NEW DELHI: A boy and a girl meeting in unlikely circumstances and discovering love for each other has been the underlying theme of most of Imtiaz Ali’s films, from ‘Socha Na Tha’ to ‘Jab We Met’ to ‘Love Aaj Kal’ to the recent ‘Tamasha’.
His latest film ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal ‘ also deals with an unlikely couple, Harry and Sejal who meet in unlikely circumstances and discover love for each other during the search of a lost ring.
Harinder Singh Nehra aka Harry (Shah Rukh Khan) is a tour guide in Holland who takes tourists on a travel to various locales in Europe. One such tour brings him in a close encounter with Gujarati girl Sejal Zaveri (Anushka Sharma).
Sejal, who was a part of the group that Harry guided on a month long tour to Europe, was just about to board her flight to India, when she realised that her engagement ring is lost.
She misses her flight and hires Harry to help her find it as her fiance is angry about it. Together they set off visiting the exact same spots that she and her family visited in the hope of finding the ring.
The film is about the journey of Harry and Sejal to discover love in course of the search for her ring. The film has an interesting premise – the engagement ring serving as a metaphor for search of true love. In fact, the first half of the film takes the viewers on a beautiful journey to explore true love between the protagonist.
In course of the search for the lost ring, the director takes the audience onto a hitherto unknown aspect of Harry’s life- that he is looking for something he has lost. During the course of their journey through Europe, Harry finds the breezy and Frank Sejal fill the loneliness in his life. On the other hand, Sejal discovers in Harry her Prince charming.
The first half keeps you hooked onto the journey of Harry and Sejal to discover love. It reminds one of Imtiaz’s earlier film which shows the ‘circuitous’ journey taken by an unlikely couple towards discovering love.
The brilliant preface to the story makes one eagerly await the second half to see the successful denouement to the love story.
The second half of the story, however, comes as a let down. The director’s hurrying through with the proceedings in the second half leaves one disappointed. The screenplay tends to meander in the second half, leading to an unconvincing climax that makes one experience a feeling of emptiness. However, if you are a fan of Imtiaz’s films, ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal ‘ will make you feel the love between the two. As the tour guide Harry, who is searching for something missing in his life and who finds the breezy and vivacious Sejal filling the emptiness in his life, Shahrukh is brilliant. He shows yet again why he is known as the king of romance. He shows his brilliance in diverse emotions as Comedy, romance and drama. As Sejal, Anushka is a revelation, displaying a comic timing and a deadpan Gujarati dialogue delivery which we haven’t seen her do before. She also looks extremely beautiful in this film. A UPS of the film is its cinematography with shots of various European locales looking enchanting . Music by Pritam, is a mixed bag. While the songs have been enterwined well in the story, only a few are hummable.
In short, the vintage appeal by Shahrukh, the endearing presence of Anushka and their excellent chemistry make ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal ‘ another beautiful romantic journey by Imtiaz Ali. Rating; 3/5: one for the acting by Shahrukh and Anushka, one for cinematography , 0.5 for the screenplay and 0.5 for direction by Imtiaz Ali. (AGENCIES)
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