Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (transl. O Heart, It Is Difficult) is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film directed, produced and written by Karan Johar under his banner Dharma Productions. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai in the lead roles.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil released worldwide on 28 October 2016 coinciding with the festival of Diwali. The film's soundtrack composed by Pritam was an instant blockbuster, thus enhancing its hype, with lyrics written by Amitabh Bhattacharya and songs sung by Arijit Singh. Despite having clashed with Ajay Devgn's Shivaay, it went on to gross ₹237.56 crore (US$28 million) worldwide. The film proved to be one of the year's top-grossing films in domestic and overseas markets. It received mixed reviews from critics upon release, with praise for its direction, music, cinematography, and performances of the cast, with particular praise directed towards Sharma, Kapoor and Rai’s performances, but the story and screenplay received criticism.

At the 62nd Filmfare Awards, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil received a leading 9 nominations (tying with Udta Punjab) for Best Director (Johar), Best Actress (Sharma) and Best Actor (Kapoor), and won 4 awards, including Best Music Director (Pritam), Best Lyricist (Bhattacharya for "Channa Mereya") and Best Male Playback Singer (Arijit Singh for "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil").

Plot

The film begins with the interview of Ayan, a singer who has newly acquired fame with his non-filmy songs. He tells the story of his experience of love in a flashback. A few years ago, in London, a chance meeting in a disco between Ayan and Alizeh happened and they hooked up with each other. They get to know each other and become friends. Later, when they discover their respective partners are cheating on them, they break up with their lovers: Ayan with Lisa D'Souza and Alizeh with "Dr." Faisal Khan, and the two go to Paris to spend a week together. Ayan falls in love with Alizeh but does not tell her because she considers him to be only a "friend." One day, Alizeh stumbles upon Ali, her ex who wants to reconcile. Confused, but still in love with him, Alizeh decides to go with him, and unintentionally stops hanging out with Ayan and they cease communication.

A few days later, Alizeh calls and invites Ayan to her wedding with Ali in Lucknow. Ayan is shaken on hearing this but reluctantly accepts the invitation. At the wedding, he tells Alizeh he loves her but she rejects him, causing Ayan to leave the ceremony heartbroken. At the airport to board a flight to Dubai, he meets Saba, an older woman and poet, who is leaving for Vienna. She consoles Ayan and gives him a book with her poetry and number on it. Ayan reads her poetry and is moved by it. He calls her after three months stating that he is in Vienna and wants to meet her. They meet at a club, where they dance together and then hookup . He learns that Saba is divorced and has no place for love in her heart. Ayan asks her out , initially she declines but later she accepts.

Ayan, who had blocked Alizeh from contacting him in all ways, finally calls and reconnects with her after being inspired by these words. Alizeh feels really happy and tells him that she missed their friendship. He begins to send pictures of Saba to her to try and induce jealousy while Alizeh tells him about her happy life with Ali and assumes that he has moved on.

After a few days, Alizeh informs Ayan that she is coming to Vienna and wants to meet him. Ayan invites her for dinner with Saba to provoke Alizeh and make her feel jealous which Saba notices. Before Alizeh leaves, Ayan confronts her and tells her that she has no feelings and is heartless. Alizeh says that she does love Ayan but not romantically. They have a verbal fight and then he walks away. He goes to Saba, who hugs Ayan one last time and tells him that she really started loving him and she knows she will not get emotional love in return so she decided they should part ways. She fears that she will get hurt realizing that she will never get the love she saw in Ayan's eyes for Alizeh. Their relationship ends and Ayan leaves.

Ayan continues to harbor a love for Alizeh and becomes a famous singer with his channel. He meets Ali one day and realizes that Ali and Alizeh are no longer together. Ali tells Ayan that even though Alizeh loved him, she was not able to get the love she thought she deserved. He adds that she has been untraceable for the last two years. Ayan, concerned, goes to Alizeh's favorite spot and waits for two days there, hoping that she will arrive. Alizeh meets him there and tells Ayan that she has been diagnosed with stage four cancer and will not live much longer. Ayan is heartbroken but they try to make the best of their time together. Ayan tries to make Alizeh love him, to no avail. This leads to a fight between the two, and Alizeh decides to leave Ayan as he cannot understand that she cannot fake her feelings for Ayan just to make him feel happy. The next morning Ayan tries to search for Alizeh, apparently reaching the airport and thus fulfilling her last wish before death. Eventually, Ayan makes peace with the fact that he and Alizeh can at least be friends and nothing more. The screen blacks out and comes back to the present where Ayan, still a popular singer, is giving an interview based on the love of his life. Ayan sings the song "Channa Mereya," which is inspired by his one-sided love story, and finishes the interview.

Cast

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

Production

Development

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil was first announced in November 2014. At the time, writer-director Karan Johar, who had previously helmed Student of the Year (2012), 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 (named after a song from the 1956 film C.I.D. starring Dev Anand, Shakila and Waheeda Rehman) 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 as a co-star in Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet (2015), which marked Johar's second film role after Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995).

Johar added that he was excited to cast Aishwarya Rai Bachchan after several unsuccessful attempts to cast her in his previous films Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)In the interview, Karan said in Hindi, "Finally, when it comes to Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, I would like to say that the most indispensable casting was Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s. If Ranbir hadn't agreed, I would have found a solution; if Anushka hadn’t agreed, I would have had another option. But for Aishwarya, there were no alternatives. If she hadn’t agreed, I wouldn’t have been able to make the film. The role of Saba was such that only Aishwarya Rai could have played it. When you watch the film, I’m not just saying this, you’ll see that you wouldn’t be able to imagine anyone else in that role either.".

Fawad Khan, who had recently appeared in Johar-produced Kapoor & Sons (2016), was cast to play the role of a DJ, described as "not exactly a cameo as it becomes a backbone for a certain conflict of a character" in the film.

Lisa Haydon also confirmed that she will appear in the film. At the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2016, Johar confirmed that Shah Rukh Khan had also filmed a scene for the film.

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

Filming

Principal photography began in September 2015 with Sharma and Kapoor 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. Rai Bachchan joined the crew in Vienna in mid-October after the release of her film Jazbaa (2015). 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.