Movie: Jab Harry Met Sejal
Director: Imtiaz Ali
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Evelyn Sharma, Chandan Roy Sanyal and Aru Krishansh Verma
What's it about:
In recent years, film after film, Imtiaz Ali has been focusing more on form rather than content. In his latest outing, Jab Harry Met Sejal, he also relies heavily on the performances of his lead cast. Like every Imtiaz Ali film, this one's also about two people finding love and themselves, though in no particular order. Harry (Shah Rukh Khan) is a tour guide in Europe. Sejal (Anushka Sharma) and family are tourists. But she doesn't take the flight back home because she loses her engagement ring and wants to return to all the places she visited to find it. Harry is roped in against his wishes. And in the process, they fall for each other.
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What's good:
The story is wafer-thin but despite that, the first half is rather enjoyable thanks to the cracking on-screen chemistry of Shah Rukh and Anushka. In fact, they are so good together that the pair looks fresher than ever before. Some of the romantic scenes are delightful because of SRK's inherent charm. The actor makes even the most mediocre scene come alive. The director navigates the couple through various European countries but more than the locales, you're hooked only with the charismatic duo's antics. If there any doubts if SRK would be accepted as a lover boy, he dispels them completely. Shah Rukh owns the genre with his dimpled smile and a truckload of sex appeal. Anushka Sharma is on point and adorable as a Gujarati girl desperate to be sexy. While Sejal's character relies on dialogues and one-liners, Harry's silences speak, his eyes speak and occasionally the six-pack abs. Watch out for the scene where Harry and Sejal are on the seaside and he screams her name loudly. That's the crowning glory moment of the film.
What's Not:
The film is devoid of a story or structure. Even the screenplay is amateurish. After a point, you want the film to engross you and not just the characters. But Imtiaz never manages to take that leap and after a point, the film just starts going downhill and fails to recover. The elements he adds to the screenplay have no relevance to the plot. Like the whole Bangladeshi immigrant angle and a gangster called Gas angle — totally unnecessary. Imtiaz has always risen over commercial film norms, without getting bound by success or failure. In this film, his work is below average as he treads on a confusing path. The film's writing and direction are its two biggest disappointments.
What's that:
The Punjab flashes that Harry keeps getting will remind you (including its sound effects) of Maximus' flashback in Gladiator.
What to do:
JHMS is a one-time watch for Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma and their sizzling chemistry.
Ratings: ***
