There are many theories of love and one of the most popular is psychologist Robert Sternberg's Triangular theory of love. The theory defines love through three phases – Passion, Intimacy and Commitment. And again based on those phases, love travels through the path of “non-love” to “friendship or linking “to “romantic love.” Imtiaz Ali tries to portray all kinds of love through the line of triangle theory and ends up in a situation where he only receives “no love” from the audience. “Jab Harry Met Sejal” (JHMS) is a Himalayan disaster with a poor narrative and it can be considered as the worst movie of Imtiaz Ali till date.
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Sejal (Anushka Sharma) is a girl from a Gujrati family who gets engaged to her fiancée while touring Europe. Harry (Shahrukh Khan), a Punjab born, Canadian passport holder tour guide bumps into Sejal again as she cancels her home returning plan, after a fight with her fiancée for the lost engagement ring. The narrative continues along with the search for Sejal's engagement ring and the blooming love story (or failed) between Harry and Sejal, till it reaches the climax, which is predictable and poorly scripted.
JHMS has a disastrously poor screenplay and that has nailed the coffin. The film focuses only on the protagonists Harry and Sejal and other characters are just non-entities. The director decides to bang on Shahrukh's charisma and Anushka's charm but fails to provide a standard script or even dialogues. Most of the dialogues for Sejal are repetitive and immensely funny without a reason and create a deep fatigue in the mind of the audience. Shahrukh tries his best to make the character convincing but could do little with such a poorly crafted story line. Many scenes in the movie are link-less and the eternal thought vaporizes suddenly in a new frame. The climax is too cliché and it's too unconvincing to think Harry trespassing in someone else's marriage party, considering it as Sejal's, without having any doubts in mind. Also, the villainous character of the don (Chandan Roy Sanyal) is implausible and the portrayal of Bangladeshi immigrants could have been presented in a much better manner.
The movie consists of some foot-tapping tunes created by music director Pritam Chakraborty including “Radha,” “Safar” and “Butterfly” which fail, though, to make much impression for the inadequate support from the storyline. The cinematography of K.U.Mohanan is a visual treat that portrays the exquisite scenic of Europe beautifully and the only cherishable factor of the movie.
JHMS is a huge failure from a director of repute like Imtiaz Ali, that is not even a shadow of his master creations like “Jab We Met” or “Rockstar” in this movie. The director fails in every aspect of filmmaking from initial idea to storytelling and even editing with too much excess in the narrative. It is a big disappointment for all Shahrukh Khan's fans and in lighter side, after watching such a damp squib the question that comes to mind is “ why did Harry met Sejal to make us experience such a pain for two and half hours?” One out of five stars, only for the exquisite cinematography of K.U.Mohanan.
