Jab Harry Met Sejal is on Youtube!!!!! LEGALLY!!!!

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How is this even possible?  Oh, and THANK YOU to P in the comments for telling us.  But mostly, how is this even possible?

Link:

 

Second link direct from Red Chillies:

Okay, I feel like I should throw some content in this post as well as the alert.  Again, HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE???

Here’s the 3 things I find most remarkable:

1.1. None of the official accounts promoted it.  No Shahrukh tweets, no news that I can see from Red Chillies or anywhere else.

2. Published by “Vista India”, which also has Dear Zindagi and OK Kanmani, plus funky movies like M Cream.

3. Released less than a month after it hit theaters, 8/31 versus 8/5

 

Okay, taking them one by one:

1.1. I assume Red Chillies is hands off at this point, it’s not on their official channel.  It’s still a little odd, since they did some work promoting “Phurr” and I assume that money was going straight to the music companies, not Red Chillies.  Maybe it’s something about how the streaming deal is structured?  They get one upfront payment and they don’t care whether or not anyone watches it?  Stupid on the part of the streaming company not to build something into the contract ensuring promotion help.

2. Aha! Here is VistaIndia: http://www.vistaindia.com/index.html

Notice it advertises “Netflix preferred Vender”.  So this IS part of the Netflix deal!  Okay it makes a lot more sense now.  Vista India must be the contractor that handles the youtube options for Netflix films.  I just confirmed, it is not on Netflix yet, so there could be a balance of them wanting to get some youtube play money first, but also not wanting to super promote it because they still want people to subscribe to Netflix thinking it will be the only possible channel.

3. The close release, that’s probably the smartest part of this.  This is a movie MADE for piracy!!!!  Big release, popular among a small group of the audience, but not the majority of the audience.  Therefore, not playing in theaters for very long but there is a group of people desperate to see it in this gap after it has left theaters.

So, yes, absolutely, get that thing out there even before it has left all theaters, try to make the streaming rights have some value.

The big loss with a tight turn around like this is for the theater owners and distributors.  Who are, apparently, already taking a loss.  So it’s too late for them, might as well move on to streaming profits.  Or else Netflix/Vista India just straight up don’t care.  Again, I would be curious about their contract, if there was something in there saying “you can start streaming it after a certain date”, or just “you can start streaming it once it is playing in less than 10% of the theaters it released in”.

One final thing (and this was a lot more noticeable with Dilwale, I think it was even part of the itunes streaming announcement), streaming like this is Shahrukh’s effort to keep his global fanbase up.  If you live in many places in the world, not only did you not get to see JHMS in theaters, the DVD might not make it’s way to you for weeks (I’ve had to wait on DVDs for 4-5 days after their official release because of “monsoons in Delhi” grounding flights.  And that’s in a major market, these complications would be even worse if you were in, say, Peru).  But if you put up streaming ASAP, you can reach those fans better than any other way.

78 thoughts on “Jab Harry Met Sejal is on Youtube!!!!! LEGALLY!!!!”

  1. I’m sorry, but SQUEEEEEE!!! Thank you, P, and thank you, Margaret! I’m watching tonight in Bishkek, and will soon be making family and friends who couldn’t/wouldn’t make it to the theater watch it with me. I love it, and therefore they will watch it if they love me. That’s reasonable, right?

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    • I’m pretty excited to buy it and watch it as soon as I get home tonight. Except I am supposed to go to a tedious church meeting tonight. So either I skip the meeting, or I get home at 9pm and stay until midnight to finish it.

      On Wed, Sep 6, 2017 at 11:53 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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    • Well, now you have thrown me into a quandary. Do I badger you to watch JHMS? Or keep badgering you to watch Nivin movies? Where does my greater loyalty/responsibility lie?

      Oh heck, call in sick to work tomorrow and watch all of them!

      On Wed, Sep 6, 2017 at 12:16 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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      • For JHMS I might need to plan something on a working Sunday so my boyfriend has an off day and mom’s in a day off mood. Where I can pause it and get work done (I try to take work from home on Sundays) and it won’t break the rhythm.

        Mom wanted to watch a thriller so we ended up watching Memories instead of Premam and I didn’t oppose the choice because both Premam and OSO were close to 2.5 hours long and it would get soo late.

        Memories review: meh! Not feeling the dude at all. The story was goodish but not something that I’d remember in the long run.

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        • “The Guy”? Prithviraj?

          Okay, I feel like it is my duty to give you the best possible version of him. Check out this song (the uncensored version), specifically 2 minutes in.

          On Wed, Sep 6, 2017 at 12:35 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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          • That’s because it is so hot it is censored in India! Look for Aiyyaa Aga Bai (cut scenes). The officially T-series version doesn’t have the hot stuff in it.

            Or, try this link again:

            On Wed, Sep 6, 2017 at 12:42 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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          • I remember this song!! Only remembered Rani from it though!! 😁 dude’s face is still wooden. Body is fine. I say just fine because beau has a better body than this. To qualify as officially “hot”, the guy’s gotta have that fire in his eyes. I really hate guys that under-emote hotness. This reminded me a bit of the Made in India song by Alisha Chinoy. Have you seen that?? Although Milind Soman never broke the cute barrier. I can’t think of a hot guy in a hot song right now. I’ll share that whenever I think of one.

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          • Title song from Singham?

            Also, my favorite Prithviraj movie is the one where he might come closest to what you like, City of God. He’s an enforcer for a wealthy builder guy. But it’s also a super advanced film that you have to really focus on to get, so I’m not recommending it to you yet!

            (Singham song)

            On Wed, Sep 6, 2017 at 1:07 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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          • Try this song (by the way, this is what I do at movie nights every week. I always feel very “madam of a brothel offering you my look book)

            On Wed, Sep 6, 2017 at 1:16 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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          • Margaret!!!!!!!!!! What have you done??!!!!! Omg this WORKED. I kinda don’t want to watch this film with my boyfriend OR my mom now… 😂

            You see why this worked though right? THE EYES!! I kinda wanna send you pictures of hot guys I know in real life who have THOSE KINDA EYES. can’t post them here. That’d be weird!! Can I PM them to you on FB? What do you think? Will that be creepy on my part?

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          • I am SO PROUD!!! See, this is how I get newbies into Indian film. Show them a few things, talk to them for a bit, and then pull up the perfect man/film to make them fall in love.

            And this song is from my all time favorite Malayalam film, it’s a brilliant brilliant movie, Prithviraj is just one of an ensemble, but everything is good. Only it’s also kind of a confusing connected plot and stuff, so you really have to focus. Even when Prithviraj isn’t on screen beating people up and being heartbroken.

            On Thu, Sep 7, 2017 at 12:13 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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          • Oh yeah, he’s a heartbroken enforcer type. A bad man with a good heart.

            On Thu, Sep 7, 2017 at 7:22 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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        • sorry to intrude but i am surprised to see a negative response for prithvis performance in memories. i think he was excellent in it and it is one of my favourite performance of him.its not a perfect film and the plot is actually very similar to some old malayalam films. but the his brilliant portrayal of the tragedy stricken alcoholic sleepy investigation officer without being dramatic overshadowed the flaws in writing and turned it into a really good experience.

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    • That’s what I’m counting on! I don’t want to see it enough to pay for it the first time I see it…and probably can’t wait til it’s on Netflix. Though if I like it even a little, I’ll probably end up buying the DVD someday anyway!

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  6. Oh, Oh, Oh, maybe now it will build the audience it deserves! But how do I do ANYTHING else?? I had to buy it on youtube. At first it looked like it would allow and I saw that mean tv face they do, but ultimately it went through. OH OH OH!! Someone must tell me that I can’t watch it 24/7….

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    • And did you see, it was posted last Thursday? Which means we could have been watching it this entire long weekend and foolishly were not? What might have been!

      On Wed, Sep 6, 2017 at 12:48 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  8. It is deeply weird how no one knew it or posted it. Especially not Red Chilies. I know why Shah Rukh didn’t: he’s upset at what happened to it. He showered it off and has had to move on to the next projects. Plus, both of the older children have gone back to school and AbRam is starting school so he can’t go everywhere with him. His twitter silence is his sadness. But where was Red Chilies etc?

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    • That’s where I am starting to think the streaming rights sale was a total hands off deal, once it was done. But even so, it is a strange sort of orphan feeling.

      Maybe they will do a big thing when it actually hits Netflix?

      On Wed, Sep 6, 2017 at 1:19 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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    • This is very true n sad 😦
      I believe red chilies ruined this movie .. such bad promotions .. they did not release good songs on time … trailer was soo late. Neutral audience had no interest and understandings of the mini trails ….. Imagine phurr on which they must have spent so much money (roping in diplo ) came one night before release. … good movie bad movie these things come later , but this movie did not get the opening that it should hve got… that just shows how badly RC people planned it .. usually SRK movie songs get so many views but all songs remained so low key for this movie. … and then comes second day and all the negativity ….. which turned this awesome movie to a dud. I dont know why people are so much against SRK these days … hope this changes soon and hope he understands why this is happening….

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      • I started to wonder if some people on whom he relies ar not ‘worth’ his trust… I was told that he is a boss who gives a lot of leeway to his people while he is doing the representative things (interviews, public appearances)…and I wonder, too, how much of the promotion was ‘ready’ at time.

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        • That’s what i wanted to say… hope he figures out soon who are the people not worth the trust he has shown in them … even the story was leaked 2 months before the release…

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        • Personally I think the reason everything came out so late (promos, songs, trailers) is that they were making changes almost till the release. Plus, remember how Ranbir’s father was ranting about how the music for Jagga Jasoos wasn’t ready till way late? I think the same stuff was going on here. Like maybe they showed the film to people & got negative feedback so they were editing right up till the last minute.

          I also think SRK has some seriously bad people in his life these days & that plus the whole weird Indian political & religious atmosphere is causing huge problems for him. I’m not sure who in his personal/ business life is working against him but it’s pretty obvious that something strange is going on. The attacks are all too focused & out of left field. I have some ideas about who it is in his personal life but have decided to keep them to myself for now in case I’m wrong. But make no mistake this is not just a case of suddenly people have decided they don’t like the guy or his films. This is deliberate & meant to cut deep to the heart of his empire.

          Sorry to go all conspiracy theory on you all but it’s been bugging me for a while now.

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  9. I had the same shock when Baahubali 2 appeared on youtube legally and for free 1 month after release. There were written: don’t act smart and don’t copy this movie, otherwise we will block it. I think I was the only one who really haven’t downloaded it, because the next day it wasn’t available 😦

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    • It’s just because Europe has such good taste, it’s the only major market where it is still in theaters somewhere so far as I can tell.

      On Wed, Sep 6, 2017 at 3:12 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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    • Thanks to your alert (or someone’s) on twitter, I just added that link to the post as well. Now I am regretting purchasing it through the other link, although it was much much cheaper that way.

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    • Also, I just noticed that the Shah Rukh movies that are there are the ones on Netflix, which makes sense if this and other releases are part of that Netflix deal. I didn’t do a close comparison because I don’t have time right now, so I may be wrong.

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      • Maybe that’s why it is cheaper on the Netflix-related channel versus Red Chillies? Another part of the deal, they can both sell streaming versions, but Netflix gets to sell cheaper?

        I also noticed on the Netflix-related channel that at least a cursory glance makes it appear that all their films, including non-SRK films, are also on Netflix.

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  12. I just purchased it today and have watched it 2 times back to back. Even with all the info I’ve gathered here, it still was so enjoyable. Since I didn’t get to see it in a theater, where should I put my thoughts on it?

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  14. Its on Red Chillies’ official channel for few countries (India included) and its on vista for other countries(I am guessing).

    If JHMS was SRK’s life story he’s been listening to too much bullshit from too many people for too many years then Imtiaz came and rescued him and he’s like f*** this shit I am going to do what I want to do. The youtube release is him flying to his true love(the audience) because he knows we love him more than anyone else and we are his only true love. Well, actually I love him more truly than the whole world but that’s for a different day 😉 Today I am feeling generous 😀

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  15. I had a very clear picture on my desktop and now when I’m trying to watch it on my laptop its blurry. Is anyone else having this? I just shut down the one on the desktop in case having two open was the problem.

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  16. I just watched it again tonight on YouTube. Man, what is wrong with people who didn’t get this movie? I loved it more and I think it is partly because it has been a few weeks since I last saw it in the theater, and partly because of your posts and the comments by readers here.
    Molly and I have said we will watch together with all 27 posts in front of us at some point. It may take us several sittings to complete, what with starting and stopping and reading and discussing, but I’m really looking forward to it!

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  17. I’m watching it for the second time tonite and I feel so much better~I was totally bereft at having this film wrenched from my grasp far sooner than I was prepared to let it go! And I love being able to stop & go back when I want to watch a moment again because of something you wrote in the Scene By Scenes.

    I won’t feel truly happy till I have the DVD~because I’ve watched too many of my favs like K3G & KHNH disappear from Netflix recently to make way for such minor films as Chaahat, etc. I buy everything on DVD for that reason & have 2 DVD players ‘just in case’. Do I sound nuts? I swear I’m perfectly normal except for this little SRK obsession!

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    • Something that is on youtube and that you have *bought* willl not “go away” to make way for anything else. Once you buy something its yours forever. Its not a subscription.

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    • In case you are interested/didn’t know, Netflix and Amazon Prime are locked in an epic struggle for content for the Indian market. Dharma and Yash Raj are making Amazon deals, and Red Chillies signed with Netflix. And thus the Shahrukh fan is lost between the two when trying to complete his full filmography.

      I get what you are saying about streaming, even if you buy it, there is always the possibility that the streaming service could go bankrupt, lose rights, etc. etc. It hasn’t happened yet, but there is that fear that it could!

      On Wed, Sep 6, 2017 at 11:23 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  19. Debating watching this tonight or just watching more tennis. I have to say after I downloaded it, I watched the kiss you all were talking about….uh, first thoughts: better than JTKJ but SRK should not kiss in his films. Really. I know I’m going to be in the minority here and maybe watching the whole thing will change my mind, but it was awkwardly filmed and awkwardly acted taken out of context. I really do want to like this movie! I’ll keep you posted:)

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    • The kiss really works best as the culmination of an entire film of slowly building foreplay. The sexier scene (for me), is much earlier when they don’t even kiss.

      But mostly, it’s a cute rom com that slowly gets more and more romantic. Which seems like your wheelhouse!

      On Thu, Sep 7, 2017 at 1:04 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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      • I have so much work (writing exhibit labels…yippee) to do tonight and tennis is on and I have committed to a long phone call tonight, too! Uggh. I really do just want to go home and watch this tonight but would need to focus. I work at my other job tomorrow night, so will either watch it really late tomorrow or first thing Saturday morning. It is totally in my wheelhouse and I’m predisposed to like it no matter what.

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        • The beauty of this film is, once you have watched it straight through once, you can just have it on in the background constantly and dip in and out of paying attention as the good scenes come up. So yes, watch it really late tomorrow or first thing Saturday, but I bet after that first watch, you can totally write labels or do whatever else while it’s in the background.

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  20. Finally returned to the US, have purchased it and watched it. What a treat! I will also buy it on DVD when it becomes available (fingers and toes crossed that we get some extras, even though I know it’s not the trend these days).

    I’d been watching a bad print without subtitles online to tide me over–don’t tell anyone! Nice to have the subtitles again, but also, after our detailed scene by scene discussion, I notice much more how awkward or just wrong the subtitles can be. For example, I would have missed the whole “layak” theme and all the interesting interpretations and connotations of that word throughout the film–which is part of what makes it so awesome in Harry’s proposal speech. So, thanks everyone, and especially you, Margaret! 🙂

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  21. I watched it! Literally just finished a few minutes ago. Now I need to go back and skim some of your many posts for your in-depth analysis. My immediate thoughts: if I had seen it without any build-up or knowledge of it beforehand, I would have absolutely loved it. But knowing that it flopped so badly and already having some issues with SRK being too old for the role, I think I wasn’t able to completely enjoy the film. I found myself super-sensitive to SRK’s acting tics and often annoyed by Anushka’s as well. However, I found it overall to be a believable romance with two sympathetic leads who had some comfortable chemistry (which surprised me even though in theory I like their pairing). So, the “sexiness” quotient…the morning after the chase sequence in Prague when Harry wakes up with Sejal resting on him and he stretches and his shirt rises at his hip was the moment I gave in and decided SRK as Harry was sexy;) I still have major issues with the hair…it’s clearly thinning and the teasing did him no favors. The final kiss does work better with the previous build-up for sure.

    But here’s my big problem with SRK as a romantic hero (and probably why I’ve never been a complete fangirl)…and this may seem weird…I think that whenever he has to convey lust and sometimes just romantic passion, it feels like he’s uncomfortable and awkward. I think he tries too hard to fulfill his romantic image sometimes and the physical manifestations of romantic love don’t come naturally for him on screen (I think there must be an element of “cheating on Gauri” here that makes him uncomfortable or maybe like he often says he’s really not a very good actor!). In all of his work, I can’t think of any passionate scenes off the top of my head that didn’t feel calculated. Many of them “work” of course…the gazebo scene KKHH is pretty phenomenal. Honestly, his sexual chemistry with Shilpa Shukla in Chak De India was some of the most potent I’ve seen him have with an actress on screen and there wasn’t even an actual romance in that one! It’s just weird and I guess I can’t explain it and I’ve given it too much thought already! And for some reason, I keep comparing him to Ranbir Kapoor in my head who to me is able to convey the range of romantic love, including the sexual tension, lust, and passion, so much better.

    Other thoughts:
    This might be the first film where I didn’t love Anushka’s performance completely. It’s probably the way she was written and directed but her character seemed needy and juvenile. I’m looking forward to Pari where she may be doing something weirder and more interesting.

    The music was integrated throughout the story so well and I don’t understand why people said there were too many songs. Most of the montage songs moved the characters along in interesting ways and the song songs were all interesting and served a purpose. I liked the Radha one the best.

    The costuming for SRK was perfect. He actually did look like an older guy trying to be casually cool and it worked. Anushka’s clothes were weird and I think they were trying to make her look like a little girl with no fashion sense playing dress up sometimes. The red velvet dress with sneakers toward the end was really odd.

    The settings were obviously beautiful and well-filmed. The interiors were also great and Harry’s Frankfurt apartment was particularly cool.

    What a small and silly role for Evelyn Sharma. She deserved better.

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    • Really interesting reaction. First, your main reasons for not enjoying it are what a lot of people here are talking about as being so frustrating. The bad buzz seemed like it started almost before people had a chance to actually see the film. So it affected not only people like you, who had to wait until weeks later, but that opening weekend crowd.

      Your problems with the characters and the performances are similar to how I felt after watching it the first time. I had to go back and see it a second time because friends wanted to see it with me, and I was happy to do it. I wasn’t super super looking forward to it, but I wasn’t miserable, it wasn’t like I hated the film or anything (sounds like you are in a similar space, you didn’t love it but it wouldn’t be torture to rewatch it). And then after watching it a second time, a lot of things kind of fell into place and I enjoyed it a lot more. Which isn’t to say you should watch it a second time, just that it seems like it is the kind of film that works better on a second watch than a first.

      If you do end up reading my scene by scene, even a little, you will see that basically everything you mention comes up and is discussed in exhaustive detail. well, to be fair, absolutely everything in the film entirely is discussed in exhaustive detail!

      On Sat, Sep 9, 2017 at 1:56 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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      • I’m still letting it sink in, but I would say that I did definitely like it and will buy it to own and it could actually become a frequent comfort watch. For all of its issues, the pacing is good and there are many romantic moments that lend themselves to the “rewind and swoon again” kind of watching. I think it will grow on me as you said.

        How’s this for a palette cleanser…I’m watching Sarkar 3 now.

        Also, a no subtitles HDTV rip of Half Girlfriend is now circulating online. The gods are just taunting me now! Even watching bits of the film with no subtitles, I flinch whenever Shraddha is on screen but I still need to see it just for Arjun!

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        • It’s a very good background watch. In that each individual frame is beautiful and each individual scene is interesting and well done. You don’t need to be sucked in and see the whole story to enjoy it, you can just dip in and out as you do other things. For instance, I have it on now, and am also writing a blog post and responding to comments.

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    • Thanks for your thoughts. I’m glad that you and other commenters aren’t total SRK fans, just for variety and perspective. Sejal’s character and evolution over the movie made more sense to me on second and further re-watches. The only thing about her look that bugs me the more I watch is her apparent obsession with having her lipstick and fingernail color match exactly–to the extent that she must be doing her nails multiple times a day. 🙂

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      • I did like the realism of seeing her actually taking off and putting on polish in one of her early scenes. And it made sense to me back then, one of the small areas that she could be individual would be changing nail polish (I do the same thing). But then she gets caught up in this passionate wild sexual adventure, and she is still taking an hour every day to change her nails?

        On Tue, Sep 12, 2017 at 11:53 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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        • Haha, right? I also LOVED that this movie shows a woman needing to use the bathroom, and her partner holding her bag and helping her find a place to go–how many times have we seen that in any industry’s movies? Such a great sign of couple-dom.

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