Locations in Europe: London, UK
Storyline
Star(s): Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif
Songs/Dance: Songs for the film were shot in different locations in London.
Indian/ International Crew: A 32-member crew was hired from London.
Language: Hindi
Line Producer/Location Manager: Chris Martin (Local Line Producer in London), Christopher White (Location Manager)
Director/Producer: Yash Chopra (Director), Aditya Chopra (Producer), Yash Raj Films (Production Company)
Film Location Analysis
By Shikha Jhingan
The film is extensively shot in London, exploring various tourist and spectacular sites of London and other parts of the UK. But what is significant is the way it creates the figure-ground relationship through the star bodies of Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif. In the ‘Challa’ song we see an energetic, mobile figure of Shah Rukh Khan who takes us around London with many on-lookers watching him. His guitar playing performance at London’s key touristic sites, also draws on the memory of his earlier films in London like Kabhi Khushi Khabhie Gham, and his mandolin- playing character in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. In ‘Challa,’ the use of the Jimmy Jib camera is used to create this dynamic figure-ground relationship.
Several scenes in the film are shot at tube stations like the Charing Cross Station, food joints, restaurants and public squares. Though Samar is shown to be a working-class youth doing various odd jobs like shovelling snow or delivering fish to the retailers in the Boroughs market, his labour gets masked by his performative and energetic body. Though the exterior of his apartment to be shown as located in the Brick Lane area, we don’t really get to see the gritty side of the city. London is shown as a beautiful city—a perfect site for an unusual and passionate love story.
The ‘Ishq Shava’ song and dance sequence begins with a long musical prelude shot at the Bansky tunnel at Leake Street lined with graffiti on both sides. Samar asks Meera to a night-out for some ‘fun.’ The tunnel is transformed into an impromptu dance club with techno music, and the energy of the edgy youngsters. This sequence is used in the narrative to help the upper-class Meera see a fun-loving underbelly of the city. But this framing is also carefully orchestrated and sanitised to create the look of a Yash Raj film that addresses the aspirational global diasporic audience. What emerges finally is a spectacle-driven form that has been identified with directors like Karan Johar, and production companies like YRF, who work with the top stars of the industry.
The film also shows London during various seasons. The first scene shows a snow-clad street in Blackheath London in front of the All-Saint’s Church. By using artificial snow, the sequence accentuates the white expansive landscape with wide-angle shots as a metaphor for Meera’s purity and innocence. This site is explored several times in the film as it plays an important role in the lives of the two lovers.
In the ‘Saans’ song sequence, the use of the string section that gives an eerie feel to the song is used to depict passionate scenes in dramatic locations.
In the second half of the film, we see Akira filming Samar as they revisit all the sites of the city that we had seen him navigating in the first half of the film. As ‘Challa’ plays in the background, we see Akira fascinated with Samar’s movements in the city going through all the iconic touristic sites. This sequence particularly addresses Shah Rukh Khan as a star body and his cinematic association with the city of London. This inter-textual framing tries to locate Jab Tak Hai Jaan amongst other Yash Raj films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge that gave Shah Rukh Khan an iconic status, as well as Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, which was set in London. On the London bridge, Shah Rukh Khan starts performing with the street performers and draws attention to the bystanders who are no longer looking at Samar but at Shah Rukh Khan as a star. Thus, London is reconstituted as a touristic city through the presence of Shah Rukh Khan’s star body, an important spatial landmark in his career trajectory
Additional Information & Links
The film was shot for 35 days in London. During the shoot, photos of the actors were leaked on the internet which led to a camera ban on the sets.
Yash Chopra wanted to shoot some scenes from the Swiss Alps for the title song, but this was shelved due to his untimely death.
http://wherewasitshot.com/jab-tak-hai-jaan/
https://www.filmapia.com/where-is-it-shot/films/jab-tak-hai-jaan
https://www.digitalspy.com/bollywood/a407676/jab-tak-hai-jaan-london-film-locations-revealed/
Tourism
https://www.digitalspy.com/bollywood/a407676/jab-tak-hai-jaan-london-film-locations-revealed/
