Movie Review: Jab Tak Hai Jaan

As the last offering by Yashji, here we salute you Mr Chopra for churning out such a brilliant masterpiece. JTHJ is a must watch, with a lots of 'luv shuv' elements and intensity in it. On the whole, you cannot afford to miss out this one.

Cast:Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma 

Director: Yash Chopra 

Tiding over the logical incongruity of an ageing superstar playing a twenty-something lover boy who matches steps with a vivacious actress half his age might take some doing. But once you manage to get that mental holdup out the way, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Yash Chopra’s last film, is a perfectly fitting finale to an eventful life and career. 

The screenplay by Aditya Chopra and Devika Bhagat is by no means flawless but, for the most part,Jab Tak Hai Jaan is watchable, if somewhat emotionally manipulative. 

Beautifully shot in easy-on-the-eye parts of London and Ladakh, the film, in the best traditions of a Yash Chopra romance, sees the world primarily through a tried-and-tested “love is life” aperture. The view that it provides is generally likable, if not always completely persuasive. 

The mushy moments at the heart of the love story might feel a tad pulpy at times. ButJab Tak Hai Jaan leaves a soothing afterglow.

You have seen it all before, notably in Dil To Pagal Hai and Veer-Zaara. Yet, Jab Tak Hai Jaanexudes a surprising degree of freshness. It stems from the quirky new-age twists that the screenplay throws into the mix.

One half of the film is a variation on the legend of Mirabai – the heroine, a prim and propah London girl, is caught between her unshakable faith in Jesus Christ (who she believes will never let her down) and her temporal love for a charming street musician who sweeps her off her feet and tempts her to “cross the line”. 

A substantial part of the second half presents another face of Eve in the form of a gutsy Delhi girl who is proud to belong to the “instant make out, instant break-up” generation.

The feel-good romantic ménage a trois plays out in two divergent settings ten years apart. The plot twists are simple and often rather facile, especially when the film hurtles towards its rather predictable denouement.

That apart, Jab Tak Hai Jaan resorts to old-school tropes like road accidents, a head injury, a protracted case of retrograde amnesia and a neurologist who recommends some playacting to help the victim regain normalcy.

But when it comes to emotional layering, which was always Yash Chopra’s forte as a storyteller, the director is in complete control. The film has enough simple moments of tenderness to offset the several not-so convincing heavy-handed twists. 

The opening sequence – set in present-day Leh – introduces the audience to Major Samar Anand of the Indian army’s bomb disposal squad at work at work. He knows no fear. He defuses IEDs without donning a bomb suit. He is known as “the man who cannot die”. 

Through the pages of his diary, the film cuts to London and goes back in time. Samar Anand is a struggling Indian immigrant. He makes a living by strumming a guitar and singing folksy Punjabi numbers at tourist spots and doing odd jobs as a snow-cleaner outside a church, a sales boy in a fish market and a waiter in a restaurant. 

He falls in love with Meera Thapar (Katrina Kaif), daughter of a wealthy NRI businessman (Anupam Kher). Circumstances contrive to keep them apart although they develop the deepest feelings for each other. 

A heartbroken Samar leaves for India and joins the army. In Kashmir valley, the musician-turned-soldier meets another pretty girl Akira Rai (Anushka Sharma), an aspiring documentary filmmaker on an assignment to record the bomb expert and his team at work. 

But the London lass still haunts Samar and he is caught between the woman who inspired his music and the bubbly young girl who livens up things around the brooding loner. 

Akira confesses to being “totally, completely, madly” in love with Samar, but the latter spurns her advances. 

Though the focus of Jab Tak Hai Jaan is on the male protagonist, the two women in his life aren’t mere mannequins. They are full-on Yash Chopra heroines, blessed with both grace and intelligence, besides the ability to speak their minds and hold on to their beliefs.

Therefore, despite the lovey-dovey nothingness that drives the plot, Jab Tak Hai Jaan has more substance than most romantic films that come out of Bollywood.

Shahrukh oozes charm and chutzpah and ensures the character remains in the realms of believability. 

Katrina plays the grounded Meera with assurance. In the moments when she is egged on by Samar to let her hair down – especially in the sequence with the underground dancers – the actress lets herself go and makes an impression. 

But it is to Anushka Sharma that Jab Tak Hai Jaan really belongs. Turning in an infectiously energetic performance, she breathes life into the somewhat flaccid second half. 

Surprisingly, one aspect of Jab Tak Hai Jaan that isn’t quite up to scratch is the musical score. The AR Rahman-Gulzar combo that never fails to yield a cracker isn’t quite in its elements here. 

The love ditties sound nice while they play on the screen, but they do not stay with you after the hurly-burly is done.

Watch Jab Tak Hai Jaan not just for the obvious sentimental reason but for the fact that it shows, for one last time, what Bollywood will miss now that the undisputed master of romantic sagas is no more.

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Diwali Box Office : Jab Tak Hai Jaan & Son of Sardaar [ 13 Nov 2012 ]

13 November 2012 :: Diwali Box Office : Jab Tak Hai Jaan & Son of Sardaar [ 13 Nov 2012 ]
Jab Tak Hai Jaan

Jab Tak Hai Jaan is a 2012 Indian romance film directed by Yash Chopra and written and produced by Aditya Chopra under their production banner Yash Raj Films. The film features Shahrukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma in lead roles, making it the first film to pair Khan and Kaif and the second collaboration between Khan and Sharma after Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. It was Yash Chopra’s fourth film to feature Shahrukh Khan in the lead role, the former returning as a director after eight years post Veer-Zaara which released in 2004. Jab Tak Hai Jaan is Yash Chopra’s last directorial venture before his death on 21 October 2012, just three weeks before the release of the film.

Directed by Yash Chopra

Produced by Aditya Chopra

Screenplay by Aditya Chopra, Devika Bhagat

Story by Aditya Chopra

Starring Shahrukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma

Music by A.R. Rahman

Cinematography Anil Mehta

Editing by Namrata Rao

Distributed by Yash Raj Films.

Son of Sardaar

Son of Sardaar, also known by the abbreviated form SOS, is an upcoming Bollywood romance drama film directed by Ashwni Dhir. The film is a remake of Telugu movie Maryada Ramanna directed by S. S. Rajamouli, which in itself is a remake of the 1923 American silent movie Our Hospitality starring Buster Keaton and Natalie Talmadge. The film features Ajay Devgn, Juhi Chawla, Sanjay Dutt and Sonakshi Sinha in lead roles. Cinematographer Aseem Bajaj is handling the camera once again for Dhir. Himesh Reshammiya was roped in to compose the music along with lyricist Sameer Anjaan.

Directed by Ashwni Dhir

Produced by Ajay Devgn, N.R.Pachisia, Pravin Talreja

Screenplay by Robin Bhatt

Based on Maryada Ramanna by S. S. Rajamouli

Starring Ajay Devgn, Sonakshi Sinha, Sanjay Dutt, Juhi Chawla, Mukul Dev, Vindu Dara Singh

Music by Himesh Reshammiya

Studio Ajay Devgn Ffilms, YRV Infra Media

Distributed by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, Eros International

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Ra one movie Full review

Business Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

Star cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, master Armaan Varma.

What’s Good: Individual sequences; stars’ performances; excellent visual effects; the superlative action, the ‘Chammak Challo’ song; eye-filling photography; extraordinary background score.

What’s Bad: The first 20 minutes and some portions in the second half which are boring; the story, which is about a video game, will not be fully understood by the computer-illiterate older generation.

Verdict: Ra.One has novelty and great visual effects to see it through at the box-office and ensure profits in spite of its very high cost.

Loo break: A few in the first half.

Watch or Not?: Definitely watch Ra.One for the superlative performances and the grand visual effects and the 3D effects.

Eros International and Red Chillies Entertainment’s Ra.One is the story of Shekhar Subramanium (Shah Rukh Khan), who lives in London and who is so clumsy and uncool that his young, school-going son, Pratik (master Armaan Varma), does not consider him as his hero or idol. In fact, he doesn’t even respect his father like a son should.

Shekhar works in a gaming company and he alongwith his colleagues makes a video game, Ra.One, in which the villain, Ra.One, is almost invincible. He makes the villain so powerful because his son tells him that heroes are boring and villains are cool. As luck would have it, Pratik, who plays games under the name of Lucifer, defeats Ra.One upto a level. Ra.One then loses his head and escapes from the computer in search of Lucifer. Soon, he kills Shekhar when he lies to him that his name is Lucifer. Shekhar takes on the blame in a bid to save his son’s life. But Ra.One, who has now taken the identity of Shekhar’s own colleague Akashi (Tom Wu), does not give up his search for Lucifer alias Pratik.

Meanwhile, Pratik goes to his dad’s office and between Jenny (Shahana Goswami) and Pratik, the two decide that G.One or, in other words, the Good One from the game would have to be released from the game to combat Ra.One.

Pratik and his widowed mother, Sonia (Kareena Kapoor), leave London to return to India and are given a hot chase by Ra.One. After a lot of misses, Ra.One finally confronts the mother-son duo but G.One emerges in the form of Shekhar to save them.

Now, G.One, Sonia and Pratik come to India after G.One has almost eliminated Ra.One. However, Ra.One is re-constructed one day and lands in India. What happens next? Does he find Lucifer? Does G.One protect Sonia and Pratik alias Lucifer? If so, how?

Ra.One Review: Script Analysis

The story, penned by Anubhav Sinha, has been liberally borrowed from several Hollywood films but it has been suitably Indianised. The Indianised screenplay, written by Kanika Dhillon, David Benullo, Mushtaq Shiekh and Anubhav Sinha, is fast-paced for a good part, but the first 20 minutes, and some portions in the second half are a bit boring. Perhaps, the most heart-touching Indian sentiment in the drama is when G.One comes to the rescue of Sonia and Pratik for the first time, appearing like Shekhar. There are other emotional moments like when Sonia takes a promise from G.One that he would save Pratik’s life, come what may, and when G.One and Pratik join forces to try and combat Ra.One in the end. Also, how Pratik is made to realise that ultimately, it is the hero who is good, and it is the villain who is evil and that good is what one should pursue, is subtle yet effective. But the emotions are understated and although they touch the heart-strings, they do not draw tears from the audience’s eyes. Had the sentiments been more pronounced, it would’ve been better as the viewers would be moved to tears.

However, where there are less-than-required emotions, there are some sequences which are absolutely brilliant and constitute major highlights of the film. Among such highlight sequences worthy of applause in the cinemas are the one in which Ra.One chases Sonia and Pratik; the one in which G.One appears all of a sudden between Ra.One and the car in which Sonia and Pratik are seated (in this particular scene, there will be deafening applause in the cinemas); the action sequences between G.One and Ra.One; the taxi-stand sequence at Bombay airport; the Rajnikanth sequence; the sequence showing the re-construction of Ra.One first and G.One later; the train sequence, etc. Here, it must be added that although the writers and the director have taken care to explain the technicalities of the video game in a simplified manner, yet, the drama will be more understood by the city and multiplex audience than the audience in the smaller centres and those frequenting single-screen cinemas. Again, since the base of the story is the Ra.One video game, it will not be fully understood by the computer-illiterate older generation. On the other hand, kids and the youth will love the drama for the very reasons the older generation wouldn’t – it has a lot of technical jargon, the drama is more subtle and less over-dramatic; and the experience is absolutely novel for the Indian audiences.

Comedy is enjoyable and entertaining but the film could’ve done with more of it, especially in the pre-interval portion. The visual effects are excellent and so are the 3D effects (for those watching in 3D). Another plus point of the drama is that it is not stretched too much. The climax, in which the young son of Shekhar collaborates with G.One, to fight the evil Ra.One is exciting in a different way – more than a nail-biting and edge-of-the-seat climax (which the chase by Ra.One in the first half is), it has heart-warming sentiments of father and son.

Ra.One Movie Review: Star Performances

Shah Rukh Khan does a splendid job and is the life of the film. He is good as Shekhar and fantastic as G.One. The look of G.One is wonderful. Kareena Kapoor is also lovely. She looks gorgeous and acts with effortless ease. She is brilliant in emotional scenes. Both, Shah Rukh and Kareena’s dances are remarkable. Arjun Rampal makes an effective villain and looks very handsome and formidable. Master Armaan Varma makes a sensational debut. He looks charming and acts with such aplomb that it is difficult to believe, this is his first film. Tom Wu is menacing enough. Dalip Tahhil is stylish as ever. Shahana Goswami is as natural and realistic as can be. Satish Shah and Suresh Menon evoke laughter. Rajnikanth appears in a single scene in special appearance and makes his presence felt with mersmerising effect. Sanjay Dutt and Priyanka Chopra don’t add much in special appearances. Amitabh Bachchan’s voice over in a portion of the film heightens the impact.

Ra.One Review: Direction & Music

Anubhav Sinha’s direction is good. Credit goes to him for giving the Indian audience a supremely novel experience. He has excelled in the visual effects department as well as in extracting good work from the actors. Music (Vishal-Shekhar) could’ve been better. While the Chammak Challo song is extraordinary, the others could’ve and should’ve been better. The Dildaara song is appealing. The other songs range from fair to good. Song picturisations (Ganesh Hegde and Feroz Khan) are very eye-filling. The picturisations ofChammak Challo and Criminal songs (both by Ganesh Hegde) are extraordinary. Background score by Vishal-Shekhar is wonderful. Nicola Pecorini and V. Manikandan’s camerawork is marvellous. The film looks just too beautiful. Visual effects are outstanding. Action scenes, choreographed by Parvez Khan, Spiro Razatos and Firoz Boss, are mind-boggling. Sets (Sabu Cyril and Marcus Wookey) are lovely. The conversion from 2D to 3D (by Prime Focus) is remarkable. Production values are just too grand.

Ra.One Review: Komal Nahta’s Verdict

On the whole, Ra.One has the novelty factor and visual effects as its greatest plus points. It may be lagging in the other departments but these two – novelty and visual effects – will definitely see the high-budgeted film make profits for all concerned. Looking to the almost unprecedented hype and huge craze for the film and its grand opening, it will sail past its safety mark in the first week itself (after considering all the other sources of revenue too) and then go on to yield profits.

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