LAK's Punjabi kudi is a Brazilian Model

At last the mystery of the mysterious Punjabi girl in Imtiaz Ali's Love Aaj Kal who gets royally wooed and won by the Sardar Saif has been solved. The girl, a Brazilian model named Giselle Monteiro couldn't speak Hindi or dance to save her life.


In fact the sequence showing her dancing at her engagement drove the entire unit up the wall. Apparently, our Brazilian babe just couldn't get the steps right. Says Imtiaz, "We wanted to put her through the paces with Sarojji (choreographer Saroj Khan). But it never happened. Sarojji didn't have the time. For a foreigner to get the Indian adaa right is very tough. We take for granted those nakhra-jhatka-matka which we've seen our sisters perform at weddings. Indian girls have those adaas without being trained. But for a foreigner, it is tough. Giselle could've done with a bit more training than guidance."


So who's this mysterious girl who throughout the making of Love Aaj Kal was referred to by her screen name 'Harleen'? Even when she became visible in the trailers she remained inaccessible to the public.

Imtiaz Ali finally reveals Harleen's true identity. "She is actually a Brazilian girl named Giselle Monteiro. Why a Brazilian girl to play an old-fashioned Punjabi girl? Well, I was auditioning girls from all over the country to play the Punjabi girl opposite the Sikh Saif. I couldn't find the right girl to play the 1965 ki gali mein rehne wali ladki, purane zamane ki."

Giselle one day walked into Imtiaz's office to play another part. "Giselle came to me through dress designer Anaita Shroff. She was to play Jo, Saif's Caucasian girlfriend in the second-half. She wasn't right for Jo. But my wife, who was there, suggested Giselle for Harleen. I turned and looked at Giselle and realized she is Brazil's Harleen. She didn't know how to speak Hindi. But she had only two lines to speak, which we dubbed."

Significantly, Giselle understood the old-world values of her small-town character better than an urban Indian actress would have. Says Imtiaz, "The small-town mentality in every part of the world is similar." A lot of interest in Giselle is being shown by Bollywood now that Love Aaj Kal is released. Says Imtiaz, "She has been traveling all alone all over the world from the age of 17. She's 19 now. Saif kept grumbling he'd look too old with Giselle. But he pulled it off completely."

Love Aaj Kal Beats Ghajini

Love Aaj Kal, Imtiaz Ali's latest, has opened to packed houses. In many places, the film, which has released in over 1800 screens, overtook last year's record setter, Ghajini.

"The film has taken a superb initial," says Komal Nahta, editor of The Film Street Journal. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh seconds that. "The opening's on par with Ghajini. In the overseas, the film will be one of the biggest hits." Devang Sampat of Cinemax confirms that the film has opened better than Ghajini in all its propertie.

The film, about contemporary relationships in urban India, where the protagonists are not afraid of calling off their relationship in their pursuit for personal goals, seems to have struck a chord with the youth. "It was like watching me, or one of my friends, up there on screen," says 22-year-old aspiring filmmaker, Viral Shah. "I have had a long distance relationship when I was studying abroad and could relate to the scenes."

Law student Shruti Kant enjoyed the flashback portions, which had the more 'Hindi film' type of a love story. "The film intertwined love stories from then (Kal) and now (Aaj) very well and appealed to the romantic in me." Shruti also feels that grey areas in the film, like the heroine realising she doesn't want to be with her husband two days after marriage, was identifiable. "I completely related to Deepika's character."

The film's appeal may be restricted to the youth due to its content and treatment by writer-director Imtiaz Ali, but its not something actor-producer Saif Ali Khan and he need to worry about.The major chunk of the film going audience in India is made up of youngsters, says Adarsh, and the film appeals to them. "Even though few over the age of forty may like it, it will be strongly patronised by women for its emotions, an advantage even Ghajini didn't enjoy."

Whether in the final analysis, the film will better Ghajini at the box office or be as patronised as Jab We Met on the small screen, remains to be seen. But for now, its Love All at the theatres.

Movie Review: Love Aaj Kal (2009)

Love Aaj Kal: Definitely not to be missed

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, debutantes Giselle Monteiro and Florence Brudenell Bruce, Rishi Kapoor and Rahul Khanna (Sp.App)

Director: Imtiaz Ali

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. 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.

Imtiaz shot in areas forbidden for shooting in London with Hidden Cameras

When the British authorities see what Imtiaz Ali and Saif Ali Khan have done, they are certainly not going to be amused.

The enterprising director and his producer-actor not just dodged the authorities to shoot in an area of London where shooting is forbidden, they also got the local cops to co-operate and help with the shooting.Red-tapism
For Love Aaj Kal, Imtiaz and Saif needed to shoot at the crowded and posh Leadenhall Market in London but were denied permission. Imtiaz suggested they do the shooting surreptitiously, knowing that the repercussions of a foreign unit caught shooting without permission, could be far-reaching.

The director admits, "There's too much red-tapism in London about shooting, much of it obsolete and irrelevant. The people sitting in authority are like those bureaucratic babus in our secretariats who don't know why they're saying yes or no. They're just obeying the written word."

The scam
He recounts the harrowing experience, "We hid the cameras in vans and the cast and crew walked into the location casually. Once there, we pretended that we were shooting with the relevant permission. The unsuspecting cops on duty were extremely charmed... and charming. They went out of their way to help us and even participated in the shooting."

The irony of the authorities co-operating with a surreptitious shooting didn't end there. Chuckles Imtiaz, "We saw this woman with a horse passing by and wanted to capture it on camera. But couldn't. When we expressed regret, they called back the lady and the horse and made them walk by for our camera's sake."

The director concludes by saying, "It's getting difficult to shoot in England. I found it far easier to get the required permissions and shoot in the US."

Here's a first look at Deepika Padukone's item Song Down south

Deepika Padukone recently shot for her item song in a Telugu film titled Love 4ever. The actress is looking less than passable in the film.

Although her look for the song is in keeping with South Indian films, her hair and make-up, are amateurish.

Even her styling is shockingly bad. The blue ensemble is totally unflattering. Choreographed by Ahmed Khan, the song was shot at a Hyderabad studio.This is Deepika's first appearance in a south Indian film for a special song. The actress has talked about how she accepted the offer only because the song was situational and took the story forward.

Directed by Jayant, the film has two lead actors and the song will open the film.

The secret Behind Saif's younger look

Saif's got a new, smoother look. Just see the pictures to spot the differences!

Saif Ali Khan's face is now rid of the telltale lines and wrinkles. The actor seems to have treated himself to botox and fillers done to his face to get rid of crow's feet and laugh lines.

It is learnt that the 38-year-old actor got the work done while in London recently, for the promotion of Love Aaj Kal. Hiding behind shades
A source close to the actor reveals, "Saif was wearing shades to a lot of events just after he got the job done. This was to hide the tell-tale signs. Now that the after-effects have worn out, he steps out in day light without the shades."

What are fillers?
Facial fillers, also known as "dermal fillers" and "injectables," are temporary to long-lasting solutions administered through a few tiny injections on specific areas of the face.

What is botox?
Botox is a protein derived from the botulism toxin that is injected underneath skin in order to minimise or smooth out lines and wrinkles on the face. The shot paralyses or relaxes facial muscles, giving the recipient a clean, smooth appearance. It is a non-invasive procedure and the results are immediate. Botox shots are used to get rid of frown lines and crow's feet.