Jab We Met

I begin my blog with Jab We Met, a hit in 2007, wildly popular among the students at Lady Irwin College in Delhi while I was a study abroad student, and the first Bollywood film I ever really watched. The soundtrack of Jab We Met was the soundtrack of my first trip to India, and listening to "Tum Se He" transports me to the vans and buses of Rajasthan and the Himalayan foothills. Understandably, the film is close to my heart, but it is also one of my favorites, not only for the fantastic music but also the delightful love story, chemistry between stars Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor, and character of Geet, who, while ostensibly silly, possesses a great deal of independence and wisdom. 

Kashmiri Shawl 

A few criticisms- the last plot twist? One plot twist too many. Geet is occasionally too cute for my taste. The item number at the end, complete with western women in ridiculous costumes? Well, whadayado. I recommend this film to newcomers to Bollywood film, to romantics, and more generally to anyone who enjoys a well-realized, entertaining film that makes no pretense to being anything other than joy-filled entertainment.

Jab We Met, streaming on Netflix, is the story of a chance meeting between Aditya, a depressed and lovelorn Mumbaiker and scion of a wealthy industrial family, and Geet, a chatty Punjabi student. Aditya, despondent after family drama and his ex-girlfriend’s wedding, boards a train intending to kill himself. Geet races to catch the same train, jumping and hoisting and bustling aboard at the last minute, and then  launching into a spirited monologue at Aditya. After missing trains, traveling, a musical montage, and an orientalist’s interpretation of Tibetan culture, Aditya is in love. 

I dont want to spoil the plot for anyone who hasn’t seen the film- to the analysis! In addition to being very entertaining and an excellent introduction to Bollywood film, Jab We Met features two well-drawn characters, who although playing to tropes (the chatty but loveable girl, the repressed but good boy) are more or less believable. Moreover, Geet shows more agency than many heroines by supporting herself in Shimla, and by ultimately choosing whom to marry. Jab We Met is as much Geet’s story as Aditya’s, which is unusual even in romances. Geet’s insights are occasionally trite, but her impact on Aditya as he learns to appreciate her outlook is enjoyable. Geet’s sass, which sometimes fails her in the clinch, is also fun to watch. I particularly enjoyed her rejoinder to a busy-body Indian Rail official. Kareena Kapoor’s Punjabi-inspired style is also fantastic. I loved her patialla, and the phulkari worn by her mother. Kareen Kapoor seems to evoke a similar reaction to that of Anne Hathaway in that quite a few people dislike her. Although sometimes guilty of over-acting, I think her performance in Jab We Met is very good. Certainly I was not often distracted by over-acting; I may have been distracted by Shahid Kapoor, who is admittedly very pretty, and has the moves like Jagger.

Film: Jab We Met
Writer/Director: Imtiaz Ali

Runtime: 138 min

Languages:  Hindi, Punjabi, English
Country:  India