A generation grew up watching Love defined by Yash Chopra's films. The stories evolved with time but the essential magic of Yash Chopra's direction and story telling was timeless. He has, in a singular manner, inspired those seeking true love and made the ultimate romantic hero in ShahRukh Khan. The now Late filmmaker's swan song is a tribute to romance and the genre that pretty much belonged to him only. Even though it may be flawed in its story and screenplay (damn you Aditya!), 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan' is a fitting end to an era of old school romance with all its cheeziness, emotional quotient, drama, melodious music, spectacular scenery, lavish sets, stunning outfits and memorable dialogues.
If you are not a fan of Yash Chopra, SRK or their combination in a film, then you may stop reading from hereon.
After diffusing his 98th bomb without a suit, Major Samar Anand (ShahRukh Khan) rides along on NH-1, narrating the title poem while we witness some of the most breath-taking visuals of the Ladakh region. Akira Rai (Anushka Sharma) is an intern with the Discovery Channel who, after being rescued from the freezing waters of Pangong Lake by Samar, shamelessly goes through his personal diary to take us into flashback.
The younger Samar was a multi-tasking, striving immigrant in London who charmed its people with his melodious singing, customer service and dimpled smile. Upon accepting an offer to wait tables at a fancy restaurant, he met the newly engaged Meera (Katrina Kaif) and their friendship formed as a tutoring exchange where one learnt a punjabi song and the other got his English refined. With Samar, she opened up to being herself in ways she never knew and before long, Samar fell in love with that self. Inspite of vows taken in church to not cross the line, they end up romancing to Saans all over London. An unfortunate accident made Meera choose between her love and faith, resulting in Samar's return to India and his subsequent enrollment into the Indian Army's bomb squad.
Akira gets permission to shoot a documentary on the fearless bomb diffusor and while doing so, she falls for his love for Meera. Being a generation younger, Akira has a different recipe for love and the old fashioned ways of Samar charm her only to disappoint her when she confesses her feelings. Upon her return to London, BBC requires verification to air her story and that brings Samar to the city he vowed never to go back to. That's when the love triangle takes its real shape.
What makes Yash Chopra's approach to romance special, is the subtle poignancy with which he depicts situations. A simple dialogue can convey depth and relevance without the need for thundering background music and close up angles. Witness the impact of Samar making a statement about himself to Meera before they go dance to Ishq Shava. Then as he shocks her at the train station by spontaneously confessing his love for her. Also, the depth in Rishi Kapoor's words as he bids farewell to Meera; the brief confrontation between Samar and Meera as she explains her choice of faith over love; his challenge to God in the church and his response to Akira confessing her feelings to him. These, along with a few others are examples of Yash Chopra's trademark style of direction. The story turns a few degrees just on the basis of such dialogues and if you miss it, you've missed his magical touch.
It's not all about the romantic song sequences and mushy one-liners. Yash Chopra's direction brings exemplary performances from the actors and along with well written, meaningful dialogues, he brings the depth in simple confrontations that eventually make his films memorable.
Neetu Singh's cameo is really special. Even without her physical presence, the emotion she conveys in the narration of the letter read by Meera is par excellence. Then, her brief encounter with Meera brings with it a lot of maturity and it is the charmer Rishi Kapoor's dialogue that establishes the basis of the film. Anupam Kher is surprisingly underutilized in the film but one must be thankful as it prevents the mundane father-daughter-poor lover saga. Anushka Sharma starts off being over-the-top but soon turns likeable with her natural depiction of the carefree Akira. She looks awkardly hot in her surroundings in Ladakh and has the album's most disappointing song to dance to. She rises to another level though when she is around Katrina, proving that her composed act can overpower the Kat easily.
Katrina Kaif is at her best in this film. Not only is it her best performance after 'Rajneeti' but she looks her stunning best in every scene even she puts up a serious face most of the time and shows the lack of versatility in emoting. She does look Jaw-droppingly sexy in Ishq dance and Ishq Shava where her dance is commendable.
There is a reason why he is the King of Romance. He can experiment with 'Swades' and 'Chak De India' but it is Yash Chopra that made ShahRukh Khan who he is and he revives him yet again, in a role that was tailor-made for him. Just when the Kayanaat was questioning him, he retaliates with his core strength as the ultimate romantic hero. The intensity with which he loves, the teasing manner with which he whispers just inches away from Katrina's face and the liveliness he infuses in Challa and Saans are attributes that make him a remarkable lover-boy. He plays the immigrant Samar and Major Samar Anand with distinct emotions that are in total control. While his confrontation with Meera is depicted with controlled frustration, his outburst against God in church is explosive. Only two men have stood convincingly against God in movies and both were directed by Yash Chopra.
Yet, this isn't a flawless movie. What prevents JTHJ from being a great film is Aditya Chopra's story and screenplay. An accident causing amnesia is an age-old twist in the story and this lack of imagination has not only lengthened the film unnecessarily by 30 mins but also made it less celebratory in the end. It is quite ironical that the 80 year old director had a better idea of romance than his son who should instead be the influencer. That, perhaps is also the director's greatest virtue. He has always evolved with time and even with JTHJ, he brings modern sensibilities with Akira's character, avoids the drama surrounding the girl's father and spouse, the rich-poor divide and throws them in the face of superstitious beliefs that still linger, although, not to the levels that Aditya has imagined.
Anil Mehta's cinematography shows London in all its glory and Kashmir in all its beauty. Every scene with the landmarks or actors looks very well composed.
A.R. Rahman's music falls short of the big expectations. His experiment with mostly new singers failed to create any magic in what should have been an outstanding album. But then, 'Veer Zaara' was a tall order to match up to. Saans is definitely the best track that requires repeated listening that you can't get enough of but Lata Mangeshkar would've done wonders with that and with Mohit Chauhan's soothing voice to go with.... hmmm...
Ishq Shava is a groovy track and certainly the best choreographed one in recent times. It's delightful to watch Katrina dance to this after the raunchy Chikni Chameli. She can certainly be more picky now. Heer is melodious but not much to playback on. The title song required a better singer and so did Jiya re which sounds like a teenage Ila Arun screaming.
'Zindagi har roz jaan leti hai, bomb toh sirf ek baar lega......'
Yash Chopra leaves us with a legacy that shall remain inimitable. To many, he taught what true love and romance is in a way that people still desire in their hearts. The institution that stands against arranged marriages was formed under the Yash Raj banner. A director who made films only when his heart told him to and films with a heart they all turned out to be. 'Jab Tak hai Jaan' may not be his best romantic work ('Veer Zaara' is the title contender to that) and it is flawed in its story and screenplay owing to an unimaginative Adi Chopra but as a finale to a prolific and much decorated career, it still bears his stamp, his trademark style of story telling that is subtle, heartfelt, uncomplicated, inspiring and quite simply, Magical.
Enjoy the fantasy while you can. There aren't too many who believe in it anymore.
- 8.488 on a scale of 1-10.