Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Film poster
Directed by	Karan Johar
Written by	Karan Johar Niranjan Iyengar (dialogues)
Produced by	Apoorva Mehta Hiroo Yash Johar Karan Johar
Starring	Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Ranbir Kapoor Anushka Sharma
Cinematography	Anil Mehta
Edited by	Manik Dawar
Music by	Songs: Pritam
Production company	Dharma Productions
Distributed by	Fox Star Studios
Release date	28 October 2016 (2016-10-28)
Running time	157 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹ 70 crore
Box office	est. ₹237.84 crore

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil ([This Heart is Complicated] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a 2016 Indian romantic drama film written and directed by Karan Johar. It features Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in lead roles. It was released on 28 October 2016 on the Diwali weekend.

Plot

A chance meeting between Ayan Senger (Ranbir Kapoor) and Alizeh Khan (Anushka Sharma) ends up with both kissing instinctively. Later, when both break up with their respective lovers, Lisa D'Souza (Lisa Haydon) and Dr. Faisal Khan (Imran Abbas), the two begin to spend time together at discos, restaurants and tourist places. While Ayan falls in love with Alizeh, she considers him to be a friend. One day, Alizeh stumbles upon DJ Ali(Fawad Khan), her ex-boyfriend, who wants to reconcile with her. Confused, Alizeh stops hanging out with Ayan and the two cease communication. A few days later, Alizeh calls and invites Ayan to her wedding with Ali in Lucknow. Ayan is petrified on hearing this but agrees to the invitation. At the wedding, he tells Alizeh he loves her but she rejects his feelings causing Ayan to leave the ceremony heartbroken.

At the airport to board a flight to Frankfurt, Ayan meets Saba(Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), a poetess, who is leaving for Vienna. She consoles Ayan and gives him a note with her poetry and number on it. Ayan calls her after 3 months stating that he is in Vienna and wants to meet her. Saba meets him at a disco and later, they have sex. Ayan learns that Saba is divorced and has no place for love in her heart. Ayan also meets Saba's ex-husband, Tahir Taliyar Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) in a gallery, who tells him that love is not a weakness but empowering. Ayan who had blocked Alizeh from everywhere, finally calls and reconnects with her. Ayan begins to send pictures of Saba to Alizeh to induce jealousy. One day Alizeh informs Ayan that she's coming to Vienna and wants to meet him. Ayan invites her for dinner, but Alizeh thinks Ayan has finally found love in Saba and is happy for him. Meanwhile Saba begins to develop feelings for Ayan but he still loves Alizeh. Seeing his love for Alizeh, Saba leaves Ayan.

Ayan continues to harbour love for Alizeh and becomes a famous singer. He meets Ali one day and realises that Alizeh and he have parted ways. Ayan goes to Alizeh's favourite point and waits there until she arrives. Alizeh tells Ayan that she is diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer and will not live much longer. Ayan and Alizeh try to make the best of their last few moments together. Ayan tries to make Alizeh love him but Alizeh is stubborn. This leads to a fight between the two, and Alizeh decides to leave him. Eventually, Ayan makes peace with the fact that he and Alizeh can at best be friends and nothing more. The screen blacks out and goes back to the beginning where Ayan, still a popular singer is giving a interview based on the love of his life (Alizeh, who has already died). Ayan sings the song "Channa Mereya" which is inspired by Alizeh, then finishes the interview.

Cast

• Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Saba Taliyar Khan/Saba
• Ranbir Kapoor as Ayan Senger
• Anushka Sharma as Alizeh Khan
• Lisa Haydon as Lisa D'Souza
• Imran Abbas as Dr. Faisal Khan
• Fawad Khan as DJ Ali
• Shah Rukh Khan as Tahir Taliyar Khan (Special Appearance)
• Alia Bhatt as DJ Alia (Special Appearance)
• Neha Dhupia (Special Appearance)

Production

Development

"...it is not a conventional love story or love triangle. It's a film that dwells deeply on relationships, heartbreaks and how love completes you, defines you and yet leaves you wanting for more. I have never had, in my entire career, a film that has come to me so fast, so organically and so from within."

—Karan Johar speaking about the film in an interview with The Times of India

The film was first announced in November 2014. Writer-director Karan Johar said that for the past year and a half, he had been developing a story that he needed to work on for several months. However, while he was in New York, the idea for Ae Dil Hai Mushkil came to him and he wrote the screenplay in 30 days. When he came back to India, he spoke to the three lead actors and they all signed on immediately. Johar stated that he was motivated to cast Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in the film after getting to know them by acting with them in Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet (2015). He added that he was excited to cast Aishwarya Rai Bachchan after several unsuccessful attempts to cast her in his previous films like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006).

Fawad Khan was cast to play a role of a DJ, describing his role as "not exactly a cameo but it becomes a backbone for a certain conflict of a character in the movie." Lisa Haydon has also confirmed that she will appear in the film. In September 2016 at the Toronto International Film Festival, Johar confirmed that Shah Rukh Khan had also filmed a scene for the movie. In October 2016, he confirmed that Alia Bhatt would also make a cameo appearance in the film.

On 6 February at the India Conference at Harvard, Johar revealed that in the film Ranbir Kapoor plays the character of a Hindu boy named Ayan and Anushka Sharma plays a Muslim girl named Alizeh.

Filming

Principal photography began in September 2015 with Kapoor and Sharma in London. At the end of September, the team filmed some portions in Paris. In October, they began shooting in various locations in Austria, including the city of Vienna. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan joined the crew in Vienna in mid-October after the release of her film Jazbaa. In March 2016, Kapoor, Sharma, and Khan were seen filming in Mandawa, Rajasthan. In July 2016, Johar tweeted a photo of Kapoor and Sharma on set in Mumbai for the last schedule.

Release

Screening issue

On 8 October 2016, Indian political party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), proclaimed that they would not allow the release of the film, following nationwide protests surrounding the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 18 September 2016 and the decision by Cinema Owners Exhibitors Association of India preventing the release of films with Pakistani actors in four states – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Goa. Citing the casting of Pakistani actor, Fawad Khan, in the film, the MNS warned theater owners around the country to not screen the film, threatening them with vandalism. Announcing that security will be tightened at theaters along with sufficient police protection, Maharashtra chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, commented on the issue, saying, "Anyone found taking the law into their hands will be dealt with firmly." He also informed that 12 MNS members were sent to judicial custody after they barged into a Mumbai theater and held a protest on 19 October 2016.

"I have always felt that the best way to express your patriotism is through love. And that's what I have always tried to portray through my work and my cinema. When I shot my film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil from September to December last year, the climate was completely different. The circumstances were completely different..."

— Karan Johar speaking about the film in a video statement

Commenting on the ruckus behind his film's release, director Karan Johar said that the circumstances in which the film was filmed in 2015 were completely different. "Going forward, I would like to say that of course, I will not engage with talent from the neighbouring country, given the circumstance. But with that same energy, I beseech you to know one thing – that over 300 people in my Indian crew have put their blood, sweat, and tears into making my film, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. I don't think it's fair for them to face any kind of turbulence on account of other fellow Indians," he further added in a video statement. He was heavily criticized by news and social media for buckling under pressure. However, people from the film fraternity like Mukesh Bhatt and Shyam Benegal supported Johar and his film, and requested the people to consider the film and its release without giving importance to the actors' nationalities.

On 20 October 2016, filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt said that his discussion with Union home minister, Rajnath Singh, had been consequential, and affirmed that the film will be screened throughout the country without any violence. However, he promised that he would not make any more films with Pakistani actors.

Box office

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil was made on a total budget of over ₹100 crore ($15 million), including marketing and distribution costs. Prior to its release, the film had already recouped ₹75 crore ($11.2 million) from music, satellite and digital rights, so it needs to recover only ₹25 crore ($3.7 million) from the domestic box office. Worldwide, the film earned ₹90.84 crore ($13.6 million) on its opening weekend, while ComScore reported an estimated $12.8 million from 14 markets. As of November, it has made $21.3 million worldwide.

In India, its domestic market, the film had to compete with Shivaay which was released on the same day during the lucrative Diwali weekend. On its opening day the film made ₹13.30 crore, the third biggest for both Kapoor and Sharma, and the sixth biggest for a Bollywood film of the year. Through its opening weekend, It scored a debut of ₹35.60 crore ($5.3 million) net in its three days on 3,200 screens, equating to a gross ₹49.84 crore ($7.65 million), the ninth-biggest debut of the year and the best ever debut for Johar, beating My Name is Khan ₹31.50 crore ($4.7 million). On Monday, it saw a hike in ticket sales, earning ₹17.75 crore ($2.65 million) due to holiday. In its first full week, the film earned ₹80.19 crore ($12 million) in India alone and $20.2 million worldwide. The film continued to dominate the box office in its second weekend, earning $3.2 million from 2,000 screens (−1,200 screens). In just 10 days, the film earned ₹97.17 crore ($14.6 million) net and has become the sixth highest-grossing Bollywood film in the country. Morever, the film now ranks as the highest-earner for Aishwarya, beating Dhoom 2's ₹82.30 crore ($12.3 million) in 2006; the fourth biggest for Anushka as well as for Ranbir.

In the United Kingdom, it recorded the biggest Bollywood opening of the year with ₹4.88 crore ($772,891), debuting at eighth place at the U.K. box office. However, this is inclusive of previews. Including previews, Sultan would be the clear winner with a $1.3 million debut in July. But excluding previews, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is ahead of the former. In the United States and Canada, the film received a limited release across 302 theaters and grossed ₹14 crore ($2.13 million) in its opening weekend finishing in tenth place.

As of 4 December 2016, the film has grossed ₹237.84cr worldwide.

Critical reception

On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 40 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Bollywood Hungama gave 4/5 ratings, and commented "a contemporary and a progressive take on relationships from the master story teller Karan Johar".

Raja Sen and Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com respectively rated 4/5 and 3.5/5 and said "Thank you, Karan Johar for this film feels like a sob. Johar has improved massively as a storyteller, this film is more polished and assured than anything he's done before." and "As evident by his body of work, Karan Johar has a sweet spot for this attribute, in the splendidly romantic and richly satisfying ADHM."

Nihit Bhave of The Times of India rated 3.5/5, and said "a beautiful-looking film that isn't bereft of logic".

Subhash K Jha of Deccan Chronicle rated 2.5/5, and said "ADHM is one good looking film with actors who epitomise human beauty." Sweta Kaushal of Hindustan Times rated 2.5/5, saying "ADHM offers little in terms of story and fails to get the audience empathise or feel for the characters and events in the movie."

Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated 2/5, and said "Johar is unable to go the extra mile, hope that Johar will come up with something newer and sharper the next time around." Mike McCahill of The Guardian rated 2/5, and said "Despite controversy over the casting, Karan Johar's romance, has a failure of nerve about Hindu-Muslim relations."

The Hindu commented, "ADHM is the latest in the brand of cinema that isn't so much as plot driven as it is focused on characters, relationships and interactions."

Reuters of The Express Tribune commented, "ADHM has neither gravitas nor the charm to be worth remembering." Sadaf Haider DAWN Images commented, "ADHM lacks the emotional power of Karan Johar's previous films, but is good enough to watch once for the good music and the great performances put in by the entire cast."

Soundtrack

Untitled

On 30 August 2016, the audio of the title track was released digitally. The soundtrack was released by Sony Music India. The full album was released on 26 October 2016. Audio Jukebox was released at YouTube on 2 November 2016.

Track listing

The song "Bulleya" was reprised by Arijit Singh, and was released on 11 November 2016. The song "Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo" was also featured in the movie in voice of Shilpa Rao. The songs were not added in soundtrack album, however, these were officially made avalaible online.

All lyrics are written by Amitabh Bhattacharya; all music is composed by Pritam

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Ae Dil Hai Mushkil"	Arijit Singh	4:28
2.	"Bulleya"	Amit Mishra, Shilpa Rao	5:48
3.	"Channa Mereya"	Arijit Singh	4:49
4.	"The Breakup Song"	Arijit Singh, Jonita Gandhi, Badshah, Nakash Aziz	4:12
5.	"Cutipie"	Pradeep Singh Sran, Nakash Aziz	3:50
6.	"Alizeh"	Arijit Singh, Ash King, Shashwat Singh	4:42
Total length:			27:49

External links

• Ae Dil Hai Mushkil at IMDb
• Ae Dil Hai Mushkil on X
• Ae Dil Hai Mushkil on Facebook