JAB HARRY MET SEJAL - MY take on the movie with spoilers!

Think Bollywood romance movies and the first thing that comes to your mind is of course Dilwale dulhaniya Le jayenge. Think of Imtiaz Ali movies and it is of course the cherished Jab we met. For me, Jab Harry met Sejal, is sort of a sequel of Imtiaz's beloved movie. There is even a Jab in the title as a nod. In fact, there are even fleeting glimpses of Jab we met in this one, except it is not up to the characters to take the movie to that height but up to the actors to bring that shine to the movie. While in Jab we met Geet convinces and forces Aditya to take her back to her home because saving his life was what caused her to miss her train, over here Sejal pretty much blackmails Harry to take her around a Europe tour until she finds her engagement ring. Harry uses every trick in his book to get rid of her, going as far as to claim that he is a womaniser, but nothing deters strongheaded Sejal who outwits and wins every argument. She is a lawyer after all. As in every romance movie, the two fall in love but cannot admit to each other or themselves. The pursuit of the ring seems ridiculous at times and practically speaking, taking a trip twice around Europe seems a lot expensive than the actual cost of the ring. But Sejal argues that it is about emotions, much to the agitation of Harry and the viewers. The trouble these two get into for one ring is seriously not worth it. In the meantime, the two characters are also on the path of self-discovery. Harry has left his small village to become a singer, fails and is a bored tourist guide. He needs someone like Sejal to find out that deep inside he wants to go home and that he is not a cheap womaniser. Sejal realizes she's not as sweet as she thought her to be and when Harry rebuffs her advances and says that he would never be attracted to her, she takes it on as a challenge to get him to notice her. And when he actually does, she taunts him for having high hopes and that she would never run away with a tourist guide. Of course, her self-discovery path leads her to her inevitable destiny- she was going to break off her engagement and run away with a tourist guide. One of the things I loathed about the movie was that there were only three songs choreographed. The rest play disappointingly in the background. There is so much hype built around the songs and forget about YouTube, you don't even get to hear the whole song in the movie except for three songs. There were some light scenes in the movie and fortunately the movie doesn't drag, but the story staggers especially in the second half. The scenes are there, the actors are doing their part, but it is impossible to connect and become emotionally attached. There is something missing that stops Jab Harry met Sejal from becoming Jab we met. It may have to do with the poor character development or that there are too many instances that make it convenient for the characters to fall in love. There really isn't an obstacle they can get over. Everything seems predictable like every romance story. I suppose what was missing was a sweet romantic song to pull in all the elements together and one that ignites passion between the two characters. In this case, the songs wouldn't have hampered the narrative but enhanced it. Jab Harry met Sejal is an okay watch. It's light and sweet but it probably won't match up to the love stories that can be obsessed about. It's just a plain simple tale of two people travelling all over Europe and leaning on each other while learning about themselves.