Whatever else it achieves, Jab Harry Met Sejal is already one of the most smartly marketed movies of the year.
Under overhead lights and with a camera rolling, the makers of the August 4 release stage a casual conversation around the latest song released from the soundtrack. Lyricist Irshad Kamil pretends to take advice from the movie’s lead and producer, Shah Rukh Khan, as composer Pritam and director Imtiaz Ali watch on. There are a few seconds when you really feel for Kamil, whose talent does not require the endorsement of a movie star.
But Safar, a guitar-led catchy number filled with Kamil’s trademark pop philosophy, is full of surprises. The song proceeds as Kamil had written it and as Pritam had composed it. The fake documentary feel gives way to a fully staged music video. A weathered looking Khan launches into the song in the scratchy voice of Arijit Singh. Khan’s playback singing is interspersed with visuals from the movie, in which he plays a tour guide who falls in love with Anushka Sharma’s character. When Khan (mock) demands to sing in his own voice, Pritam has a fitting response for him. The movie will hopefully be as inventive as this video.