Nov 13, 2012 09:59 PM
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Romance amidst Bombs and Amnesia
God is in trouble in this one. He is indirectly blamed for a love story gone wrong. I can see God looking at late Mr. Yash Chopra with a sigh on being put in a quandary on love angle –triangle resolutions. The mighty superpower is pummeled with unwarranted exchanges of life for one with death of love .Confused? Believe it or not, that is the premise of the script of the mega movie Jab Tak Hain Jaan releasing today and that commitment to God is the pivot for the rest of the story…sorry movie to swing around aimlessly for 3 long hours.
One can never even doubt that if there was a god of romance on earth it had to be late Mr. Yash Chopra. No one depicted romance as glamorously and colorfully as he did in all his movies creating a pleasant clash of resplendent colors, emotions and dramatic confrontations with echoing music. Close your eyes and what crops up are beautiful women in flowing sarees across lush green landscapes softly melting into snow white backgrounds as heroes with twinkling eyes courted them with the help of soft melodies. And that is very much in evidence from frame one. But there seems to be no plot in sight till the end of the first half of the movie and by the time it makes an appearance in the second half you are too tired to believe it.
Shahrukh transforms from a waiter in restaurants to a dashing bomb squad disposal major in the army.One thinks that the pepper and salt beard does make SRK look smarter than he ever did during his Chak De or Swades Days. Do not go around fishing for additional data to understand the mechanics behind the romance of a company director ( Katrina Kaif looking beautiful as always without makeup) and a waiter cum street singer cum part time language coach Samar. In between her Big B type monologues with god and trying to evade potential engagements, Meera ( do not miss the mythological angle ) tries to fall in love with Samar, economic disparity not withstanding, till of course twists do them apart !
Waiter then , bomb disposal squad major now- don’t ask how ..understand lack of fear of death should be an immediate qualifier, Samar lives out a decade pining. I did many 360 degree turns in my seat till the intermission, when boredom deigned to kill me and my love for Yashji's movies of which I have been an unabashed fan. Guess the script writers should come forward and take the blame please. Ironically the theatre projectionists were worried the audience could perhaps move out , never to move back so the projection continued without a break. The proceedings though still as unbelievable perked up a bit in true Indian cinema style with its quota of coincidences, dramatic encounters and that handy tool called amnesia. ( So do not just blame the Soaps for overusing it conveniently).
The second half is indeed pepped up by an effervescent and slightly over the top Anushka Sharma who seizes the opportunity with both hands and a lot of wise smiles and one liners! Did I sense that Shahrukh somehow did not seem to have his heart in the right place. He seemed disinterested in the proceedings though he does go through the motions fairly efficiently. Ditto for Katrina who assumes walks around with sulks and self-pity. There are some characters hanging around in the wings to act as game changers in the script like that Lahori roommate of Samar. You just cannot make out his angle in the first half till he comes in handy in the second half. Couple of yesteryear stars make pleasant special appearances though their relevance to the plot line is not fully understood.
A couple of songs and a background theme repeating do sound appropriately ARRahmanish but does not seem to stay or appear memorable after returning home. There are no holes in the plot. Just a plot in the hole…figure out how a major from the bomb disposal squad get amnesiac and continues to lead a new life in another country without anyone launching mega searches .
The best part of the movie is actually the end credit titles when one gets to watch Late Mr. Yash Chopra in action and he seemed as unassuming and simple on screen as he did in real life when one got a chance to interact with him a decade back. For him alone, I cannot bring myself to write off this movie. I look for all the goodness of cinema be it cinematography, sense of drama and lovely music that is associated with his movies till date and want to desperately ignore the silly plotline, lackadaisical music score, average acting that seems to be what one takes out on emerging from the theatre.
I am going to watch his old movies from DTPH backwards to vanquish the memories of this one. Sadly one will miss him in future – the god of Romance in Indian Cinema
