AE DIL HAI MUSHKIL (2016) Trailer Shows How Karan Johar Continues To Reinvent Relationship Dramas

The teaser of Karan Johar’s latest directorial project left me underwhelmed. (You can read more about it here) But the latest full trailer for ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’, has impressed upon me the brilliance of Johar as a writer, and how since his debut, he has continued to reinvent the Bollywood relationship drama.

Check out the full ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ Trailer below, and read on for my thoughts on why it could be amazing.

The full length trailer showcases the power of context within a movie trailer. While the teaser had rushes of scenes meant to entice audiences, it felt empty and shallow. However, with the context of a few dialogues and what the story is possibly about, I personally am truly excited now for this film.

Opening with dialogue from Ranbir Kapoor’s character, the story seems to be about two friends, Kapoor’s and Anushka Sharma’s character, and how she doesn’t want to complicate friendship with romance. Kapoor is clearly falling in love with her, while she also seems to have another man in her life played by Fawad Khan, seemingly her fiancee. (?)

The geometric shape of their love story increases by another point when Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s character is introduced, literally described as the third wheel. The rest of the trailer focuses on shock and awe images of steamy scenes between Kapoor & Rai-Bachchan, emotionally distressing ones between Sharma & Kapoor all while the vocals of a strong song plays throughout juxtaposed with other typically commercial song and dance routines. 

‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’s tag line is to ‘celebrate friendship, celebrate heartbreak and celebrate love.’ While the love triangle is a conventional movie trope, Johar has proven to be anything but conventional in his entire directorial career. While his debut film ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ did deal with a typical love triangle, his movies since have built on that premise, reinventing, renewing and revolutionizing that trope with each movie.

Johar’s films always focus on relationship building, be it between a couple or family. After the tearjerker ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Ghum’, Johar improved upon the love triangle concept, this time focusing on love after marriage, bred from infidelity in ‘Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna’; a controversial topic for any Bollywood movie, especially one from a director known for his family friendly films.

He then looks at the love story from the perspective of an emotionally challenged individual in ‘My Name Is Khan’, which also had some less than popular nationalistic undertones, but at its heart was about a man trying to repair his relationship with his wife. Johar then psyched out audiences with what looked like a love triange in ‘Student Of The Year’, but ended up being a bromance film about the two male leads’ heterosexually platonic relationship, which still didn’t stop the characters from shedding tear sin between fisticuffs.

The trailer of ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ further proves how Johar is continuing to reinvent a genre of film that he’s very familiar with, and is an undisputed expert at depicting on the big screen. Undoubtedly this movie will have complex nuances that distinguish itself from his other films.

Rai Bachchan seems to be playing an older woman in Kapoor’s character’s life; whether that is to make Sharma’s character jealous, or as a genuine love interests, remains to be seen. There are some definite ‘Devdas’ vibes from the movie, with unrequited love, a seemingly lustful relationship with an older woman and intense emotions all over the place. 

For the last year now, since Rai Bachchan’s comeback with ‘Jazbaa’, I’ve stated that ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’, will be her true comeback. It’s easy to see from these trailers, how that truly is the case, as the actress looks commanding and smouldering in her portrayal of, what looks like, a monkey wrench thrown into the relationship of the other two characters. 

‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ releases on October 28th. 2016. 

Starring Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anushka Sharma & Fawad Khan, directed by Karan Johar. 

What did you think of the full trailer for the movie? 

Let me know in the comments below, or on Twitter @theshahshahid