Johny Gaddaar / Jab We Met

Johny Gaddaar

Johny Gaddaar starts off like a heist film but turns out to be not about the heist at all(in fact, all the talk and planning seems like overkill for a heist that essentially just involves just a train ride). Instead, it is about the consequences of the actions of one of the participants in the heist. This is a little disappointing initially since the planning and execution of the heist are the best parts of most heist films. But we forget that disappointment soon enough as things spiral out of control. Smart, suspenseful and tautly-paced, it is a terrific crime thriller.

I don't remember how many of the the characters read James Hadley Chase during the course of the film but its a book by Chase that the film's plot most closely resembles. Like Chase's books, it focuses on a group of criminals whose well-laid plans go awry because of the greed and avarice of one among them. And though it is all about criminals, the moral is that crime doesn't pay. Almost no one in the film earns our sympathy but though they may not be good, they are definitely interesting.

Among the characters, its fascinating the way Neil changes as the film proceeds. We do get an early hint of his character in this fantastic - and familiar - scene where he flips a coin to decide on a particular course of action. As he keeps increasing the number of flips we realize that he isn't really going to let fate decide; he is going to do what he wants and just blame fate! But as he stumbles through his plan, he looks like someone who is a victim of circumstances and doesn't really like what he is being forced to do. But he gradually becomes this cold and calculating person ready to do whatever's necessary to reach his goal and by the time he instructs Rimi Sen near the end, the transformation is complete.

The screenplay is well-crafted. Complicated enough to grab and hold our attention but not confusing enough to lose us, it keeps us engrossed. It is impossible to guess how the plot will proceed and the twists and turns are surprising but never insult our intelligence. The movie opens with a murder and is entirely a flashback but even after the story unravels to that first scene, I still couldn't guess who commits the murder until it is actually revealed. Now that's suspense!

Jab We Met

When it comes to romantic comedies, the ending is a foregone conclusion. As are most of the plot points. So the biggest factors are usually the actors, their characterization and the script and its precisely those that make Jab We Met a sweet and likeable movie.

Its not like JWM does anything radical or even new. The plot point that pits Shahid and Kareena together is very contrived(I was OK with Kareena jumping out of a running train to try and drag Shahid, a total stranger, back to the train. But making her turn away from the train, which she just can't afford to miss, to drink water was a bit too much). And their characters - the bubbly girl, the despondent hero - aren't exactly new(Idhayathai Thirudaadhey anyone?). But their conversations after that that make us overlook those contrivances. Kareena's sunny attitude is infectious and their exchanges are smart and funny.

Switching their characters is a nice idea. In hindsight it seems pretty obvious but it is brought in naturally and is clever. But the movie gets a little too cliched towards the end. After being natural for this long, the actions of Shahid and Kareena become forced and the situations around them become contrived as they allow themselves to be part of something brought about only because they are silent in a very cinematic manner.