Well she didn't miss the train this time. Jab We Met fell into my lap from Amazon ad and I proceeded to read online reviews which had something to the effect of:
- boy meets girl
- boy helps "damsel in distress"
- boy takes girl home
- family mistakes him for her finance
- boy and girl try to prove them wrong
- finally boy and girl realize they are in love and the rest as they say "is history"
If you're familiar with Bollywood productions, I bet you can name quite a few movies with the same premise of which Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke is one. Maybe then you can relate with my initial cynicism about Jab We Met. But I got to see the movie, and I was smitten then I got hooked and the rest again "is history".
Okay so I'll try to move into the movie review. Well "Jab We Met" does have the above mentioned plot to it and seriously there's nothing original or suspenseful about it. You know where the story is going 15mins into the movie, but what keeps you glued to your seat really is how we get to the "last train stop". And yes, metaphorically, catching trains is the theme of this movie; a shade of meaning for not missing out on love.
Here it is: Aditya Kashyap (Shahid Kapoor) is a very rich young man who has just inherited his father's shares in a large Indian corporation. A number of things missing in his life (can't say coz u won't have fun watching the movie) cause him to walk out on a very important boardroom meeting. He mindlessly roams the streets and eventually gets on a train. In comes Miss Motormouth aka Geet (Kareena Kapoor). She just can't seem to shut up. She even talks about shoe-shopping in her sleep! One thing leads to the other and Aditya gets stuck with Geet and he has to take her home. Then they go their separate ways, but somehow it seems they'd never stop meeting by chance, and then the climax. Unfortunately this is where I "shut-up" so you can have fun watching this movie.
Cons:
- Nothing new about the plot
- Nothing monumental about the script
Pros:
- Believable chemistry between Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor (one of the movie's biggest driving machine)
- This is my first view of Shahid Kapoor and I must say he's quite talented. His interpretation of this guy is very mature especially in the nuances. For instance the first time Geet misses her train and she chose to shift the blame, you can't help but feel sorry for the perpetrator instead of the victim (according to Geet's judgement book). Kareena is yelling at the top of her lungs and this guy's response wasn't in kind. In fact, he was so calm that I went "This man is going places if he chooses to remain an actor". And I must confess I usually skip through opening credits in a movie, but Shahid is quite engaging as a man in despair as he walks the streets of Mumbai that I just couldn't get myself to skip the opening.
- Hum...almost forgot the songs. Yes the songs! I thought they were good. My favorite is Nagada. If your ears are tuned to heavy percussion instruments in music then I bet you'll like it too. Besides the choreography isn't too bad. Plus the dancers are not stiff especially Shahid. He dances well enough that one can safely say "Watch out Hrithik Roshan, looks like you have a competition in Shahid"
- Finally, if you are reading this review then I know you most likely have some interest in Bollywood, so check out this movie. This movie in one word is CUTE. If you like cute, then I bet you'll like this movie too. If not just check it out anyway; no harm done.
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masayoshi Tamura
I can be happy. Thank you, India.
Reviewed in India on August 9, 2015