Love Aaj Jai and Meera is a modern-day couple in London. They are very happy together but do not believe in tying each other down. So when life pulls them in different directions, they decide to go with the flow. “These Heer-Ranjha, Romeo-Juliet type janam janam ka saath type couples exist only in story books”, Jai says. In the real life, we have to be practical.

London, San Francisco, Delhi - 2009.

Love Kal

Veer Singh is struck by the thunderbolt when he sees Harleen for the first time. Soon after, he stands under a tree and swears that “is janam mein aur har janam mein… yehi meri votti banegi – Harleen Kaur.” He travels a thousand kilometres by train to stand under her balcony only to have a glimpse of her face. And yet not speak a word with her.

Delhi, Calcutta - 1965.

Love Aaj Kal

Veer does not understand how Jai can treat matters of the heart without passion, like a financial transaction. Jai does not understand how Veer Singh could have been so naïve and silly about Harleen in the days of his youth.

But as both stories unfold, we realize that the process of relationship might be different in different eras, but the experience of being in love remains the same.

So there is the frolic and despair of modern living. The liberation and confusion. And there is the past – the times of innocence and compulsion.

And there is distance, and the fondness that increases with distance. Gaps widen between two people, but bridges keep growing too.