‘Love Aaj Kal’ re-release: 5 lessons that remain relevant for Gen Z dating

Imtiaz Ali’s Love Aaj Kal (2009) is back on the big screen and honestly? It feels like it never left. Some stories don’t just age, they evolve and this one is one of those masterpieces. Released in a time before dating apps, when Facebook relationship statuses were still a big deal, the film explored love across two generations: one that wrote letters and waited, and another that loved fast, broke up faster, and pretended they were fine.

But what’s wild is how, even after 15 years, the film feels painfully relevant— like it was made for today’s situationships, sneaky links, and the weird in-betweens that define Gen-Z romance. From confused breakups to that lingering “what if” feeling, the film continues to read Gen-Z love-lives like a journal entry.

So, if you're the kind of person who pretends to be unbothered but secretly makes playlists about people you “don’t care about anymore,” this one’s for you. Here are five lessons from Love Aaj Kal that still hit home for Gen-Z lovers, fighters, and ghosters:

How Love Aaj Kal showed, communication is still complicated

We've got voice notes, DMs, emojis, and entire playlists to express our feelings, and yet, we’re all still sending “wyd?” at 2 AM and pretending we don’t care. Jai and Meera literally break up while still being in love. The whole “we’re mature enough to part ways even though we don’t want to” energy is alive and well in 2025. Because even with all our tech, we’re still awkward, avoidant, and terrible at just saying what we feel. No amount of tech can replace honest, heart-to-heart conversations. Whether it’s 2009 or 2025, love still demands courage — not just to feel, but to say what we feel.

Love doesn’t come with a roadmap

The movie switches between two timelines, showing that whether it's 1965 or 2009 (or now), love’s never been linear. We ghost, we orbit, we date, we "take space", and then double-tap each other’s stories like that means something. Jai and Meera go from lovers to friends to strangers to lovers again. Love loops, stumbles, restarts. And honestly, it makes perfect sense to none of us. Whether it’s slow-burn or situationship, love doesn’t follow logic or timelines –it follows emotion. What truly matters is learning to embrace the chaos without needing all the answers.

Feelings aren’t always logical

Remember when Meera went, "Mujhe pyaar karna hai, lekin apne terms pe”? Gen-Z overthinks everything; but feelings don’t always follow logic or bullet points. Sometimes you're crying over someone you “weren’t even officially with,” or falling for someone while swearing you’re emotionally unavailable. This movie captures that inner chaos where your brain begs you to move on but your heart’s still stuck on that one voice note. But you don’t need to have it all figured out. Love is messy, confusing, and often illogical– and that’s what makes it real.

Being “unbothered” is exhausting

Jai spends most of the film pretending he’s too chill for commitment, that heartbreak is uncool, that love is outdated. Sound familiar? Gen-Z wears emotional detachment like a badge. But deep down, we all want that one person, just like Jai did, who makes our favourite songs feel personal. Behind every “lol whatever” is a heart that just wants to be seen irrespective of the generation.

Old-school love remains undefeated

Veer and Harleen’s storyline in the film remains unbeatable— stolen glances, lifelong loyalty, and feelings that don’t need multiple texts to be understood. And even if we swipe and scroll through love now, something about that quiet, patient, unconditional romance still gets us. Maybe that’s why we cry when Jai finally runs to Meera ; because irrespective of the generational shifts that occur, at the end of the day, we all still crave old-school love.

So, what’s changed since 2009?

Not much, really — except the filters maybe. Love Aaj Kal reminds us that whether it’s “aaj” (today) or “kal" (tomorrow) love will always be messy, magical, and maddening. And that’s the beauty of it.

(Written by Archisha Mazumdar)