When Reel Blends Into Real: The Many Lives Inside Aap Jaisa Koi
Some movies purely exist for the sake of entertainment value while others delve deeper into the human psyche and express feelings and thoughts that the viewers themselves may have difficulty articulating. Aap Jaisa Koi is one of those unique stories that stands apart from other movies. It is a romantic film that is interspersed with comical scenes and nostalgia. The main characters, real life actors, and the memories they brought to the screen, had a congruous flow to each other and an impressive synergy with the film. The events that took place behind the scenes of the film have built the foundation that these events have portrayed.
A Story Rooted in Everyday Heartbreaks
The film begins with the protagonist, a middle-class graphic designer, Aarav Malhotra, played by Rohan Khanna. He and every other employee in the workplace find themselves in a difficult position, balancing between the desires of their own ambitions and that of the workplaces. He is a talented, loyal employee, the kind that life (not) prompts to make promises to. He meets and eventually falls in love with not so quiet and free (life) spirit Naina Batra (played by Tia Arora), a self-proclaimed counselor, that one who believes that everyone is a simple puzzle that just needs someone to talk to.
There’s no big proclamations of love or confessions on the roof in this romance. Rather, it progresses naturally over late-night conversations, chai tea having long cooled as she listens to him talk about his pushy clients, or his bike rides through the heavy Delhi monsoon as he rushes to meet her to walk her home.
But love, in this film, comes with really grown up right. Naina endures challenging pressures from her conservative family, who, especially the parents, think of her studying counseling as a waste, since it is not a “real profession.” On the other hand, Aarav finances are not stable. He even feels heavy guilt, as if he ought to sacrifice a dominant stable career to pursue his passion, to dedicate his work to his interests. So, unlike melodramatic love stories, all are stuck in the challenges of real life.
Recognizing love in ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’ comes from the quiet bravery of ordinary people who decided to be with one another, rather than continue to be stuck in the same life.
What made the movie even more emotional than the flawless writing, were the real life challenges faced by Rohan Khanna and Tia Arora reflecting the reel journeys of Aarav and Naina.
Rohan Khanna: A Comeback Forged From Setbacks
For a long time, Rohan Khanna was known as the actor who almost made it. A decade in the industry, Rohan had supporting roles and endured two canceled web shows. There was even an infamous year when tabloids declared him, “Finished,” and the pressure of the industry pushed him into a two year break where he worked in silence as a freelance designer.
So when the script of Aap Jaisa Koi came to him, he was not just able to relate to the character, he was the character, Aarav. The money issues, the ambition crisis, the pain of being overlooked, and the financial insecurities were things he had lived.
He often improvised scenes during workshops to draw from the real life experiences he was going through. In a scene that later became one of the most loved sequences from the movie, Aarav breaks down over never being, “enough.” The director didn’t direct the tears during the take, which some say were real and meant to release pain that Rohan had been holding onto for years. A decision was made by the director to keep the first take.
The film worked as a role from Rohan, but more importantly it gave him the closure he had been longing for.
From the Heart: Naina’s Story Is Personal for Tia Arora
Completing the triad is Tia Arora, who, like Naina, also has her journey to the world of films very close to her heart. As a student of psychology, Tia had also trained to be a counsellor, but left the course to pursue modelling, which caused a silent rift in the family. Though Tia ended up gaining their support, the family’s initial misunderstanding and judgment led her to develop a quiet but strong sense of resilience. Tia also had to deal with the early theatrical years of confronting and dismissal, which were indeed very tough.
As a counsellor in Naina, Naina had to fight the same empathetic battle, and had to justify this to her family. Tia, within years, brought to this role a real sense of empathy. For hours, she would engage with the writers to build the character of a mental health professional who, despite fighting her battles, continues to lack the recognition in many Indian households. Tia framed this character with a lot of attention, and for this, she went to different counselling centres, to observe their body postures, the rate of their breaths, and the calm yet assertive voices that were crucial in forming a safe space for the participants.
More than any dialogue could, Tia bore the character’s deep and healing bruises, which added to the personality.
Keeping It Real: Love, And Real-Life Challenges
Every modern-day couple’s dilemma is the conflict in the second half of Aap Jaisa Koi, which is also a test of their love and is what Naina and Aarav have to go through.
Aarav gets offered an overseas job opp with tremendous new prospects, however, he would have to give up on a dream project for job stabilization, while Naina gets a chance to set up a community counseling center and needs to be established rather than leave.
The conflict on each character’s side is not with themselves but the secondary conflict which is with timing. This is a central conflict of the film and highlights the mastery of alignment and timing.
One of the ways these events and timing were portrayed was the personal experiences of the actors and the events of the plot. They both had experience in the affected areas of the plot. Saying no to international experiences due to family obligations, and negative backlash for career choices contrasted to the relationship. A modern flawed love and criticisms of love were portrayed and captured without falling into the cliché.
The film’s home relatability and perspective and cultural pulse was invaluable. Features were added that made Aap Jaisa Koi and modern flawed love marked and easier to relate to today. The film and characters cannot sugar coat adulthood. The topics and spins presented help reveal and shine a light on the struggles of:
The adult world.
The guilt that comes with pursuit of passions.
The ongoing battle for acceptance of mental health professions.
The love that is often needed in a relationship and not sacrificed.
The individual growth that can be achieved in a relationship without growing apart.
The dialogues also captured the comfort of real life and not script, the comfort of everyday language and not formal words, which added to the film’s relatability and made the characters and plot more real and assisted in the films originality.
People used to quote young couple’s movies on Instagram just like old people quote ‘Gulzar’.
Moments That Are Not Talked About But Shaped A Film
Aap Jaisa Koi had its own sweet little magic,
The rain scene in dali which showcases Aarav confessing his fears is a perfect example. The team had to improvise since the planned sequence was invalidated by an unexpected downpour. But the raw emotion that the scene portrayed was worth the centerpiece of the film.
Tia shared a personal story about a college friend, and after hearing it, the director overnight wrote the monologue for Naina’s advice. The director was motivated by her insight, which had the speech second to none.
Aarav’s rented room of which audiences felt an unkonwn authenticity was designed under the inspiration of photos of Rohan’s real old apartment.
Every small detail was real.
The Place Where Reel Ended And Real Began
Aap Jaisa Koi was not just a film which reflects the emotional landscape of modern India, but a culmination of two actors’ rebirth, a director’s personal ars- poetica to everyday resilience.
The film gave the people a notion that the most exceptional love story is the one which portrays a couple of real, ordinary people.
And most of the time, the characters are not just characters. They are a reflection of the people who are playing them.
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