Jab Tak Hai Jaan (English: As Long as There is Life)

Seemingly for months now, the Indian film listings at Feltham cineworld have seemed to consist mainly of Tamil action or thriller movies which have never quite appealed. Last Sunday, however, we found Jab Tak Hai Jaan in the line up. Directed by the late Yash Chopra (of Veer Zaara fame), starring Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) and music by A.R.Rahman – it was a must. It had already achieved ‘blockbuster’ fame in the overseas market – opening at no.5 in the US and no.4 in the UK, becoming the highest midweek and weekend grossing Bollywood film ever in both countries.

It was a lengthy 3 hours long, so we settled in for the duration armed with diet cokes and popcorn. It started with a tribute to the director Yash Chopra, who sadly had died only weeks before the release of the film. The tribute was in Hindi, no subtitles, so I was slightly anxious the film would carry on in this way – fortunately (for both me and Susen), English subtitles appeared once the film started.

The first scenes were of SRK, playing Major Samar Anand in the Indian Army, a brave bomb disposal expert who refused to wear body armour whilst disabling the bombs. The location was Kashmir – in Pahalgam. This was sad to see, as I backpacked in Kashmir and stayed in Pahalgam back in 1987 – before any particular threat to Westerners and ongoing violence pretty much made it off limits to tourists. Now, the beautiful landscape was just a backdrop to bomb disposal efforts from terrorism in a Bollywood film.

Jumping back in time: Samar is trying to make his way in London. We see him sweeping snow up outside a church, where he first encounters Meera, the inevitable love object. For once, he has not inherited or made vast wealth (at least not initially) and is sharing a very basic flat with a friend (or possibly relative) from Lahore. A welcome reality check to the lives of most average people in London. His success as a fishmonger, however, earns him a job in a restaurant owned by a customer, at which he excels.

But Meera (played by Katrina Kaif, of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara recent fame), as befits the beautiful heroine, has just graduated cum laude from university and is about to be set up for life – to marry the eligible Roger, her father’s choice - and continue in her father’s successful business. Until she meets Samar that is. Then an interesting twist on the classic Hindi duty-over-love dilemma occurs – where she feels obliged to marry Roger, who is English, (the safe choice and her father’s choice) as compared to Samar, from India, (the exciting but lower class choice). Here, the story is subverted in that the English man is the ‘safe’ choice, whilst the ethnically similar choice is the risky choice. Hence, class is privileged over ethnicity – an observation I have been making for the best part of two decades now.

But a car crash witnessed by Meera makes her do a deal with God: if his life is saved, then she will have nothing more to do with him (a scene reminiscent of ‘The End of the Affair’ based on Graham Greene’s novel). The ambulance scene is so unbelievable – I am being slightly pedantic here in that he is rolled onto the stretcher into the ambulance, despite having a head injury. I am literally crying out in my head ‘put a neck brace on!’ – to no avail.

He lives – and cut to Kashmir where he is prepared to dice with death every day as a bomb disposal officer in the Indian army. Akira appears (played by Anushka Sharma), to make a documentary of his life for Discovery Channel. This again leads to an unbelievable, cringe-worthy dance sequence of his new potential beau – Akira: doing her hip-thrusts in very short shorts with locals joining in the dance sequences. What a conservative local Muslim population must have made of this stick-thin Bollywood actress in shorts and gyrating hips, goodness only knows. I am assuming they were paid for their time and attention.

The plot winds on, fairly predictably – with echoes of Veer Zaara in the long absence, the love relinquished to become reunited decades later. Inevitably, the setting both in London and India will draw audiences from both India and the diaspora. I found myself recognising London backdrops – from Chiswick Park (near where I used to live), Trafalgar Square, Borough Market and Hay’s Galleria (near where I used to work). Man! – if I had known SRK was filming right outside, I would have been straight down there with my pen and autograph book.

Altogether an entertaining 3 hours, though any good editor could have cut it to 2 hours or under without losing meaning. Music was unfortunately forgettable, despite the promise of A.R.Rahman. Some of the scenes were poignant – most notably when Meera meets her mother and her partner (played by Bollywood stalwarts Neetu Singh and Rishi Kapoor) for the first time in 10 years. SRK was good, professional but slightly predictable. It remains to be seen how credibly SRK will continue to be as a man in his later 40s partnering women in their early and late 20s. Overall a 7/10 I think. My son rated it 4-5/10. This might have been because of the love interest and (forbidden) kissing – a real turn-off for pre-teen boys more into video games. Worthwhile, but come on SRK – we are waiting for the next wow factor.