"Jab We Met" Film Review

"Jab We Met" Film Review

The most vibrant case of ‘quiet boy meets talkative girl’, Jab We Met is a cinematic masterpiece, which can be confirmed by its massive cult following even 15 years after its release in 2007. Regarded as one of Imtiaz Ali’s best works, his direction gifted him a Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue and a Zee Cine Award for Best Screenplay in 2008, just to name a few. The lead actress Kareena Kapoor also earned herself several Best Actress awards, as did Shahid Kapoor, and so did the lead singer Shreya Goshal. It is truly considered a cinematic as well as a musical blessing.

 Despite the abundance of popularity the lead character Geet Dhillon has gained over the years, this film actually revolves around one Aditya Kashyap. A struggling businessman and a dejected lover; Aditya’s family business is coming to shambles following his father’s death and his girlfriend has married someone else. As the sorrowful melody of his life guides him into a train without a ticket or destination, enter Geet. She can be best described in one word: bubbly. She is the embodiment of sunlight, while Aditya roams around the city with a dark cloud over his head. Just a few secenes into the movie, we can hear Geet’s cheerful voice filling the audio while Aditya sits quietly in front of her, and hasn’t uttered a single word yet. She had just barely gotten on the train with a mountain of luggage and sat right in front of gloomy-boy Aditya. As they’re drifting off in the train that’s taking Geet to her hometown of Bhatinda, Geet’s continuous chatter revolves around her life and the fact that she’s lived in hostel, hostel, hostel all her life. One of her best dialogues in this entire scene include “Bachpan se hi naa… mujhe shaadi karne ka bahut craze hai, by God”. 

Now some way or the other (Geet argues that it’s Aditya’s fault), these two are stranded in the streets of Ratlam, which begins their quest of bringing her to Bathinda. Travelling all the way there certainly provides viewers with two fresh songs, both well loved by the audience. Stopping at a shady inn gives them time for Aditya to introduce his ex-girlfriend to Geet, who convinces him to flush her out of his life, quite literally. This scene where he burns and flushes a photograph of his past lover shows how Geet is the driving push for Aditya to moving forward. This couple eventually takes trips on busses and taxis to reach her family home, where they are instantly mistaken for lovers. Before any of them can clear things out, Geet makes a break for it, and spontaneously runs away with Aditya to Manali after just a few days at home. This part of the film is quite fast paced and leaves viewers clenching their fists in hope that they don’t get caught. In Manali, she is expecting her boyfriend Anshuman who she can’t wait to marry. Aditya leaves for Mumbai without meeting his crush’s boyfriend. He handles his emotions very well. Geet asks Aditya, very subtly, "You like me a lot, right?" his reply is simple, "Bohot, magar wo meri problem hain." 

In Mumbai Aditya’s company is thriving. Brand new ideas are cooking up in his head, his sales are doing great, amazing brand deals. Meeting Geet has a genuinely positive impact in his life. He is now viewing life through Geet’s fresh perspective. He even signs contracts with his mother whom he had cut off contact from, all because Geet showed him his mother’s point of view, that she was in love, and “Jab koi pyaar mein hota hai, tab koi sahi ghalat nahi hota”. He has become the life of his company, enjoying with his colleagues and employees. singing is precious to Aditya and he associates it with Geet because Geet brings back the music in his life. He hallucinates her prescence wherever he goes. His launchings and advertisements are even seen on TV… by Geet’s family. Finally having a clue on their runaway daughter, they rush after Aditya and demand her return, which he promises despite not having any contact with her. He tracks her in a school in Shimla, after having met Anshuman himself. Upon meeting her after all these months, Aditya sees his past self in her. Living a slow and lonely life, Geet is quiet and forcefully agrees to going home.

I suppose we could say that this film is also based on the trope that “opposites-attract”, but what’s very exciting is that these roles reverse here and there. The once quiet and dark Aditya has blossomed into a bright man and the cheerful Geet has met with troubles and wilted into a silent mature woman. The once carefree Geet is now anxiety-ridden. She was not afraid of fighting train station masters, hotel receptionists, or taxi drivers, but now “Ek ajeeb sa darr lag raha tha... bechaini si, jaise kuch galat ho raha hain, jaise koi train chut rahi hai”.

   As they’re on their way to Bhatinda again, it’s as if these characters have switched personalities from their pasts. Here we see Aditya comforting Geet the same way she did for him in Hotel Decent back during their first Bhatinda trip. Picking Anshuman up on the way, the trio reach Bhatinda only for Geet and Aditya’s return to be celebrated extravagantly. Leaving a perplexed Anshuman behind in a ganne ka khet (that he doesn’t even want to see), Geet has a realisation that he is not who she likes anymore. Which is great, since he did abandon her almost 10 months ago. Geet makes sure to tell Aditya that she’s grateful to him for bringing Anshuman to her, because otherwise she wouldn’t have known who she truly loves. Unlike her previous almost-marriages, one with her childhood boyfriend and one with a family friend, this adoration for Aditya was completely natural. There was no pressure on her to like him. The happy ending where Geet and Aditya end up together is expected, but still very fulfilling.

 Sometimes taking a random train still lands you at the right place. Watching the characters’ growth is extremely gratifying. Through Jab We Met, Imtiaz Ali taught us that love is not supposed to be a burden, but it should flow smoothly, like a train on its tracks.

Written By
Sheeza Shoeb