Jab Harry Met Sejal

JAB HARRY MET SEJAL is a contrived drama that lacks freshness!

Escorting us through the picturesque European locales, this flimsy plot neither provokes any thought, nor provides too much in the form of entertainment. Still continuing with his oft-rehashed theme of self-discovery, Imtiaz Ali seems to be running out of ideas, and sadly presents his weakest film yet. Even the very impressive lead actors can’t save this sinking ship with their inimitable charm. Watchable, but not recommended!

The story of JAB HARRY MET SEJAL revolves around Harry (SRK) & Sejal's (Anushka’s) journey across Europe in search for Sejal's lost engagement ring. This search makes Harry understand love & relationships better. Sejal experiences new found freedom, security & solace in Harry's company and in between all of this there is love, life, lies, thrill, fantasy and the voice within.

Does the above plotline ring a bell? Of-course it does! It sounds like any other Imtiaz Ali movie you’ve seen till date. The difference is, that now it’s no longer fresh and this time around, highly manipulated too. Afterall, how many times can we see the male protagonist come-of-age by self-realization invoked by a female protagonist who herself is struggling with an unsure relationship status with another guy she’s supposed to marry. Imtiaz Ali, touted as the new age Yash Chopra, sure has a knack of presenting deeply rooted love stories, however, his deep sense of relationships often gets lost in narration. And that holds true for JAB HARRY MET SEJAL too. It’s a pity, because this is his biggest film yet, with a superstar regarded as the king of romance in our country, and all Imtiaz can come up with, is a rehash of his dated formula.

Among the positives, there are some really charming moments between the lead pair, which again are very few and very far between. You almost lose track of where this story is heading, somewhere in the middle. The first half goes-by like breeze, although there’s nothing much that it can boast of in the form of content. But in the second half, the narrative finds itself stuck in a loop of one conflict which, as it seems, is just unresolvable. Also, much of the humour in the first half seems forced. The music is great, but most of the songs are terribly placed, literally hampering the flow of an already frail script.

There are plenty of flaws in the script which are unforgivable. Harry’s conflict – longing for his home – is as unconvincing as it gets. Sejal’s methods of searching for her lost ring are, to put it mildly, ridiculous. The subplot involving a criminal named GAS, played by Chandan Roy Sanyal, is an unwarranted indulgence. The only relief then, is the tour of some gorgeous locations in Amsterdam, Prague, Budapest and Frankfurt, that the film takes you through.

SRK is exceptionally good almost 90% of the time. In the remaining ten, he’s usually made to work too hard to evoke laughter, which just doesn’t seem natural. But his portrayal of the half-cooked character of Harry, is very, very real. He literally saves his director’s day with his great acting chops. Donning the new avatar, of a sexy womanizer, is a welcome change, which is executed perfectly by Khan. Anushka is as usual brilliant, but is let down because of a poorly written character.

To sum up then, JAB HARRY MET SEJAL isn’t boring, but never really proves its worth. Imtiaz Ali, who’s wasted this opportunity having teamed up with SRK, should get up and reimagine his scripts. As mentioned earlier, it’s watchable, but not recommended!