Reconsidering - Jab Harry Met Sejal

Well, I got out of the movie, thinking that Shahrukh was finally back. Unfortunately, no one else thought so.

The movie is 5.4 on IMDb and 10% on rotten tomatoes.

Is the movie underrated?

Did the audience not perceive the movie as its director and writer wanted?

Did my love for Shahrukh make me over feel when it was just another shitty film?

Starring Shahrukh Khan, directed and written by Imtiaz Ali with melodies composed by Pritam and lyrics penned by Irshad Kamil, the film couldn’t have better minds and hearts at work.

Revealing them slowly across its runtime, the film journeys two characters in their quest to make sense out of the situation they are put in. A critic could easily mistake this journey as a plotless disaster that ends where it begins. However, the film doesn’t press on a plot; instead, it wants the audience to peel the layers and take the characters home.

Harry, who after a failed attempt at singing ends up in Amsterdam as a tour guide. His clients usually tour with him for a month. Having to be a yes-man to his clients has subdued his expression, which now comes out occasionally in spurts of anger. Detachment, in his profession, is the only way to sanity. This creeps into his personal life as well where Harry is unable to form a real connection with anyone. Fear of losing people has made him repel them. He’s struggling to find a base in his life, a place or a person to call home. He’s extremely lonely.

Sejal is an over caring and bubbly Gujarati girl. She’s confident and proud of her work, but she needs validation for her personality. This need has led her boyfriend to dominate her. In an argument with Harry, she says, “Don’t try to dominate me. I’m not your girlfriend.”

She’s curious about Harry’s habit of womanising and genuinely takes interest in his life. There’s Harry who is unable to trust and form a relationship with anyone, and there’s Sejal who’s so slaphappy that she can be a pushover at times.

Two characters who seek acceptance. Two characters perfect for drawing each other’s arc. Around Harry, Sejal slowly begins to feel confident about herself and around Sejal, Harry starts to make it home. The film is not about a plot or a story; it’s about Harinder Singh Nehra and Sejal Jhaveri.

In this era where art from the farthest platforms has been made available to us and slapping opinions has been made easier than ever, instead of being grateful, we are becoming a more and more demanding audience to please. One thing we might not realise is that the creator is not responsible for our baggage of expectations. All he wants from us is to come in with a clean slate on which he can carve his poem. That’s the least of our responsibility as an audience.

Isn’t it?

Alternatively, at least, let’s not enter a cricket match expecting goals!