Jab Tak Hain Jaan (2012)

Directed By - Late Yash Chopra

Starring - Shahrukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma, Neetu Singh, Rishi Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Saarika.

Now who would have thought that a simple promise made to the almighty would become a deal breaker in a relationship? that too in the 21st century?! Yash Chopra in his last directorial venture serves this hard to digest twist halfway through the frothy romance between Samar (Khan) and Meera (Katrina) just as we have given our soul to the romance and which frankly drags down the film which was coasting along smoothly uptil now. 

Despite this stereotype Chopra and his leading man lend the film an indelible charm.  Its that charm and the Legendary Filmmakers trademark freshness and passion that still keeps you invested in the characters and their star crossed romance.

The film kicks off with Major Samar Anand, an indian military bomb defusal expert who is also a sort of legend due to his record of 98 defusals without much of protection. This feat has also earned him the title of 'the man who cannot die'. As luck would have it, he bumps into Akira (Sharma) when she starts drowning in a river and leaves her with his jacket. From the jacket, Akira extracts Samar's personal diary which contains the story of his life in london over a decade ago and his unbidding romance with rich girl Meera.  The romance goes smoothly till that fateful promise to Jesus intervenes. Samar leaves london angry, heartbroken and brewing an enemity towards God and decides to join the army just like his family would have it. His motive though is to embrace Death each day and see who comes out winning - God or himself.

Akira who works with Discovery gets interested and attaches herself to his unit to shoot a film on him. Very soon the feisty girl finds herself attracted to the man's brooding intensity and falls hopelessly in love with him.

Jab Tak Hai Jaan has the novelty of modern treatment, seen during Samar and Meera's courtship where they make out (yes you saw that right!) in phone booths or cuddle in bed (you read that right too!). It is also evident from the entire treatment of Sharma's character. This is the main reasom why the stereotypical bits stick out as a sore thumb. The script (credited to the over hyped Aditya Chopra) also has tiresome old fashioned bits such as an accident happening twice to the same character and a bout of amnesia.

But the truth is that whether you like him or not Chopra delivers a film with complete conviction. His sense of aesthetics (as rightly pointed out by my Dear Friend and bestselling author Ritwik Malik) is what lifts the film. The trademark chopra sequences are there - the quibbles with god (Deewar, Trishul), the lush landscapes (Lamhe, Chandni), the star crossed- utopian romance (Veer Zaara)  and yet he comes out with fresh sequences and the love story in the first half is beautfully executed. The concepts individually dealt with are commendable, a particular favourite is the scene where Samar, suffering from amnesia, spends a day with Akira (whom he does not remember) and she gets to see a side of him she thought only existed in his diary. 

The movie takes a nose dive once Aditya Chopra's writing is allowed to take centre stage. The film is unneccesarily stretched and the only real contribution that Chopra Jr makes is the fantastic poem at the start of the film.

The two female protagonists are intentionally different  - Meera is the classic Yash Chopra heroine albeit a modern one who smokes and curses, Katrina tries her level best but is saddled down with a shaky, badly written character. Chopra introduces a new kind through Akira, the spunky new generation girl who in her own words "belongs to the instant make out, instant break up generation'. Anushka delivers a stellar performance as the ammbitious Akira. Even as a second lead Sharma holds her own and delivers what could easily be termed as one of the best Female performance in a Yash Chopra film. She's fresh and one only wonders if Chopra could make more films with her. But the film undeniably rests with Shahrukh Khan. He delivers a subtly magnetic performance which is both charming and intense. Frankly, any other actor and this film would have gone down the drain. He looks energetic and what helps the film equally is the sizzling chemistry he shares with katrina Kaif. Here is a performance from the 47 year old superstar that his fans were waiting for. Its Intense, restrained, sumpathy inducing and is proof that this man knows this genre inside out.

Jab Tak Hain Jaan suffers from poor writing and various technical flaws (a 28 year old man joining the army!) and Aditya Chopra should seriously consider retiring after this one. What saves the film and makes it worth a watch is the heartfelt performances from the leads and an everlasting footprint of Yash Chopra.

Although JTHJ will never be considered in the top Yash Chopra films (largely thanks to his dear son). It has the impression of a trademark YRF classic and the end credits make you sad that the legend shall never helm a camera again

rating - 7.0/10

Skyfall (2012)

Directed By - Sam Mendes

Starring - Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris

The Craig-Era has always been about redefining Bond, about making him seem more human. It started with Casino Royale where the vulnerability of Bond was exposed, Quantum of Solace was never meant to be anything but a mere continuation. With Skyfall, Oscar Winning Director Sam Mendes takes the new-era, 'ressurected' Bond to another level. Some good and some sadly not too great.

Unlike other bond films, Skyfall has sensitivity. At the start of the film, we are met with the all too familiar Opening action sequence only this time it ends differently, Bond is on the wrong side of the gun. Presumed dead, Bond goes into retrospective about his career on an island. His 'peaceful' life comes to stop when a maniac Silva(Bardem) becomes hell bent on destroying MI6 in general and M (Dench) in particular. Bond returns and is met with a very different enemy. A Joker-type megalomaniac who was once a respected agent till M chose to trade for 6 other british agents. The subsequent torture turned him into a monster. How bond fights him forms the rest of the story.

Skyfall is permeated with nostalgia (its 50 years of 007 btw!). Right from fight sequences to the way with the ladies, Bond goes back to basics and surprisingly that is a high point of the film. A particular favourite is the climatic sequence where Bond sets up booby traps for Silva with the bare essentials( hunting rifles, small effect dynamites) in his ancestral home. The film has a huge Batman hangover in terms of characterisations. Whether its the backstory of Bond involving dead parents, or the way Bardem plays Silva which borders on mirroring Ledger's iconic performance. The film also has the feel of the directors earlier film 'Road to Perdition' in terms of the relationship between M and Bond. She is weak towards him, he looks up to her like the mother he never had. Whats great, is that Mendes tries to deal with Bond in his own style - by adding the human touch, the emotional angle. The film is beautifully shot and the action sequences are crisp and fresh.

Where Skyfall really fails is the pacing. Mendes lingers on unneccesarily making the roughly 130 minute film feel like an eternity. Also, what also does not help is the lack of thrills. Agreed, that every scene does not need to be a slick action one, but the urgency generally felt in Bond film is lost. While the film tries to be nostalgic in terms of the characters (MoneyPenny, Q) and the treatment (which is much like the old film) it forgets the thrill part of it- which basically sums up James Bond.

Mendes plays with your mind and produces characters who strictly fall in the grey region and have an internal  psychological fight which they cant seem to win. 

Apart from that it has all the usual Bond Trappings - Seductive Women, Cool Gadgets and the to-die for Aston Martin.

Whats also good is that the film is dealt with humour and warmth - notice the scene where Bond gets pissed about his wrecked Aston Martin or where Silva tries to seduce Bond, while he coolly plays along. 

All in All, Skyfall is a good film coming from the hands of a very respected director. But all throughout the film you feel something missing and once you come out, you realise its not the kind of Bond film you will download and keep.If this treatment continues (and i am sure it will get better) Bond could be evolved into something much more sophisticated and unexpected.Somethings i did not like, but ther is no doubt Skyfall is an absolute winner.

rating - 8.8/10