Release date:
|
November 13, 2012
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Director:
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Yash Chopra
|
Cast:
Language:
|
Shah
Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma
Hindi
|
Rula diya na,
Yashji, aapne? It’s a measure of the
late Yash Chopra’s mastery over emotion that I found myself sobbing repeatedly through
Jab Tak Hai Jaan, although three un-ignorable
(if that’s a word at all) aspects of it spoilt the film for me: (1) A fun, crisp first hour gives way to an elongated second half that
adds up to a whopping 178 minutes running time … I could perhaps even forgive
that but (2) it’s hard to get past a 47-year-old actor playing the part of a
25-to-28-year-old man through the pre-interval portion of the film. Yes, that’s
Shah Rukh Khan’s Samar Anand for you. The only thing more laughable we’ve seen
in contemporary Bollywood was a 44-year-old Aamir Khan playing a teenaged student
in 3 Idiots in 2009. Why, guys, why?!!!
(3) And when A.R. Rahman collaborates with one of the greatest Hindi film
directors of all time for the first time, you expect more than one lovely song (Challa) plus one catchy tune (Ishq shava) plus the irritatingly maudlin
Saans and a couple of other numbers so
boring that they further slackened the pace of the already slow second half!
Very
briefly, here’s the story: an Indian ‘boy’ in London, Samar Anand grabs every
job he can get because Mummy wanted him to make it big in this phoren land. He falls in love with Meera
Thapar (Katrina Kaif) who routinely promises Jesus that she’ll give up something
she loves in exchange for one of her wishes being fulfilled. Now Meera is a closet
wild child – in Hindi filmdom that means a woman who smokes and wears sexy clothes
when Daddy is not watching, while pretending to be prissy when he is. Inevitably
she gives up love for a plea made to god, I won’t tell you what. Cut to Part 2
and Samar is now the Indian Army’s most sought after bomb disposal expert
rubbing shoulders with a sprightly documentary film maker called Akira Rai (Anushka
Sharma) and from there the story goes on … and on … and on.
To say
that Meera’s vow is unrealistic would be wrong. I actually know a guy who was emotionally
blackmailed into becoming a priest by his mother, because she once made a mannat for his life when he’d been on
the verge of death. Truth can be stranger than fiction, and Meera’s pledge should
hardly be an issue in a film where so many other odd, old-worldly things
happen. Apparently if you tell god you won’t be “with” a man, you can share a house
and a bed with him, even hug him, but kissing and sex ain’t allowed. SRK relaxes
his no-kissing-in-films rule for JTHJ
but that maiden Samar-Meera smooch (before her vow) is sterile and the camera scurries
away from them so hurriedly that it feels like all parties involved were
embarrassed. Better not to kiss than kiss like this!
But
then there are some lovely things too that happen through Jab Tak Hai Jaan. If you think J&K, London and the English
countryside are gorgeous, then you will need to coin another adjective once you
see them through Yash Chopra’s eyes and Anil Mehta’s camera in this film. I enjoyed
Gulzar’s lyrics for Challa and Ishq shava. And I loved the simple
messages of secularism woven into the story in a fashion that’s
uncharacteristically understated for Bollywood: a heroine with a Hindu name whose
abode of faith is a church, with no explanation being offered to us for it; the
hero’s camaraderie with and generosity towards his Pakistani roommate that is
not accompanied by any speeches; a woman who falls headlong into love with a
man who just happens to be Muslim, without a big deal being made of his religion. Aditya Chopra’s dialogues in the first half are
filled with sparkle and wit, and there’s much fun to be had listening to Samar
and Meera’s lively exchanges. Shah Rukh especially lends charm and verve to his
character. SRK also looks quite sexy as an older man in uniform even though he definitely
does not look just 38, which is what Samar is supposed to be by then. And Meera’s dance at an underground party is decidedly
hot. Didn’t know Katrina had it in her.
There
are too many problems though. Katrina’s acting has evolved greatly since we first saw her
in Boom, but it becomes evident that
she still has a long way to go when she is contrasted with Anushka’s natural talent
in the latter part of the film. And while Anushka’s Akira repeatedly refers to
the age difference between her and Samar (he’s 38 by the time they meet, she’s
21), the so-evidently-youthful Katrina is saddled with the impossible task of convincing
us that Meera is just four years younger than Samar. On the other hand, Aditya Chopra’s
script dumps Anushka with Akira’s rather abrupt transformation of feelings
towards Samar. And suspension of disbelief is taken to new heights when Akira
prances around conservative J&K and in the midst of indulgent Army
personnel in the skimpiest of clothing.
Rating
(out of five): **3/4
CBFC Rating (India):
|
U/A
|
Running time:
|
178 minutes
|
Photograph
courtesy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jab_Tak_Hai_Jaan
