Of Milna... Bichhadna .. & a Happily Ever After...

How can someone get away with making multiple movies around the same theme (stated in the title above) while still creating that 'difference' which wins audiences' hearts ? I guess you'll have to ask Imtiaz who's done just that with Socha Na Tha, Jab We Met & now Love Aaj Kal...

For those who did not get the similarities, let me take you through them... A guy & a girl meet... enjoy each others' company (to different degrees, admittedly) ... separate from each other due to each wanting different things in life... and then reunite, after discovering that, infact, they can only live with each other !

In Socha Na Tha, Abhay & Ayesha meet as prospective bride / groom... And become good friends realising they both hate the concept of arranged marriages & turn to each other to share their sorrows of the 'rishta' process... though they initially try to help each other find the perfect match, they do end up falling in love, and through a series of understandings & misunderstandings, they finally unite, to elope & get married...

In Jab We Met, Shahid & Kareena meet in a train, where Shahid has run away from home & Kareena is returning home... The misunderstandings occur much sooner here as they miss the train at Ratlam (... ki galiyaan... :P) and then slowly find their way back to Bhatinda (meeting a lot of song & dance, en route).. when they find out that Kareena's family is lining up an arranged marriage for her, they run away to unite Kareena with Anshuman (I don't know the actor's name ... ) & then they separate when they reach Shimla (where Anshuman seems to reside) ... As fate would have it, Anshu aint interested so a shamed Kareena decides to withdraw from the world & takes up a job at a school ... Shahid, in the meanwhile, has decided to make his company a success & wises up in life... Until... dhan te nan ! Kareena's family tracks him down and demands that he lets them meet her... A confused Shahid then catches up with Kareena & tries to takes her back home, while a shamed Anshu realises his mistake & offers to meet her family & get married... As they go back to Bhatinda, & Kareena reunites with the rest of her clan, she realises she no longer loves Anshu & wants Shahid instead... They end up running away from Anshu to come together & of course, live happily ever after...

Love Aaj Kal is a little different... Here, Saif & Deepika actually date each other for a while though they are both aware that each has completely different ambitions (Golden Gate bridge & restoration of India monuments, respectively)... When Deepika gets the chance to pursue her dreams further, they amicably break up (and throw a party to commemerate the break up), but they don't realise how close they had gotten to each other... Here begins a truly different angle, where Rishi Kapoor starts narrating a similar experience he had when he was youngster in Punjab (young Rishi = Sardar Saif).... the comparisons intertwine to give a good effect... As their life goes on, they keep their friendship intact, constantly calling each other, until they both start dating others.. They meet again when Saif visits India with his new girlfriend, but manages to spend more time with Deepika than with the new gal... At the same time, Deepika's relationship advances to the level that her guy (Rahul Khanna) proposes marriage to her and she accepts... She also tells Saif that they'll have to get out of each others' lives if they want to progress... They finally break-up & Saif departs to leave Deepika with her wedding preparations.. Things remain awkward between them even at the wedding where Deepika is constantly thinking of Saif even as she takes the pheras... Whn she goes on the honey moon, she decides she cannot live with Saif still on her mind & runs from Rahul to catch up with Saif... Saif, however has just gotten an offer from the Golden Gate Inc. so he gives her the 'good news' and she decides its best if she stays out of his life... After spending some time at San Francisco, which he initally enjoys, but soon gets bored of, he too decides that he cannot live without Deepika & rushes back to Delhi to try & meet her... In Delhi, Rahul informs him that they split up since she could not get over Saif, and they reunite at Purana Quila, where she is working on restorations, to ... ahem... live happily ever after...

Well, through that extended write-up, I hope I have succesfully illustrated the common thread between the 3 films... If not, I guess I have reviewed 3 films in one shot... Which one did i enjoy the most ? I guess it has to be Jab We Met... Though I always appreciate Socha Na Tha because of the natural-ness of the performances & the writing... Love Aaj Kal was also good on its own stead, though its probably not one of the movies I can watch over & over... However, I can keep listening to the songs from LAK to no end... Chor Bazaari do Naino ki... pehle ki aadat jo hat gayi...