Movie Review: Jab Tak Hai Jaan..doesn’t take your breath away

Jab Tak Hai Jaan is not your timeless classic of a tale well told and a story unfolding in a manner that would make for repeat viewings. It is your formula Bollywood movie, a formula that has been perfected over time by a master storyteller..well, at least on some counts. On others, its best if you go prepared to make certain concessions.

If you are willing to give up on logic/ believability of certain scenes, go mentally prepared that the movie would seem endless and runtime would be excruciatingly long, there’ll be plenty of unnecessary song and dance that could easily have been avoided – if you are willing to overlook all that well, then Jab Tak..provides another story of eternal love made quite watchable by the veteran himself. If not, then its best strike to this one off your list at this stage itself

The first half of the movie plays like a musical. With three songs and a long dance sequence crammed in, there’s little room for anything else. There is precisely one moment in the entire first half that would cause some stir and that’s where the master wields his magic wand. Other than that, its pretty much all about the song and dance. While the music itself is decent, one still expects more from A R Rahman, and considering it does nothing to progress the story line, it becomes frustrating

The second half provides more of the story though the twists and turns (if you could call them that) are less palatable. Each new sequence is less convincing then the earlier one and the movie lurches towards a rather delayed climax. Somehow, somewhere things happen and by the end of it all, Yash Chopra manages to convince you that this is yet another story of eternal, never-ending love, but only just, this time round

As for the performances, Shahrukh is predictable as ever and one really can’t see him for the character he portrays. While the same could be said for Katrina, given her historical record, this is probably one of her better performances. The real star of the movie though is Anushka Sharma who brings a natural ease to her character and a lot of freshness to the proceedings. That and the wonderful cinematography of exquisitely shot landscapes are some of the best reasons to watch this movie

So what’s the verdict? Well, Jab Tak Hai Jaan certainly doesn’t take your breath away but despite its flaws its a decent one-time watch especially considering this was Yash Chopra’s swan song and this is a man who has literally immortalised love on the bollywood mantelpiece – its worth a watch if only to honour his memory