I watched Jab Harry Met Sejal today. First, let's get the movie review out of the way so I can go on to gush about Shah Rukh Khan. I have watched all of Imtiaz's movies and I have to say this is my second favorite. The first one is still Highway. But, I digress. JHMS is very shiny and happy, the movie is shot in very scenic cities of Europe and SRK and Anushkha look gorgeous. The premise for their spending time in such close proximity is very flimsy; she has lost her engagement ring on the tour of which he was the tour guide. She thinks he is her personal valet and will help her find her the ring. I have a feeling she never wanted to find the ring in the first place, she just wanted to meet Harry and who wouldn't? He is handsome, he is charming, he is protective of her and he has no problems asking for hugs and is a little broken. In the process of finding this ring, they escape from the mafia, she considers what she should do if she is raped (seriously?) and then they escape from another goon named Gas (this was the much needed comic relief?) and they fall in LOVE, not lust. The movie flounders when it doesn't expand on why he left Punjab, why is Harry unhappy?. Why is Harry the tour guide so lost that only Sejal (crazy, immature, but with a heart of gold) can fill the void in his life? Everything is wrapped up in a neatly happy package a little too soon. I felt gypped. I truly did.
Now onto Imtiaz's characters; Let us start with Sejal, I don't know why she needed a Gujju accent, but I liked Sejal more than I liked Alizeh (from ADHM), she was simple, caring and yet unapologetic about her being "selfish", even though she really wasn't. She knew she didn't want to settle for a boring gujju husband and sought out Harry (even if she didn't know it at the time). She even cancelled her own wedding. Honestly, I was half-expecting a scene at the wedding when Harry reaches Mumbai, but I think I have a a DDLJ and KKHH hangover (shame on me!).
What should I say about Harry? Sigh!!! Every girl wants a Harry in her life, every girl wants a Shah Rukh Khan in her life. I think it was Anushka Sharma who said in their interview with Anupama Chopra, the reason we all love Shah Rukh is because he reminds us how we feel (felt) when we fell in love, whether it was with Raj, Rahul or our own lovers. Harry is not perfect, but he is protective, HOT and honest. Can anyone resist this combination? I know that many of SRK's directors have tried to create characters for him that are UNLIKE Raj, but at their hearts I think they have failed. Harry is still Raj, Harry is still Rahul, Harry is still Harry because they are all played by the one man who makes falling in love look so easy, and so much fun that we forget that falling in love is hard and staying in love is harder. I sometimes resent the characters that Shah Rukh Khan plays (just like I resent Christian Grey). The reason for this resentment is this: I look for Harry/Raj/Aman in my life, in my real life, I don't find him, I don't even find shades of him and I feel disappointed. Is he setting us up for failure? Does love like his exist?
Overall rating: 4/5
P.S I am going to watch the movie again in the theaters, I want to spend some more time with Harry.
