By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Monday,
October
29,
2007
Love
stories
are
beaten
to
death.
The
genre
has
been
rehashed,
visited
and
re-visited
again
and
again
and
again.
So
much
so
that
all
love
stories
look,
seem
and
sound
alike.
But
Jab
We
Met,
helmed
by
Imtiaz
Ali,
takes
a
fresh
look
at
love
stories.
Frankly,
the
story
isn't
new.
It
has
traces
of
the
Abhishek
-
Ash
starrer
Dhaai
Akshar
Prem
Ke
[2000;
which,
in
turn,
was
inspired
by
A
Walk
in
the
Clouds]
and
Govinda
-
Urmila
starrer
Kunwara
[2000;
which,
in
turn,
was
a
remake
of
a
Telugu
film
Bhavanagaru
Bhagunnara],
but
director
Imtiaz
Ali's
execution
of
the
subject
takes
it
to
another
level
altogether.
Also,
for
any
love
story
to
work
wonders,
it
ought
to
have
the
germs
to
make
the
viewer
jump
with
joy
and
participate
in
the
goings-on.
And
the
principal
characters
here
Shahid
and
Kareena
are
so
real,
so
natural,
so
believable
and
so
winsome
that
the
viewer
gets
absorbed
into
their
world
as
minutes
pass
by.
To
sum
up,
Jab
We
Met
is
as
refreshing
as
an
ice-cold
watermelon
juice
in
scorching
heat.
Imtiaz
Ali's
expert
storytelling
coupled
with
Shahid
and
Kareena's
sparkling
performances
make
this
film
a
must-watch!
Aditya
[Shahid
Kapoor],
an
industrialist,
is
heartbroken
as
the
girl
he
loves
is
getting
married
to
someone
else.
Unable
to
muster
up
the
courage
to
return
home,
he
drifts
out
of
the
gathering
and
aimlessly
boards
a
train,
bounding
away
into
the
night.
As
destiny
would
have
it,
he
meets
Geet
[Kareena
Kapoor]
a
beautiful
but
annoyingly
talkative
girl
who
is
leaving
Mumbai
to
go
her
hometown
Bhatinda.
Later,
she
has
plans
of
eloping
with
her
boyfriend
[Tarun
Arora].
Geet
irritates
Aditya
to
the
point
of
getting
him
to
leave
the
train.
As
she
tries
to
get
him
back
on
the
train,
she
ends
up
missing
it
and
the
two
find
themselves
stranded
on
a
desolate
station
with
no
luggage
or
money.
Begins
the
idyllic
journey
through
the
exuberant
North
Indian
heartland
in
which
this
odd
couple
make
their
way
through
buses
and
taxis
and
camel-carts
to
reach
her
house
in
Punjab.
On
arrival,
Geet's
family
mistakes
the
two
for
lovers.
Before
this
misconception
can
be
cleared,
Geet
escapes
to
her
boyfriend
in
Manali.
Aditya
leaves
with
her,
confirming
the
suspicion
that
they
are
lovers.
In
Manali,
Aditya
feels
empowered
to
return
to
Mumbai
and
resurrect
his
ailing
business.
Life
takes
a
positive
turn
and
Aditya
begins
to
do
well.
One
day,
Geet's
family,
who
think
that
she
is
with
him,
confronts
Aditya.
He
is
shocked
to
learn
that
Geet
has
not
returned
home.
He
takes
it
upon
himself
to
find
her.
He
finally
tracks
her
down
in
a
Himalayan
town
and
begins
another
journey
to
reach
Bhatinda
and
flow
into
the
colors
and
conceptions
of
a
loud
and
happy
North
Indian
family.
How
their
separate
journeys
become
one,
forms
the
remainder
of
the
story.
Opposites
attract
that's
the
essence
of
this
love
story.
The
journey
of
two
individuals
who
cross
each
other's
path
one
night
and
develop
a
deep
bond
is
skilfully
and
convincingly
depicted
at
the
very
outset.
The
highpoint
of
Jab
We
Met
is
its
story.
Although
the
story
bears
an
uncanny
resemblance
to
some
films,
it
never
gives
you
the
feeling
of
dejÀ
vu.
The
sequence
of
events
in
the
first
hour
is
akin
to
a
roller
coaster
ride.
The
journey
that
the
couple
undertake
to
reach
Bhatinda
first
and
Manali
later
is
mesmerizing.
But
the
pace
slackens
in
the
second
hour.
Partly
because
the
goings-on
get
dramatic
and
serious.
Also,
things
seem
to
be
stretched
in
this
hour.
The
love
story
takes
its
own
sweet
time
to
reach
its
destination,
when
the
fact
remains
that
it
could've
[and
should've]
reached
the
finale
earlier.
Thankfully,
the
end
is
expertly
executed
and
takes
the
graph
of
the
film
higher.
Imtiaz
Ali
deserves
brownie
points
for
handling
the
subject
with
such
maturity.
The
fun-laden
scenes
are
truly
funny
and
the
emotional
ones
make
you
moist-eyed.
Striking
the
right
balance
between
light
and
heavy
moments
is
akin
to
walking
on
a
tight
rope
and
Imtiaz
handles
the
two
extremes
with
remarkable
ease.
An
accomplished
storyteller
undoubtedly!
Pritam
proves
his
versatility
yet
again.
'Poochho
Na
Poochho'
and
'Tumse
Hi'
are
seeped
in
melody,
while
'Mauja
Mauja'
and
'Nagada'
are
racy,
foot-tapping
and
easy
on
the
lips.
N.
Nataraja
Subramanian's
cinematography
does
justice
to
Imtiaz's
vision.
The
indoor
look
as
well
as
the
exteriors
are
dexterously
captured
by
the
lensman.
The
writing
[Imtiaz
Ali]
is
almost
foolproof.
Also,
the
ambience
and
setting
in
the
Punjabi
household
are
excellent.
Both
Shahid
and
Kareena
vie
for
top
honours.
Shahid
delivers
his
career-best
performance
in
Jab
We
Met.
He
goes
for
a
complete
transformation
vis-a-vis
his
looks
and
attire
to
look
the
character
he
has
chosen
to
portray
and
the
understanding
with
which
he
enacts
his
part
is
worthy
of
lavish
praises.
Kareena
is
in
top
form
as
well.
Jab
We
Met
is
a
turning
point
in
her
career
[personally
as
well
as
professionally].
Fantabulous
that's
the
right
word
to
describe
her
work
this
time.
The
confidence
with
which
she
handles
the
contrasting
characterization
speaks
volumes.
This
film
should
do
for
her
what
Kuch
Kuch
Hota
Hai
did
for
Kajol.
Pawan
Malhotra
is
excellent
as
Kareena's
uncle.
His
diction
as
also
the
body
language
is
perfect.
Dara
Singh
is
good.
Tarun
Arora
is
awkward,
but
that
gels
with
his
role.
On
the
whole,
Jab
We
Met
is
one
of
the
finest
[romantic]
films
to
come
out
of
Bollywood
in
2007.
At
the
box-office,
it
has
the
merits
to
work
big
time.
Strongly
recommended…
Go
with
your
family!