Review: Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012)


jab tak he jaan

Silsila is still my favourite Yash Chopra film

Score: 5/10

A movie after 8 years from the acclaimed personality, Yash Chopra, but is it really worth the wait? The answer is neither a complete yes nor a no. Technically the director has improved a lot in his movie making but still has not been able to use the story to its full potential mainly due to lazy editing and bollywood formulaic orientations.

The story starts with Samar Anand (Shahrukh Khan), a high ranking army officer working with bomb disposal squad, who is aka "the man who cannot die" for his daredevil ways of diffusing bombs. Samar meets Akira (Anushka Sharma) while rescuing her from drowning and covers her with his jacket to keep her warm where he mistakenly leaves his diary. She starts reading it and this is where the whole story of his youth and love in London is conveyed. Akira works with the Discovery channel where she's permitted to shoot her dream documentary on the bomb disposal squad after her persistent pleads. Here, she gets to know Samar deeper while also slowly developing feelings for him, and with this comes some pace and grip to the whole film towards an easy yet interesting conclusion to the tale.

Like usual, Shahrukh has been given the major responsibility of holding the movie together and he carries it well to some extent with his trademark style of romance and emotions. But I clearly wouldn't go so far to call it his second best after "Swades". Anushka is good, while Katrina looks better than her previous attempts. The foreign actors and the extras have done well with whatever little part they have been given (a rarity in bollywood). The cinematography is typical Yash Chopra with improved continuous shots, whereas the music is fresh and foot tapping though nowhere close to Rahman's bests. The first half shows a lot of promise but it gradually fades as it advances with the unconvincing presentation.

It surely is a culmination of all the Chopra's movies for its plot line and certain cinematic elements, whether it's the poetic harmony from "Veer-Zaara" or the youthfulness from "Dil Toh Pagal Hai", whether the maturity from "Silsila" or the intensity from "Deewar'. Thus, it succeeds in serving as a good conclusion in the filmography of the veteran film maker.

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