Jab Harry Met Sejal movie review: Nothing but a free trip to Europe
When the trailers were out, it seemed a no-plot film and it eventually turns out to be exactly the same.
Director: Imtiaz Ali
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma
Known for making niche, off tangent romances all this while, director Imtiaz Ali brings his first-ever mainstream film Jab Harry Met Sejal. Exotic locations, Shah Rukh Khan, the film has every commercial aspect, but it seems plot has taken a major backseat.
Harry (Shah Rukh Khan) is a tourist guide in Frankfurt. Sejal (Anushka Sharma) is a Gujarati girl who is engaged to a mystery fiancé Rupen. On her trip to Europe, she loses her engagement ring and soon after, she seeks help from Harry. Their lives change upside down when the two find that a local goon Gas (Chandan Roy Sanyal) has her ring.
When there is Shah Rukh Khan in the film, one doesn't expect a plot, rather the focus is on his romancing skills on screen. His charm is such that it can easily overshadow the story of a film and Jab Harry Met Sejal is one such film. The tagline of the film says, 'what you seeking is seeking you', which clearly depicts a typical melodrama and cliched romance.
Director Imtiaz Ali marked his directorial debut with Socha Na Tha way back in 2005. The film wasn't a hit but later went on to become a satellite hit. The innocence of the love shown between Abhay Deol and Ayesha Takia was pure and honest. His iconic characters of Jab We Met, Rockstar, Highway, Love Aaj Kal or Tamasha has almost a similar graph.
Undoubtedly, Imtiaz is a brilliant storyteller, but he seems to be detached with his characters in this one. Travel and self-discovery are the core issues of his films. Even his repetition of the storytelling has been ignored each time, but his latest offering has nothing to offer. Still you will be reminded of all his previous films. Being a Shah Rukh Khan film, you will also be reminded of Chalte Chalte.
Two people meet, roam, party and realise their love for each other when they depart. This old style of romance has been done to death. What more for an Imtiaz Ali film? Good music? That also is missing from the film. Guess Imtiaz works best with A R Rahman and Pritam couldn't strike the right chords.
When the trailers were out, it seemed a no-plot film and turns out it is exactly what was showed initially. It is very important for a director like Imtiaz Ali to work with a superstar and a bigger production house since none of his films worked commercially. This aspect has outstandingly made the film overrated.
Looks like Shah Rukh Khan has completely lost the track of his films. Dilwale, Fan, Raees and now Jab Harry Met Sejal. This film is purely for a newcomer, you can't expect a film like this with the so-called 'king of romance' in it, especially in 2017. Each time he can't pair up with a beautiful girl who is half his age and romance her in Switzerland. Even the audiences have become so damn smart that they seek content and not stars. Anushka Sharma, who plays this bubbly Gujarati girl in the film, is good but in bits and pieces.
On the whole, it is nowhere close to an Imtiaz Ali film. Watch it only if you are an SRK fan or you want to see Europe for the worth of your ticket price.