Kab Se Meri Saans Rukhi Thi, Mujhe Saans Aayi, Saans Mein Teri Saans Mili To, Mujhe Saans Aayi
It's sad that even just a year ago so many more people were active on LJ still and getting excited about different Bollywood movies and such. Now I haven't seen anything like that on LJ at all. The only fangirling I've done has been on Twitter, lol.
Regardless, I'm gonna do a review because I SAW JAB TAK HAI JAAN!!
Can I just mention how MAD the entire process of getting to see this movie in Toronto was? because it was mad on a level never before seen for a Bollywood film. It is showing at a record number of theatres but still we had so many issues lol. We set out an hour early for the 7:20 show but due to crazy-bad traffic realized we wouldn't make it in time. Good thing because even if we had tried to go to the 7:20 show and made it at the time we were planning it would have been sold out as told to us by friends later on. :P So we diverted to a DIFFERENT theatre for the 8:40 show. Reached that theatre at 7:20 and found out that the 8:40 show was sold out! O_O Madness I tells ya MADNESS. There was so much demand that they had to open up an 8:45 show as well so we luckily lined up quickly to buy tickets for that, then stood in line for an hour before they let us get to our seats. There were two lines, one for the 8:40 show and one for the 8:45 show and they were ridiculously long. Both shows were sold-out. In our theatre there were even fights over seats, everything was hot real estate lmao. I have never experienced anything like that to be honest. And an interesting thing is that the theatre was mostly young people, under 30. :)
So, onto my thoughts about the movie. I went into it mostly un-spoiled, which I am really glad I did. It's been so long since I've seen a Shahrukh Khan romantic film on the big screen and had moments of "omg what's going to happen now?" :)
It's been a while since a Bollywood movie has genuinely made me laugh. I have found the comedy movies of the past few years grating. I have found the humour in dramatic films lame, cheap or cheesy as of late. But Jab Tak Hai Jaan actually had me laughing hard at certain points. To be honest, I was not expecting that at all.
Shahrukh Khan was super adorable, as expected. I DIEEEEE for him in the army uniform with stubble unffff. And I almost never like facial hair haha. But there were parts in the movie when I was like "whoa" and he had elements of charm that I don't remember seeing in him. More mature facets, I think. Like in the club scene with Katrina? Wowwwww...for some reason that seemed ~different~ to me than his usual chemistry. His character in the first half was the typical happy-go-lucky Rukhie that he usually plays well. His brooding character in the second half was really good too, stoic and serious. But it was nice because you saw him break out of his shell a little with Anushka. It was interesting to see how magnetic and energetic his enthusiasm was when Anushka "met" him for the first time a second time. Such an interesting contrast.
Katrina Kaif surprised me so much. I didn't expect to like her as much as I did! But slowly yet surely, starting with Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and followed by Ek Tha Tiger and Jab Tak Hai Jaan I am beginning to respect her. She's not "wooden" as everyone keeps saying she is. There were certain emotional scenes here where she excelled, I thought especially when she got down on her knees and prayed to God for SRK's sake. And WOWWWWW does she work hard, if Ishq Dance is any indication. My jaw was on the FLOOR with that dance sequence. Katrina blew me away and then Shahrukh joined her and I was simply amazed. That in and of itself was worth the ticket price to see that on the big screen haha. And yes, the girl is gorgeous. Every moment she looked perfect. She really tried earnestly to have good chemistry with Shahrukh and overall I thought they did better as a pair than just the promos were showing us.
Speaking of chemistry and all of that OMGGGGGGG SHAHRUKH KHAN KISSED ON-SCREEN. HE KISSED KATRINA AND NOT ONLY ONCE HE DID IT MULTIPLE TIMEEEEEESSSSSSSS WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH ADKSASLDKHASFLSAHSLGKHASFLKSADHFASLKFJHSAFLJKAHSDFLKSJDHFLSAKJH something about that fascinates me for some reason lololololololololol idek. I mean, they weren't intense kissing scenes, just lips touching lips but ~*STILL*~ this is SHAHRUKH KHAN we're talking about!! Mr. I-Don't-Kiss-Ever!!!! If this had happened even like three years ago I don't think I would have been able to handle it. XD But, yes, somehow I am now all about this development, it excites me. The idea of this whole new world out there of SRK kissing his heroines potentially GAH it's like you just unlocked a completely new map in a video game. :P Oh! And apparently the second kiss in the field was actually longer than what was shown on-screen. At the premiere with all the celebs it was shown in full but Rukhie thought it was a bit too much and asked for it to be shortened. THEY BETTER RELEASE THAT ON DVD OR SOMETHING I NEED TO SEE IT EVENTUALLY!!!!! ^=^ Also, there was a lot of ~sexy~ stuff going on with SRK and Kat and it amused me so. Like the sex scene. Or the scene with Kat doing a striptease for him on the subway. Or the scenes in the second half where he kept being frustrated about getting cockblocked LOL. :D
Anushka Sharma I haven't mentioned yet. Initially I was annoyed by her character. I expected her character to be a certain way but she was even MORE so, over-the-top, so it took some getting used to. But she was HILARIOUS and her flirting with Rukhie was perfect. Her jokes KILLED me she has such great line delivery. She is like this generation's Preity Zinta-Juhi Chawla with her bubbly ways and her comedic timing. She was like a fangirl the kind of things she said to him come straight out of an SRK pagali's mouth hahahahaha. I did like how she and Kat's characters got along, never had any kind of rivalry.
Shall I discuss the songs? Challa was a good intro song for SRK, but it's my least favourite song on the soundtrack. Ishq Dance blew my mind, but I mentioned that before. Ishq Shava was cute, fun and hot. You wanted to get up and dance with them! And somehow YRF films makes Kat look hotter in each subsequent film, first Dhunki from Mere Brother Ki Dulhan then Mashallah from Ek Tha Tiger now Ishq Shava in Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Fair warning, she may truly BURN UP THE SCREEN in Dhoom 3! XD Heer was well-placed in the narrative, I thought it worked very well with its meaningful lyrics. Saans was sensual, that is the only way I can describe it. Jiya Re was so much fun! It's my favourite song in the film and Anu did a wonderful job, plus scruffy-army-SRK looked too cute for words! :D Saans Reprise almost made me tear up. Only point I almost cried, to be honest... The title song was a great tribute to Mr. Yash Chopra.
Random stray thoughts? Lots of criticism of Katrina's character's belief in God and the subsequent consequences of those beliefs. Am I the only one who found it extremely realistic? Hell, I could see myself reacting the way she did, actually. It would be damn tough but I might. Also...married for five years? :) And you all have to watch this video of the audience in India going NUTS in the movie theatre during Saans. The passion we Indians have for our films... I hope that never ever ever in a million years goes away. <3
Overall, it was a good film but not a great film. It dragged in the last part with a very filmi plot twist. I thought the first three quarters of the film were fantastic and kept me interested, but it was that last bit where it lost focus and lost points in my mind. If you like any of the three members of the cast, definitely go see it because you'll enjoy it. If you're not a fan of any you might not.
I think I liked the movie even more after a couple of days. It left me with a certain ~feeling~ I don't even know what or why but it did, and to me that's the sign of a good movie. :) That being said, I think English Vinglish is still my favourite movie of the year. *nod*
Regardless, I'm gonna do a review because I SAW JAB TAK HAI JAAN!!
Can I just mention how MAD the entire process of getting to see this movie in Toronto was? because it was mad on a level never before seen for a Bollywood film. It is showing at a record number of theatres but still we had so many issues lol. We set out an hour early for the 7:20 show but due to crazy-bad traffic realized we wouldn't make it in time. Good thing because even if we had tried to go to the 7:20 show and made it at the time we were planning it would have been sold out as told to us by friends later on. :P So we diverted to a DIFFERENT theatre for the 8:40 show. Reached that theatre at 7:20 and found out that the 8:40 show was sold out! O_O Madness I tells ya MADNESS. There was so much demand that they had to open up an 8:45 show as well so we luckily lined up quickly to buy tickets for that, then stood in line for an hour before they let us get to our seats. There were two lines, one for the 8:40 show and one for the 8:45 show and they were ridiculously long. Both shows were sold-out. In our theatre there were even fights over seats, everything was hot real estate lmao. I have never experienced anything like that to be honest. And an interesting thing is that the theatre was mostly young people, under 30. :)
So, onto my thoughts about the movie. I went into it mostly un-spoiled, which I am really glad I did. It's been so long since I've seen a Shahrukh Khan romantic film on the big screen and had moments of "omg what's going to happen now?" :)
It's been a while since a Bollywood movie has genuinely made me laugh. I have found the comedy movies of the past few years grating. I have found the humour in dramatic films lame, cheap or cheesy as of late. But Jab Tak Hai Jaan actually had me laughing hard at certain points. To be honest, I was not expecting that at all.
Shahrukh Khan was super adorable, as expected. I DIEEEEE for him in the army uniform with stubble unffff. And I almost never like facial hair haha. But there were parts in the movie when I was like "whoa" and he had elements of charm that I don't remember seeing in him. More mature facets, I think. Like in the club scene with Katrina? Wowwwww...for some reason that seemed ~different~ to me than his usual chemistry. His character in the first half was the typical happy-go-lucky Rukhie that he usually plays well. His brooding character in the second half was really good too, stoic and serious. But it was nice because you saw him break out of his shell a little with Anushka. It was interesting to see how magnetic and energetic his enthusiasm was when Anushka "met" him for the first time a second time. Such an interesting contrast.
Katrina Kaif surprised me so much. I didn't expect to like her as much as I did! But slowly yet surely, starting with Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and followed by Ek Tha Tiger and Jab Tak Hai Jaan I am beginning to respect her. She's not "wooden" as everyone keeps saying she is. There were certain emotional scenes here where she excelled, I thought especially when she got down on her knees and prayed to God for SRK's sake. And WOWWWWW does she work hard, if Ishq Dance is any indication. My jaw was on the FLOOR with that dance sequence. Katrina blew me away and then Shahrukh joined her and I was simply amazed. That in and of itself was worth the ticket price to see that on the big screen haha. And yes, the girl is gorgeous. Every moment she looked perfect. She really tried earnestly to have good chemistry with Shahrukh and overall I thought they did better as a pair than just the promos were showing us.
Speaking of chemistry and all of that OMGGGGGGG SHAHRUKH KHAN KISSED ON-SCREEN. HE KISSED KATRINA AND NOT ONLY ONCE HE DID IT MULTIPLE TIMEEEEEESSSSSSSS WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH ADKSASLDKHASFLSAHSLGKHASFLKSADHFASLKFJHSAFLJKAHSDFLKSJDHFLSAKJH something about that fascinates me for some reason lololololololololol idek. I mean, they weren't intense kissing scenes, just lips touching lips but ~*STILL*~ this is SHAHRUKH KHAN we're talking about!! Mr. I-Don't-Kiss-Ever!!!! If this had happened even like three years ago I don't think I would have been able to handle it. XD But, yes, somehow I am now all about this development, it excites me. The idea of this whole new world out there of SRK kissing his heroines potentially GAH it's like you just unlocked a completely new map in a video game. :P Oh! And apparently the second kiss in the field was actually longer than what was shown on-screen. At the premiere with all the celebs it was shown in full but Rukhie thought it was a bit too much and asked for it to be shortened. THEY BETTER RELEASE THAT ON DVD OR SOMETHING I NEED TO SEE IT EVENTUALLY!!!!! ^=^ Also, there was a lot of ~sexy~ stuff going on with SRK and Kat and it amused me so. Like the sex scene. Or the scene with Kat doing a striptease for him on the subway. Or the scenes in the second half where he kept being frustrated about getting cockblocked LOL. :D
Anushka Sharma I haven't mentioned yet. Initially I was annoyed by her character. I expected her character to be a certain way but she was even MORE so, over-the-top, so it took some getting used to. But she was HILARIOUS and her flirting with Rukhie was perfect. Her jokes KILLED me she has such great line delivery. She is like this generation's Preity Zinta-Juhi Chawla with her bubbly ways and her comedic timing. She was like a fangirl the kind of things she said to him come straight out of an SRK pagali's mouth hahahahaha. I did like how she and Kat's characters got along, never had any kind of rivalry.
Shall I discuss the songs? Challa was a good intro song for SRK, but it's my least favourite song on the soundtrack. Ishq Dance blew my mind, but I mentioned that before. Ishq Shava was cute, fun and hot. You wanted to get up and dance with them! And somehow YRF films makes Kat look hotter in each subsequent film, first Dhunki from Mere Brother Ki Dulhan then Mashallah from Ek Tha Tiger now Ishq Shava in Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Fair warning, she may truly BURN UP THE SCREEN in Dhoom 3! XD Heer was well-placed in the narrative, I thought it worked very well with its meaningful lyrics. Saans was sensual, that is the only way I can describe it. Jiya Re was so much fun! It's my favourite song in the film and Anu did a wonderful job, plus scruffy-army-SRK looked too cute for words! :D Saans Reprise almost made me tear up. Only point I almost cried, to be honest... The title song was a great tribute to Mr. Yash Chopra.
Random stray thoughts? Lots of criticism of Katrina's character's belief in God and the subsequent consequences of those beliefs. Am I the only one who found it extremely realistic? Hell, I could see myself reacting the way she did, actually. It would be damn tough but I might. Also...married for five years? :) And you all have to watch this video of the audience in India going NUTS in the movie theatre during Saans. The passion we Indians have for our films... I hope that never ever ever in a million years goes away. <3
Click to viewOverall, it was a good film but not a great film. It dragged in the last part with a very filmi plot twist. I thought the first three quarters of the film were fantastic and kept me interested, but it was that last bit where it lost focus and lost points in my mind. If you like any of the three members of the cast, definitely go see it because you'll enjoy it. If you're not a fan of any you might not.
I think I liked the movie even more after a couple of days. It left me with a certain ~feeling~ I don't even know what or why but it did, and to me that's the sign of a good movie. :) That being said, I think English Vinglish is still my favourite movie of the year. *nod*