This review is not based on a keen observation of the movie—Saawariya. Honestly, it not an effort to give an insight to the readers. The writer has tried to ape Sanjay Leela Bhansali in his own capacity. SLB made the movie to enjoy the art of film making. The writer, here, just wants to enjoy writing a review. He is least bothered about anything else. Read if you can tolerate what the writer feels, likes or hates.Saawariya is a simple story of a cool dude Raj (Ranbir Kapoor) who arrives in a mystical but beautiful looking town. (Hey …wait what's the name of this town? Can’t remember. So for the sake of clarity let’s call this Noname). Raj is a musician , a rock star, who falls in love with a sweet girl Sakina (Sonam) who lives in Noname. Raj looks as if he is from Mumbai or some metro and Sakina from Lucknow (Can I say that?). But before discussing their looks one must note the most important thing, Noname looks like a Russian town. People in Noname speak all the languages possible. Raj’s landlady (Zohra Segal) has a 'phirang' accent. His prostitute friend Gulab (Rani Mukherjee) mixes Punjabi flavour in what she speaks. So life is cool in this sleepy town which never sees the light of the day. (Don’t believe the writer, watch the movie there is not even a single scene which shows day time in open). Noname’s night life is so calm and beautiful that it will certainly facinate you to be there sometime. The director gets full mark for that. So, before Raj can declare his love he finds that there is some one else in Sakina’s life. Who’s this guy? No Sakina will never pronounce his name and will always say ' mere woh...'. Don’t worry our cool dude is smart enough and he finds his rivals name in just 10 seconds. His name is Imaan (Salman Khan). Also, the movie has no villain. Sanjay Leela Bhansali did it again. There was not even a single character with a negative shade. The story ends peacefully without any hustle bustle with lot of emotions.
Both the newcomers acted well. Good expressions and great dialogue delivery. They have proved their potential as actors. Their debut can be called a successful one. (unlike other star kids who keep on getting roles till they succeed). Ranbir looked handsome and he danced with passion. Sonam’s tranquil beauty can leave lasting imprints on any one who watches this movie.
Music director Monty breathes life in the movie whenever it gets dull (and he did that often). Melodious music and good choreography are among the positive points of the movie. Such story can be told with out larger-than-life sets used by Bhansali. In most of the movies sets look like town but here the set always looked like a set. Although beautiful, at no point of time it can convince you that it is real. Rani did a good job but there was nothing she could do to save the movie. Salman was sailing in the same boat.
The movie can be a delight for those who visit theatre frequently. It can make you feel the creativity theatre offers. Some scenes look like beautiful paintings. It is not even half of what people expect from Sanjay Leela Bhansali but the director should be appreciated for this experiment. He tried to bring theatre alive on the silver screen. The movie is not a Diwali block buster but one can watch it for good music, beautiful scenes and freshness offered by the newcomers—Ranbir and Sonam.
If you are still reading, the writer congratulates you for your patience. The last paragraph is only for those who want to discuss the movie with ‘chai and sutta’. Enjoy reading…
Before moving further one would like to ask Sanjay Leela Bhansali one question. The story talks about which year or era? If you have watched the movie and the same question came to your mind. The writer has used his intelligence and tried to decipher the year (of course and approximation). The movie is for intelligent and avid movie goers and the director has left some clues. At one point, it shows screening of Mughal-E-Azam. Sakina’s grand mother is shown enjoying the dialogues of Mughal- E- Azam. So, she must have watched the movie in her young age probably when she was between 18-20. She must be 70 –75 now when she is watching it again. Mughal-E-Azam was released in 1960. So according to our assumption Sakina’s granny is watching it again after 50 years. So, the story happened somewhere between 2010-2015. (Now I know why some people were criticizing the movie during interval. It is story meant for future and poor people could not comprehend that.)
