At one point in "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil", we see Ayan (Ranbir Kapoor) clinging to a pillar while gazing affectionately at Alizeh (Anushka Sharma) who's about to be wed to someone else. Ayan's face says it all, the girl he's in love is about to leave him, and all that he can do is hold onto something, so he holds onto that pillar with his mehendi-filled hands. Though evident that he is indeed forlorn, there is a smile about him. Although a wee bit perplexing initially, it becomes clear that Ayan is in a fantasy world, one where he hopes to win Alizeh over right before the wedding. But nothing goes the way Ayan would have it and he instead leaves the wedding following a lachrymose scene where he confesses his unrequited love to Alizeh, all while the wonderful "Channa Mereya" plays in the background. "Tere rukh se apna rasta mod ke chala...", the song says and I couldn't help but think of how this is a recurring theme in most of Ranbir's films. The theme of not letting the tears show...In "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani", Kabir (and Kabir not Bunny) chooses to walk away from Naina and tears roll down just as he turns away from her. In 2015's wonderful "Tamasha", Ved chooses to turn his face away as tears drop from his eyes the very second Tara nudges him as "Agar Tum Saath Ho" plays. It's uncanny yet perfectly depicts the struggle of these various characters who, in some capacity, are relevant to the lives of us viewers. After suffering a heartbreak, Ayan chooses to find comfort in music and towards the end, ends up alone while Kabir and Ved each get a happy ending. Makes you wonder why is it that Ayan ends up alone...he never did anything wrong yet here he is, suffering through an ordeal he didn't have a say in. A close friend recently told me to "go find yourself", and at first I struggled to understand what she had meant but then Ayan's situation came to my mind and it became clearer to me: Ayan wasn't really sad anymore once his passion music kept him company. In time, he even found it in him to move on from Alizeh and fall in love with someone else. Someone right. Someone who'd take him for what he is. It's fascinating how easy it is to miss out on these subtle details and clues...the song says "Acha chalta hoon, duaon mein yaad rakhna...", come to think of it, it basically says moving on will lead to better things soon...it asks you to remember not forget.