When Kareena Kapoor Khan said Anushka Sharma's 'Band Baaja Baraat', Kangana Ranaut's 'Tanu Weds Manu' characters are same as Geet from 'Jab We Met'

Kareena Kapoor in Jab We Met

Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor-starrer 'Jab We Met' completed 17 years of release on Saturday, October 26. Directed by Imtiaz Ali, the film was an instant blockbuster and the characters, dialogues went on to become part of pop culture and to date audiences love and enjoy the film. The love showered on the film during its re-release earlier this year was proof of the same. As the film completes 17 years of release, we revisit the time Kareena Kapoor said that every generation after 'Jab We Met' had a role just like Geet. The actress played the role of the bubbly, talkative Punjabi girl Geet in the film.

Kareena had no hopes from Jab We Met

During the launch of the Kareena Kapoor Khan Film Festival recently, the actress said that she had high hopes from Tashan, but Jab We Met surprised her. "I was shooting Tashan and Jab We Met simultaneously. Tashan was a really big film with Akshay Kumar, Anil Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan - it was a YRF film. Jab We Met did not have any big names attached to it at that point. Imtiaz had done just one film. I thought, 'Tashan is going to be amazing, I am going to have this amazing body and I am doing action'. My focus was on Tashan. But then Jab We Met released, and - not that Tashan isn't special - but people just loved Jab We Met. No one had really thought that. Magic just happens," she said.

Many actresses played Geet, says Kareena

In an earlier interview with BBC Asia, Kareena spoke about the impact of Jab We Met. When the anchor pointed out how actresses also audition for roles as Geet in the years to follow, Kareena said, "Geet is one of the top 10 characters in Indian cinema," she said adding, "After that every actresses version of Geet has come. Every generation there has been one actress who has been acting like Geet, whether it's Band Baaja Baraat or Tanu Weds Manu, it is also about that small-town girl, patiala salwar, wanting to go and fulfill her dreams. At the end that's the crux."

How the film got its title

The love story of Geet and Aditya remains one of the most celebrated romantic comedies to be ever made in Bollywood. During a recent episode of our print and podcast series Sit With Hitlist, Shahid revealed how the film got its name. "Imtiaz was a new director, when he came with the script, and it had 'Geet' written on it. So I said, 'Yeh Geet ka kya matlab hai?' He said, 'Heroine ka naam hai'. So I said, 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 broke into laughter as he narrated the incident.