Starring:Shah Rukh Kahn
Katrina Kaif
Anushka Sharma
Jab Tak Hai Jaan is a classic Bollywood love story.
Yash Chopras final film stayed true to his roots. He never fails to hit home with the themes of undying love, unswerving faith and beautiful women. I think the latter most of all is what sells this movie to a modern day Bollywood movie-goer.
It’s hard to sell an old fashion love story when western influence on the east is becoming stronger each day. I remember when I started watching Bollywood movies in my early teens. At first I thought it was odd that sex scenes were nonexistent. Full on make out scenes would be replaced with sultry glances, meaningful embraces. This movie had plenty of those. However they took it much further and actually had Khan and Kaif kiss multiple times and I must say it was uncomfortable. What an odd thought. I grew so accustomed to the absence of sex scenes and make out scenes that I was actually a little uncomfortable. I thought that they cheapened an already romantic movie. The art of Bollywood love stories is to make you feel it in your soul, you never had to actually see physical displays of affection to get that two people were passionately in love with one another and, in my opinion, that was the beauty of it. It was an art. An art that Chopra could do in his sleep.
Don’t get me wrong, it does take a great actor and actress as well. Khan is a seasoned pro and has the ability to make me cry, laugh, curse, yearn and brood all with the wink of an eye. With a simple flip of his hair and glance over his shoulder he’s got me hooked. Chopra knew what he was doing when he casted Khan. The two heroines on the other hand weren’t chosen for their acting skills. They are both fairly newcomers to the game so I can’t judge them too harshly and I certainly can’t hold them to the same standards of Shah Rukh. So I figured that Chopra went totally on looks with these two. They are drop dead gorgeous and not only that, they aren’t shy when it comes to their bodies. The movie starts with Sharma stripping down to her barely there bikini and taking a graceful dive into a serene lake. No further explanation needed for that scene, sex sells and Sharma sold her ass off. Kaif has her fare share of practically nude scenes herself. Miniskirts that looked like they could have been head bands, dresses that defied gravity by magically covering her backside and not much else and enough towel shots that at one point I thought a towel company was a sponsor.
So I have to say that pissed me off a lot too. If I wanted to see all that skin I would’ve just watched an American movie where nudity is just as common as seeing someone fully clothed but regardless of the unnecessary cursing and constant in your face “look at how hot my body is scenes” I must say that I fell in love anyway. Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for love stories or maybe it’s because Shah Rukh is so extraordinary that he can make you believe that he’s in love with any person on screen with him but, when I really think about it, I think that I must hand it over to Yash Chopra himself. He has a magic in his stories, he has a formula that is timeless and successful and I fall for it every time.
I remember the first Yash Chopra film I saw. It was Lamhe and it brought about so many emotions. From then on movie after movie, love story after love story Chopra's films get me and, I must say, that I enjoy getting got.
Movie review by the Diner's very own Bollywood reporter Kiva Ashby
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