Shah Rukh Khan is known for his romantic films and the superstar has time and again won over his audience with his charismatic avatars. This weeks release, Jab Harry Met Sejal marks his return to the romantic genre after a long gap so the expectations were naturally stacked up quite high. However, this Imtiaz Ali directorial fails to live up to the expectations and is flawed enough to not make a mark.
Imtiaz Ali’s films seldom have a detailed plot as the director in turn holds the viewer’s attention by portraying sweet and romantic moments. This project too doesn’t have much to offer when it comes to the narrative, rather rides on an often repeated storyline of two people who meet and embark on a journey of self-discovery. But unlike his earlier films, Jab Harry Met Sejal doesn’t even care to include any memorable moments.
Though first half boasts of a fun vibe attached to the narration, however, since the film does not have a well-defined plot, it is difficult to relate to the otherwise fascinating characters. As the film progresses to the second half, screenplay gets repetitive and one can easily see the conscious effort made by Ali to forcefully insert a few cheerful moments in the narration.
Also read: Jab Harry Met Sejal audience review: Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma’s love story is beautiful
Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma in a still from Jab Harry Met Sejal
While the music composed by Pritam sounds good, however, songs like Raula, Butterfly and Beech Beech Main don’t play a role in taking the story forward and merely only add to the movie’s length.
With a run time of 143 minutes, Jab Harry Met Sejal unfortunately drags and the film’s hold on the viewer’s attention gradually dissipates as it nears it’s end. Technically, however, the cinematography is rich and the visuals would make the audience want to apply for a visa to Europe immediately. Besides the lack of a thorough narrative, the dialogues too seem too weakly scripted to compensate for the former and don’t remain with you after you leave the hall.
Shah Rukh Khan delivers a balanced performance, however, given the fact that the romantic genre belongs to the king of romance, this was expected from him. He is miserably let down by the script and it is about time the actor selects a script which does justice to his stature as an actor. Anushka Sharma seems to slip seamlessly into the character of a conservative Gujarati girl, and her effort to mouth a Gujarati accent shows.
Also read: Why do women love Shah Rukh Khan? Understand the enigma in 5 points
To sum up, Jab Harry Met Sejal is yet another Shah Rukh Khan film that fails to live to the hype and dissapoints the viewers. The film tends to bore after a point and it’s director Imtiaz Ali’s writing should be held responsible for the same.
