Jab We Met - In Vogue!!!

Bollywood has offered lots of candy floss love stories. Anything this day taken in the name of romance has become monotonous. The plot in romantic comedy films is no more a secret. So where does the charm dwell? It’s in the screenplay and the narrative style proves Imitaz Ali, Director and Writer of last years blockbuster movie Jab We Met. To ascertain the crux of this romantic flick, I had to watch it a couple of times.

Business going haywire, girl friend getting married to someone else, Aditya Kashyap(Shahid Kapoor) is in a frenzy. He has lost fervor for life and is wandering like a nomad in the streets of Mumbai. He boards a train aimlessly, out of the blue he bumps into Geet Dhillon( Karrena Kapoor). She is leaving to her hometown Bhatinda in Punjab. Geet is full of gusto, she doesn’t mind talking to a stranger about her whereabouts, Mumbai , hostel life and answering all that unsolicited questions. You will not know whether to feel pity for Aditya or to laugh at Geets crazy talks, in particular when she says ‘From childhood itself I am crazy about getting married and now that I am in love I m planning to elope soon’. Exasperated over her relentless chattering Aditya decides to leave the train. In an attempt to get Aditya into the train, Geet herself misses it. She blames Aditya and says that he is accountable and now he has to take the onus of dropping her at her house in Punjab. Geet does all the talking, Aditya already besieged by so many problems chooses to stay calm. They decide to spend the night in some hotel. The hotel scene is one of the most funniest scene in the movie. When Aditya asks the receptionist about the cost for one day’s stay, Geet intervenes and says that they need room only for 3 hrs. The receptionist mistakes her to be a call girl and Aditya could do nothing but laugh at Geets folly. When Geet finds out that Adityas girlfriend has dumped him, she tells him not to worry and to burn her photo and flush her out of his life. It’s from then Aditya starts liking her company. They set about their journey to Bhatinda. Geet is in love with a guy called Anshuman who is in Manali. When they reach Bhatinda, Geet comes to know that her family are making arrangements for her marriage. She decides to run away from the house, and now Aditya and Geet are mistaken to be lovers . Aditya leaves her in Manali and decides to get back to his business. Endued by Geets ‘don’t care’ attitude towards life, Aditya starts to look at his life in Geet’s perspective and is able to face all challenges in business. Meanwhile Geets family comes in search of Aditya and Geet, they are still under the misconception that both of them were lovers and by now would have got married. Aditya doesn’t tell them the truth but promises to bring Geet home within 10 days and decides to go to Manali to bring Geet and Anshuman back. When he reaches there he finds out that Anshuman has forsaken Geet and she is in a feeble and desperate state. In deference to all those things that once Geet did for him, Aditya decides to bring back her zest for life. He also succeeds in conciliating the broken relation between Geet and Anshuman. The three reach Bhatinda, the family still believes that Geet and Aditya are lovers. Geet finds it hard to reveal the truth to her family, and realizes that she has fallen in love with Aditya. They marry and live happily thenceforth.

You might be wondering what is so brilliant in this movie now. Yes the storyline is not new , but the narration is fresh. The dialogs are mind-bending, some of them even create breakthroughs. The director conveys with humor that love failure isn’t the end of your life and however desolate you feel now, you will surely live on and fall in love again. Shahid Kappor and Kareena Kapoor have given their best shot. Shahid looks simply dashing and has given a torrid performance. Kareena, arre waah!! She does what she always does best. One cannot but be surprised that the chirpy girl who does things at a whim in the first half of the movie is the same girl who is in dismay in the last half for what life had to offer her. Such an exuberant and vivid performance. I bet it’s a tailor-made role for Kareena, her tantrums and élan can’t be imitated. It is Shahids and Kareenas fourth film together. Unlike the other three flicks, in this movie their chemistry, their confluence leaves you charmed.

Music by Pritam is refreshing. Irshad Ali has to be given credit for the lyrics in the song ‘ Tum se hi’. Shahids effortless dance in the Punjabi song ‘Nagada Nagada’ is graceful. Shreya Ghoshals mesmerizing voice makes the song ‘ Ye Ishq Hai ‘ an enjoyable one. ‘ Mauja Hi Mauja’ is an out-and-out party number, to finish the movie with. The picturesque and vantage locations of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh are well pictured by cinematographer S. Natarajan Subramaniam.

The fast paced script, the songs are definitely plus points. But the magic that will pull you to the theater again is the charm in the lead pair, the way they have vented their emotions is phenomenal, which is undoubtedly the USP of the movie.