Jab Tak Hai Jaan - Reviewed

Overview: SRK and Yash Chopra….come together to do what they both are best at…Romance n Drama – and yes…they DO deliver. While you may be able to find a good number of reasons why you should not like the movie…I would think…the only reason why you really wouldn’t…is if you go in with the wrong expectations. As you enter the cinema hall…keep two things in mind…you know what kind of movies Yash Chopra makes and secondly…you know the kind of roles SRK is best with….and I guarantee, you will come out a happy and satisfied soul!

 Characters: Samar Anand, King Khan. The king proves his worth once again…reclaims whatever glory he may have lost in the recent past and lo and behold…the king strikes back again as Samar Anand/Major Samar Anand. SRK plays the two contrasting personalities with complete conviction and makes you believe in both the characters instantly. His eyes convey his emotions so brilliantly that you seldom need to listen to him say those dialogues. Great performance overall and some very very well written scenes appear much better due the king’s presence.

Meera, Katrina Kaif. Gorgeous! Beautiful! Innocent! Not sure of the adjectives that I should be using for her. Katrina seems to be getting prettier with every movie. And yea…her acting skills have also significantly improved. There are some very emotional and difficult scenes that she plays beautifully. Her dancing has almost reached perfection. The first half of the movie gives Kat at least 50% on-screen space with SRK…and she does not disappoint at all!

Akira, Anushka Sharma. The free bird….and that’s exactly wht comes in your mind when you see Akira doing her part. Superbly written character played by a superb Anushka. The only tiff here might be…that she is getting repetitive with each movie…! Oh Well…she sure is showing signs of getting perfect with these kind of roles! She gets some great dialogues which are punchy and yet very simple for everyone to undersand.

Music: Finally we talk abt the music….the music….created by the legendary Rahman. First lets look at the background – AMAZING…this is the kind of background that is missing in our movies. Loud where needed, heavy when required and subtle in rest of the places. The songs….the only complaint I have is why are all the songs used up in the first half? Be it Challa or Saans or Ishq Shava, every song turns out to be magical! People might complain that this is very average music for Rahman….but I say…it has a Rahman stamp all over it and he so amazingly shows his uniqueness while creating the music. For instance, Ishq Shava….give me one music director who would have thought of creating this kind of a fusion track with oriental, Arabic and contemporary beats as a club number? Or who would have created the mesmerizing Ishq Dance piece…on which Kat dances phenomenally only to be matched by the King himself! Every song suits the on-screen emotions and perfectly blends with the feel of the movie. Full marks…once again to the maestro!

Experience: Satisfying…to say the least. Yash Chopra directs his last movie…and it shows…that an experienced director is steering this ship. The weakness in the script and the somewhat lethargic pace in the second half gets partially remedied by Yash Chopra’s strong sense of direction and it is evident that the man knows where we wants to take his audience. SRK’s super-super performance throughout, Katrina’s significant improvement in the acting department and Anushka’s bindaas-ly cool acting make up for all the shortcomings. There are some scenes and some dialogues that remain with you long after the movie is over…watch out for the dialogues between SRK and KAT when they are in the underground club/alley; or the part where Kat makes the impossible promise to God which forms the central conflict in the plot; or the part where SRK confesses his emotions by the train; or where Anushka confesses her emotions to SRK; and of course…the dialogue that you really take home – “Zindagi to roz roz maarti hai…bomb bas ek baar maarta hai”!!

It’s a movie where you can decide whether you want to enjoy it or not and you will be able to get the desired result either way. The movie could definitely have been trimmed by at least a few minutes in the second half...but nevertheless...you dont ever really get bored.

Been-O-pinion: I give it 3.5 out of 5. Watch this movie for Yash Chopra’s final take on romance n drama Or watch this movie for SRK…either way…you will not be disappointed!