Jab Tak Hain......

As a kid I watched the discontent, angst & cynicism of youth against a moribund system through the eyes of Yashji in Deewar & Trishul , I understood the meaning of unrequited love , projected as infidelity  in a self righteous , tightly structured social value system through Silsila & Kabhi Kabhi , I fell in love with the inner conflict reflected in Masaal, Lamhe, DTPH & Veer Zara  were a paean on Love, its infinite possibilities & timelessness .And in all these Yash Copra masterpieces the common thread was the focus on plot and characterization. Unfortunately Jab Tak Hai Jaan fails miserably as far as script is concerned. Yes it is a story of “Love” & “Longing” but without a believable “Logic”.Meera , the modern , beautiful , rich girl who commutes in a chauffer driven Bentley treads her love for a struggling to survive Samar for her faith in Christ. Baffled? Wait, more to come. A spike haired Samar leaves London to join Indian Army‘s bomb defusing squad and against all army protocol keeps on diffusing 108 bombs without wearing the bomb suit. Samar’s transformation as Major Samar Anand is too flimsy. In the name of cinematic liberty Jab Tak hai Jaan stretches too far. Samar’s mission in life becomes facing death to shatter the blind faith of Meera … a rather strange way for an army officer to express his longing. In spite of the lip locking between Shahrukh- Katrina , the chemistry between Shahrukh – Anuska looks more credible and peppy. The film at times seems suffering from retrograde amnesia (just like its protagonist) and shades of DTPH, Veer Zara are glaringly visible.

Jab Tak Hai Jaan no doubt reflects the lavishly magnificent Yashraj Canvas, but somewhere there is clear lack of those fine artistic touches which transforms an ordinary into an extra ordinary. The picturization is postcard perfect with the breathtaking beauty of London, the serenity of Leh being captured brilliantly. Anuska as a sparkling yet sensible modern “instant make out, instant break up’ generation Akira plays a perfect foil to Meera , who has been torn asunder between her faith and her love. Sharukh reinstates his lover boy image albeit with a more intense performance. A. R. Rehman’s music is peppy but nowhere close to his best. At 180 minutes JTHJ is painstakingly boring and could have done better with less song and dance sequence with much more focus on the script.

Watch it if you must, at your own risk, as a mark of respect to the legend Yash Chopra.