Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif Director: Yash Chopra Runtime: 181 Minutes Rating: 4/5 Reviewed At: PVR Cinemas, Udaipur

Voila! Slowly he walked towards his love with smiling eyes beaded on his face and in that very moment it strikes you why this man is known as King Khan. Drop your armors for here is Shahrukh Khan doing what he does best, Romance!

Jab Tak Hai Jaan is a sprawling love affair spanning over a decade having the splendiferous King Khan at its center and a sure handed direction by the master storyteller, Yash Chopra sahib! It is indeed a poetic dream come true with its canvas being flushed with sumptuous imageries of London and jaw dropping splendors of the valleys in Kashmir and Ladakh.

From far off, JTHJ may feel like yet another run-of-the-mill-romance-flick. On scraping the shiny surface, you will find a heartfelt account of passionate sentiments and eternal love that is tying people in a knot which is unbreakable even by the highest forces existing in this realm!

It follows the arc of Major Samar Anand, who heads the Bomb Defusal Squad for the Indian Army and is proclaimed as ‘The Man Who Cannot Die’. Enters a dreamer; the effervescent Akira Rai (Anushka Sharma), who walks over a personal diary of our soldier. Roll back to flashback and we are introduced to the wounded love affair of the same man to an exceptionally rich mademoiselle Meera (Katrina Kaif), the Pari floating on the surface of snow. The screenplay then focuses on these three characters and their undying spirit of loving one another till the borders of sanity.

Such intricacies and such densities of emotional heights can only be achieved by someone who has seen love at its very core. Yash Chopra sahib was one such individual and was a force of nature that will resonate his love for cinema in the walls of cine-fraternity for a long time to come. Ain’t he a genius? The sumptuous background wrapped around by the elegiac lines penned by Gulzar; Aren’t these the fundamental ingredients of a grand love story? The chords are pulled off at the right moments to strike a perfect balance between unconditional love and tragedies that go with it. The direction of JTHJ, in one word is, awe-inspiring!

Are we talking about giving a depth to the character? Who can accomplish that in a more profound manner than Shahrukh Khan! If Yash Raj can melt hearts, Shahrukh Khan can win them over by just a mere smile. He slips himself in the shoes of Samar to give us an unparalleled performance that thrives as the soul of JTHJ.

Anushka Sharma gave her best performance till date. Amidst such heavy names, she garners appreciation as the new-age-girl, who’s hesitant in falling in love with an already wounded man. Such was the energy and such was the charisma of her that she totally owned the screen whenever she made an appearance.

Well, its time people take this lady seriously. Katrina Kaif is now truly in the house with the other biggies. Carrying at once, both contemporary and retro feel, she touches one’s heart with ease.

When such majestic people are at work, the magic rarely fails. But, what went wrong with JTHJ is its runtime. Clocking around 3 hours, it feels cumbersome at times as some tête-à-têtes seem fruitless. The pacing, especially in the mid of first and second halves, lagged intolerably. Music, by A.R. Rahman, does not blows one off the hanger, but still, keeps one hooked on to the proceedings.

JTHJ recalls an earlier era when movies moved people, rather than manipulate them; and when the innocence superseded craft. A baggage full of towering performances, sweeping vistas, impeccable direction and a gigantic heart at its core, JTHJ is a beautiful ode to the essence of life.