Jab We Met
Jab We Met is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Dhilin Mehta under his banner Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision. The film stars Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor with Tarun Arora, Saumya Tandon and Dara Singh in supporting roles.
Primarily based in Mumbai, Bhatinda and Shimla, the film tells the story of Aditya Kashyap, a heartbroken businessman who boards a train, where he meets a talkative Punjabi woman, Geet Dhillon. While they miss their train, Geet and Aditya begin a journey together to her home, and what follows is a love that changes them. The music of the film is composed by Pritam, with lyrics written by Irshad Kamil.
Jab We Met was released in the United Kingdom a day before its worldwide release, on 26 October 2007. Since its release, the film has garnered widespread critical acclaim and was among the top-grossing Hindi films of the year, grossing over ₹50.9 crore. The film was later remade in Tamil as Kanden Kadhalai with a subsequent Telugu dubbed version titled Priya Priyathama.
The film received several accolades. At the 55th National Film Awards, the film won Best Female Playback Singer for Shreya Ghoshal and Best Choreography for Saroj Khan, both for the song "Yeh Ishq Hai". At the 53rd Filmfare Awards, Jab We Met received seven nominations and won two awards: Best Actress for Kareena Kapoor and Best Dialogue for Imtiaz Ali. Since its release in 2007, Jab We Met has gained cult status.
Plot
Aditya Kashyap is the heir to a wealthy but troubled family. Reeling from his girlfriend marrying someone else, he drifts out of a company meeting, attends her wedding in a daze, and then boards a random departing train from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai.On the train, he meets Geet Dhillon, a lively and talkative young woman who won’t stop chatting. Overwhelmed by her energy—and weighed down by his own despair—Aditya impulsively gets off the train late at night at a small wayside stop, intending not to return. But Geet, true to her bubbly and altruistic nature, follows him onto the platform, scolding him for his ‘recklessness’ in deboarding the train. While they argue, the train departs, leaving them both, stranded.
Now, blaming Aditya for the mishap, Geet insists he help her get back on track to reach her home in Bhatinda. Extremely irritated and eager to shake her off, Aditya hires a taxi. Not being satisfied with the driver’s speed, even takes the wheel himself, racing at breakneck speed along the interstate roads to reach Ratlam Junction railway station. Against all odds, they reach before the train—but in the chaos, Geet misses boarding again. Now stranded at Ratlam well past midnight, Geet attracts the unwanted attention of some local men, and she clings to Aditya for safety. Reluctantly, he agrees to stay with her for her safety and they find lodging for the night.
That night, Geet coaxes Aditya into opening up. He reveals his mother left his father for another man, leaving both father and son embittered. Geet, in turn, admits she plans to elope with her boyfriend Anshuman. Despite his irritation, Aditya slowly begins to shake off his depression in Geet’s company, and his feelings for her deepen. Now he feels that he has the responsibility to help her reach Bhatinda.
After traveling together for days, they arrive in Bhatinda. Geet introduces Aditya to her family as the man who protected her. Though her grandfather suspects a romance, he eventually thanks Aditya for looking after her. To conceal his identity as a wealthy businessman, Aditya introduces himself as a musician.
Soon after, Geet tells Aditya that her family intends to arrange her marriage to a childhood friend, but she refuses. Determined to be with Anshuman, she convinces Aditya to accompany her to Manali. There, Aditya bids her farewell and returns to Mumbai.
The journey transforms Aditya’s life: he reconciles with his estranged mother and finds new confidence in work, even naming a product line after Geet. He is now successful in business again and realizes she brought meaning and color back into his world, and he has fallen in love with her.
Months later, Geet’s family visits Aditya in Mumbai, distraught that she has been missing since she left home. Shocked, Aditya travels to Manali and confronts Anshuman, who admits he rejected Geet when she arrived unannounced, unwilling to marry her. Aditya eventually finds Geet in Shimla, working as a schoolteacher and living in quiet seclusion.
He encourages her to regain her spark by saying spiteful things to him over the phone. Following the phone call, she feels much better and healed. However, complications arise when Anshuman reappears, hoping to reconcile and trying to explain his side of the story, but Geet is not convinced. The three travel to Bhatinda together, where Geet’s family mistakes Aditya for her partner and prepares for their marriage. Geet hesitates to reveal the truth, torn between her past and present. Ultimately, she realizes her love for Aditya is genuine. In front of everyone—including Anshuman—she declares her feelings with a kiss. Anshuman exits her life, and Geet and Aditya marry, with their families’ blessings.
Cast
- Shahid Kapoor as Aditya Kashyap
- Kareena Kapoor as Geet Dhillon
- Tarun Arora as Anshuman
- Saumya Tandon as Roop Kaur Dhillon, Geet's sister
- Dara Singh as Suryendra Singh Dhillon, Geet's grandfather
- Pavan Malhotra as Prem Singh Dhillon, Geet's uncle
- Kamal Tiwari as Gurpreet Singh Dhillon, Geet's father
- Kiran Juneja as Amrit Kaur Dhillon, Geet's mother
- Pravin Purva as Sarabjit Kaur Dhillon, Geet's grandmother
- Veer Pratap Singh as Manjeet Singh Maan, Geet's suitor
- Divya Seth as Ayesha Khanna, Dharamraj's ex-wife and Aditya's mother
- K.F. Jussawala as Advocate Shrikant Sharma, Ayesha's lawyer
- Nihar Thakkar as Raghav Dutta, Aditya's subordinate
- Manushka Khisty as Meher, Aditya's subordinate
- Vishal Om Sharma as Advocate Rohit Bhosle, Aditya's lawyer
- Wamiqa Gabbi as Geet and Roop's cousin
- Kishore Pradhan as Station Master
- Brijendra Kala as Taxi Driver
- Teddy Maurya as Hotel Receptionist and Policeman at Railway Station
- Asif Basra as Station Vendor 1
Production
Development
In early 2007, the Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Limited announced that director Imtiaz Ali would be directing the then real-life couple Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor in their first "full-fledged romantic drama". Teddy Maurya, worked as an art director on the film and later acted in it too.Casting
When Ali began casting for the film, Preity Zinta and Bobby Deol were his first choices to portray Dhillon and Kashyap respectively, but were eventually replaced by Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor respectively, the former when Zinta refused to do the film. While, Shahid Kapoor agreed to the film because he "loved the script", Kareena Kapoor revealed that Shahid "convinced" her to do the film. The film marked Shahid and Kareena's fourth project together after Fida, 36 China Town and Chup Chup Ke.On the two lead actors, Ali commented, "I wanted a girl who could look natural in scenes where she misses the train. She had to be without make-up, someone who could be hyper, talkative and interesting but not irritating. I was never a fan of her and hadn't seen too many of her flicks, but I just knew Kareena was perfect as Geet , When I met him , I realised he wasn't the forgettable actor that he comes across in several of his movies. He has gone through a lot in life and that maturity had never been brought out. He was perfect for the role of a young, mature, quiet guy."
Tarun Arora was cast as Anshuman, opposite Kareena Kapoor. While, Saumya Tandon was cast as Geet's sister, Dara Singh as Geet's grandfather, Pavan Malhotra as Geet's uncle, Kamal Tiwari as Geet's father, Kiran Juneja as Geet's mother and Divya Seth as Aditya's mother.