I am nervous since I am newcomer as a producer. Everything is a result of your decision; nonetheless, it has been a different experience. As a producer you are never satisfied, you want more and more but we have taken care of every detail and it has been organized well. We have had a great team, and I have learnt a lot in the process. My partner Dinesh Vijan has been a great help. I was more involved in the creative aspect of the film. But it has been an exciting journey.

Many of your contemporaries have already become producers; did you take tips from them?

I think I have been fortunate in working with few great producers and big established banners. I have learned a lot of things from friends like Yash Raj Productions and Dharma Productions. As for my friends Karan Johar and Farhan Akhtar would have been happy to advise me. We tried our best but, I haven’t really called anyone.

What made you turn producer?

My interest is really not in production but after 18 years, you like to own and be creatively on your own. A lot of money is involved and your inputs mean something else. I want to learn more about business. The market earlier was different. Most heroes have moved on and turned actor directors or producers. There are not many independent producers left to work with.

Reportedly Kareena wanted to play the lead opposite you in LAK?

None of the directors listen to me. Imtiaz felt that Deepika suited the role better.

You are working with Deepika for the first time how was it?

I think we look nice and refreshing. She’s a new face and she’s young. She’s got an Indian look and is very grounded and mature. Her personality grounds me on the screen just like Rani Mukherjee does. They are very earthy just opposite of me.

What is Love Aaj Kal about?

The story primarily is about Jai who doesn’t believe in love and is practical. He believes that long distance relationship is a pain, so why not just be friends and don’t follow your heart types. He comes across a person who tells him what love is all about. Imtiaz has made a simple love story and it is not confusing love story as most people believe.

You are playing a Sardar in the film and Akshay and Salman have played Sardars before, what is your opinion about them?

I think we are different. I have not seen Salman’s film but I saw Akshay in Singh is King and I think it was glamorous and commercial. It was cool, stagey and larger than life. It’s unfair to compare us.

Well this news surely won’t go down well with the Bengali tigress, who has been slyly written-off the new Race.

We hear Saif was so convinced about the Race magic that he went out of the way to convince the producers to hire Abbas-Mustan again as directors; applauding them for doing a wonderful job on a fast-paced thriller like Race.

Saif also shocked Bipasha by writing her off the Race sequel in favor of his girlfriend Kareena Kapoor. Saif is hoping to make Race 2 bigger and better than the original thriller and has sidelined fuming Bipasha in the name of script demand.

This is not the first time Saif has miffed a reputed actress, his current co-star in Love Aaj Kal Deepika Padukone is also left fuming at Saif who goes on raving about Kareena in all his press meets and promotions for the film. This has irked Deepika to such an extent that she is telling media on how she was the original choice for Love Aaj Kal, director Imtiaz Ali and that she was offered the role before Om Shanti Om happened. Not very professional of Chote Nawaab we say, going around B-Town putting-off leading ladies is surely very ungentlemanly.

By the way, looking at the rate at which Chote Nawab is vexing his leading ladies we feel it won’t be long before he is left with no one else but beloved Bebo to work with

According to sources, “Saif is so passionate about his Love Aaj Kal that he has transferred the film from the edit room to a compact DVD. He carries this DVD everywhere he goes. That is not all, he starts to watch it as and when he feels; like during a break from a shot to even while he is hitting the gym. Not only that Saif is literally eating, living and sleeping the film 24X7 as the film is set for a July 31st release.”

That’s not all, the source further adds, “He will be holding many trial shows for his close friends in the industry as the release date approaches.”

However, a close pal of Saif defends him, saying, “As a producer Saif wants to be sure that, he has left no loopholes in the film. And believe me it’s turned out to be a damn good film.”

Today any youngster will vouch for the fact that very often love blossoms around coffee and good conversation.

Keeping this in, the producers of Love Aaj Kal are now reaching out to their target audience- young coffee and tea drinkers with an exclusive tie up with Café Coffee Day. As a part of this tie up; Café Coffee Day will run a contest, where the winner gets a chance to meet the stars of Love Aaj Kal; Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, over a coffee date at one of the Café Coffee Day branches across the city.

Says Dinesh Vijan, producer of Love Aaj Kal…”The coffee house in our film The Chowk is a very significant space in Saif and Deepika’s relationship in the film, similar to the role that places like Café Coffee Day play in our daily lives. The association between love, romance, and coffee houses is extremely strong and this tie up helps brings our target audience closer to experiencing the romance, fun and good times that Love Aaj Kal is all about.”

“That’s true,” admits Saif. “For me my film and Bebo’s are equally important. In fact, if there were a choice I’d rather have her film work than mine. God willing, both films will be hits. And we’ll have a double celebration.”

Saif is openly appreciative of Kareena’s on-screen bonding with Akshay. “Akshay is a great guy. I’ve had a great time working with him in many films like Main Khiladi Tu Anari and Tashan. In Tashan all three of us, Bebo, Akshay and I had great fun. He’s one co-star both Bebo and I like.”

There was therefore no awkwardness at all regarding the kissing scenes between Akshay and Kareena. “They are more funny than titillating,” grins Saif.

Says Saif, “I loved the film. Bebo and Akki look their career best. I think the film is great fun! I’d love to see it again. I think it is going to be a huge hit. And oh yes, my kids loved it too.”

Saif and his two children Sarah and Ebrahim saw Kareena’s Kambhakkt Ishq on Tuesday night and they were bowled over.

Sarah and Ebrahim are hugely fond of Kareena, and fans of her films. The bonding between Kareena and the two children is very easy to see.

Says Kareena, “Oh Sarah and Ebrahim loved the film. Unfortunately my sister and my father are out of country and couldn’t attend screening. I can’t wait for them, to see the KI.”