Jai and Meera are a modern-day couple living in London. They are happy with each other, but do not believe in tying each other down so, when career beckons, they have a mutual break-up, but decide to remain friends. Meera goes to India, while Jai stays in England, hoping to be called to San Francisco, where working at the Golden Gate is his dream job. Jai begins to date a blonde called Jo, while Meera returns the feeling of her boss, Vikram. The couple believe they have moved on. Running side-by-side, but in a different time, is the tale of Veer Singh. A great believer of love, the Sikh narrates his love story to Jai to try to convince him not to let Meera go to India. He tells how he fell for a girl called Harleen, who moved to Calcutta. He traveled a thousand miles, by train, only to see her face. He also explains how things were different, and the couples then had a lot more respect for each other. Jai ridicules Veer, who vowed to marry Harleen even before he had gotten to talk to her. But, on Veers insistence, the young man concedes to pay Meera a surprise visit. Meera is stunned, and the two lie to both Jo and Vikram to have some fun together. They go out as friends, and realize how much they still like each others company. On the day Jai is to leave, Vikram proposes to Meera. She meets Jai secretly, who tells her she should take a decision after thinking. Angry, Meera tells him to leave her, and also says that they can no longer have any contact or else she will never be able to really move on. Parallel to this, we find that Harleen has told Veer she was engaged without being told, and he must leave her. Jai is surprised on Meeras wedding , and tells her nothing can be done now. He goes back, and gets his dream job in San Francisco the same day Meera realizes her marriage is a mistake. She tells Vikram the truth and calls Jai, but he tells her about the Golden Gate before she can tell him what is on her mind. Realizing he is going to San Francisco, she tells him nothing but returns to Vikrams house, dejected. Parallel to this, Veer Singh declares his intentions of marrying Harleen but is badly beaten by her family. Jai slowly begins to lose interest in his "dream job" and is beaten badly by some thugs when, while being mugged, he refuses to give them a picture of Meera. He then realizes he still loves her, and goes back to India. He finds Vikram, who informs him that Meera left him the day that he, Jai, had told her about his job in San Francisco. In the past storyline, Veer Singh travels to Harleens house on the day of her wedding, and convinces her mother that Harleen can only be happy with him. Harleens mother lets Veer Singh secretly sneak out with her daughter, and the two marry to have a happily ever after. In the present, Jai goes to Meeras work, at the Old Fort, and they have a heart-touching reunion. The movie shows how, despite the time differences, love is essentially still the same. In the end, the song Aahun Aahun is played in the theme of Aam Janta and Pratigya, in which Veer Singh represents Pratigya, while Jai represents Aam Janta. Each shows his different way of love, but both conclude that love has never changed. It shows that, even though, people these days try to make themselves believe that love is just an infatuation that goes away with time and that there is no such thing as "true love" or "soulmate", in their hearts they still love each other with that passion.

Production

The shooting of the film started on May 2008 and took place in the railway station of Patiala, Red Fort, Purana Qila and on the streets of Delhi. Parts have been shot in London, San Francisco, and Kolkata . The film wasnt given a name until January 2009, after shooting was complete.

Box office

Love Aaj Kal proved to be a smash hit grossing over Rs. 63 crores in India and abroad. Of this, 47 crores were from the Indian market and the rest from the worldwide release including the United Kingdom, Pakistan and Australia. Love Aaj Kal released across 1800 plus screens worldwide on 31 July 2009 with one of the highest number of daily shows across multiplexes. Love Aaj Kal has done exceedingly well in multiplex cinemas as compared to single screens. The film did steady business in its first week run, has been declared a blockbuster and the second highest grosser so far for this year, just behind the Aamir Khan starrer, 3 Idiots and just above Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor starrer Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. The film grossed $1.24m at the North American and Canadian box offices during the opening weekend and went on to gross $2,430,083 domestically and $18.3m from foreign territories including $16.1m from Indian markets for a worldwide total of $20,792,532. It is a superhit.

Marketing

= The producers of the film inked marketing tie-ups with ICC T20 World Cup, Shoppers Stop and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance. The apparel worn by the lead cast is exclusively available at Shoppers Stop. With Bajaj Allianz they have a tie up to share the special moments where they could win a chance to meet Saif Ali Khan, the protagonist and the producer of the movie. The tie up with ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2009 was that both Deepika and Saif will be in England before the tournament begins, with Saif expected to commentate on matches for Indian television.