Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012)

Better Late Then Never

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Before I write one thing, please let me say that I love Shah Rukh Khan! I think he is a wonderful actor and just his facial expressions alone in a movie have sold me on that.So, this is a good movie and SRK makes a great Samar Anand, both as a civilian and a Major, but there is something about this movie that won't let me give it a higher score. I can't quite put my finger on it. It may be the differences in ages between SRK (Samar) and Katrina Kaif (Meera) that I struggled with, both in real life, and in the attempt to make them look closer in age in the movie.Shah Rukh Khan has always looked younger than his actual age to me, but the 19 year age difference between he and Katrina Kaif was difficult for me to put aside. Granted, if I was an actress in Indian movies doing my first kissing scene, Shah Rukh Khan would be my pick, but even so, I think someone maybe a little older than Katrina Kaif could have been a better fit for the movie. She didn't have to be his age, but possibly have a few more years on her. Samar always looked much older to me than Meera in the whole movie, especially when he was supposed to be 28. I didn't have a problem with Anushka Sharma's (Akira) age because she was meant to be younger than him, and there was no actual romantic relationship between them.I did like the story and the ending, and I was very glad that Major Anand didn't get blown up at any point in the movie. I kept waiting for that to happen and was going to be really ticked off if it had. :-)Over all, it was a good movie and I enjoyed it, but I do think another actress (and I don't mean Priyanka Chopra) could have made a better Meera and had better chemistry with Major Anand.

Yash Chopra movies have always been highly anticipated, and the viewers expect to see a new approach and twisty romantic stories in his movies. Expectations from "Jab Tak Hai Jaan" were quite high for everyone as Yash Chopra announced it as his last directorial film, and sadly he passed away before its release. The film saw a mixed response from the critics, many reviewers wrote it as a major let down. But the film is nothing like that. It's not a bad film; the film has its moments, and once again, Yash Chopra creates an exuberant romantic extravaganza laid in satins. Technically the film is brilliant and music is awesome. But I would recommend you not to enter the theaters with a very big expectation as it isn't a cult romantic movie but just a fairly good entertainer. The film has few plot holes which you can't ignore, and you would certainly miss the literary qualities seen in Yash Chopra's earlier movies like "Veer Zaara."Relationships have been a favorite area Yash Chopra movies delve into; and in "Jab Tak Hai Jaan" too we see the complications of relations, finding true love, commitment etc. The story forms a kind of love triangle where Samar (Shahrukh Khan) and Meera (Katrina Kaif) fall in love but Meera due to her firm religious backing separates from Samar. Her firm believe is she is responsible for his accident. So she leaves him and Samar joins Indian army in a bomb squad to defy her believes and diffuses every bomb without a bomb suit (Strange?) In the bomb squad, he comes in contact with a young reporter, Akira (Anushka Sharma) who makes a documentary on him for Discovery Channel; and in the process, falls in love with him. Will Samar choose his first love or the new found love becomes quite unpredictable.As in his previous movies, we see a new look to a romantic story this time; and after the intermission, there is every twist and element in the story. The first half is a bit plain with a bit of contemporary touch to romance which is pretty slow. It becomes evident that Yash Chopra didn't direct the romantic scenes in this one as the attention to details and dialogues don't have the same feel as in his earlier movies. In the second half, the chemistry between the two heroines become quite engaging and brings a grip to the movie. Shahrukh looks a bit weary in his role. The bomb squad looks a bit an inspiration of Oscar winning "The Hurt Locker." The circumstances Yash Chopra creates in this film are quite weird and the romantic gig is a bit tart which kind of held back me from giving it a two thumbs up. Definitely, it's a good film and isn't a let down as many think; but it didn't have the same charm of 'Veer Zaara", "Darr" or "Chadni" which would make you fall in love with the movie. In my opinion, it was OK to watch it once.Rating: 2 stars out of 4

Such a fantastic ending to Yash Chopra's illustrious career. I cannot remember a love story that I have enjoyed as much as this one. At first, it feels like just another one of those "lovey-dovey" films that have the same plot and character types and so on. But, give this a chance and you will find that it is something out of the ordinary. The plot is that's not been seen before, at least not in this fashion. I love the incorporation of memory and multiple lovers. It was so just so sweet to see belief in and love of God and family. Furthermore, the side stories were not present solely for the heck of it; they served a purpose with the main plot. There were some hitches though. For example, when they recall Samar's story it does not seem like the setting was in 2002; I was not actually aware they went that far back in time. The technology and cars was too advanced for the time period. There were also some dialogs and timeline issues that did not fit too well. But, those are some minor flaws with an otherwise terrific film. The camera work was smooth and covered all the important points (something that is ironically hard to find these days). I like how Bollywood has finally overcome its phobia of having intimate scenes on screen. There was plenty of romance and kissing for everyone to enjoy and feel more connected to the characters with. Lastly, the music was just a blast to sing and dance along to. At the end, I felt quite satisfied. I can see why this movie was such a hit. Don't miss out! Watched and written 12/03/2013.

The movie, being the last directed movie of the well-known director Yash Chopra, was predicted to be a glorious one. But, things didn't quite work out in the right manner. The story doesn't seem to win the audience's attentiveness. It was neither too good nor too bad.When it comes to performances, Shah Rukh Khan was mediocre, not much emphasizing. Katrina Kaif looked gorgeous, but couldn't influence much with her acting skills. Anushka Sharma was pleasing and satisfying. Scenes involving her were watchable.Yash Chopra's direction, needless to mention, was decent as ever. The music which had contributions from prominent personalities like AR Rahman (music director) and Gulzar (lyricist) was expected to be much, much more excelling, but was moderate.You may or may not adore the movie, it depends on the kind of movie you prefer watching. For me, it was another typical romantic flick.