Shahid Kapoor, in a new interview, shared that the title of his 2007 blockbuster film Jab We Met was suggested by his actor-father Pankaj Kapur.
Imtiaz Ali’s 2007 romantic comedy Jab We Met starring Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan has achieved a cult status over the years. While the film turned out to be a major turning point in Kareena’s career, Shahid too, left fans impressed with his portrayal of the introvert, heartbroken tycoon Aditya Kashyap.
Even after 16 years of release, Jab We Met continues to receive immense love from the audience. In fact, recently, when the film saw packed theatres when it re-released in cinema halls. Speaking about this iconic film, the film’s leading man Shahid Kapoor shared an interesting story behind its title. The Kabir Singh star revealed that it was his actor-father Pankaj Kapur who suggested this title for the romantic drama.
Shahid told Mid-day, “Imtiaz was a new director. When he came with the script, it had ‘Geet’ written on it. So, I asked, ‘Yeh Geet ka kya matlab hai?’ (What does Geet mean?) He said, ‘Heroine ka naam hai’ (It’s the name of the female lead). I told him, ‘Next time when you approach a hero, don’t go with a script with the heroine’s name on it.’ So the next time he came to me, it had ‘Train’ written on it.”
Shahid admitted that he and the film’s team weren’t happy with the film’s title and that’s when Pankaj Kapur came into the picture and casually suggested this title over a meal of rajma chawal.
“My dad (Pankaj Kapur) came up with it. I told him we want a title which is half English and half Hindi because it is a rooted film, but it is very contemporary, so it should give people that message. He asked me what the film is about and I told him. Then he came up with Jab We Met. I proposed it to Imtiaz and he was unsure of the title and so were the producers. So, we ran a contest in the papers,” the Bloody Daddy actor shared while speaking with the publication.
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He shared that the options were Bhatinda Express, Jab We Met and “some weird third name” that he doesn’t remember now. Eventually, Jab We Met won the contest.
Further, during the course of the interview, Shahid confessed that even though he did not have the strongest part in the film, he agreed to do the film because of its fresh perspective.
The actor said, “When I heard the script, I just somewhere deep down, was like, ‘This is the next love story. Like, this is the film that’s going to be the next huge love story because it is new, it is new age, it has a completely fresh perspective, it has great emotional depth. I just jumped onto it, and I was like, ‘I want to do this film, and I knew that I don’t have the strongest part in the film, but I wanted to be a part.’”
Jab We Met revolves around a depressed business tycoon Aditya Kashyap (Shahid Kapoor) who meets a free-spirited Punjabi girl Geet (Kareena Kapoor Khan) and gets pulled into her crazy life.
