When I went to watch this movie and several others this weekend I didn’t carry any expectations except the one for a decent time pass. Guess that’s the reason why I didn’t come home disappointed from any of the movies... More on that later right now I shall talk about Saathiya.
This is the story of a couple living the realities of life and struggling to keep the flame alive. The ’’Happily ever after’’ fairy tale version has been discarded in favor a more realistic image.
The story begins with a smiling Aditya driving up to local train station to pickup his wife and being diverted en-route for an accident has happened. He waits for his wife Suhani to turn up at the station till he gets jittery and then frantic. In between his searches the story unfolds, mostly in flashbacks. The timeline of the flashbacks is wonderfully superimposed on the passage of time in his search for his beloved wife. Full marks to the editing crew.
While the main story is serious, the flashbacks are sprinkled with some good humor and emotional scenes and outbursts, which shy away from the kind melodrama we have grown so sick of. There is no comedy or formally designated comedian the characters fill in with a lot of wise cracks on each other and themselves. Guess the director realized that the audience are increasingly getting tired of fools and their buffoonery. Satish Shah stands out in his portrayal of an eccentric but successful barrister with a sense of humor.
The movie is racy and entertaining till the romance and courtship is being played out. After their marriage it becomes rather slow and towards the end it becomes a bit of a drag. It could well have been wound up by the end of the second hour but was unnecessarily stretched in the second half. I guess the producer found it difficult to accept the possibility of a Hindi movie of less than 150 minutes. The introduction of an upright almost saintly IAS officer (played by Shahrukh Khan) was totally unnecessary; we could have done without him. The soundtrack is largely forgettable but it has been extensively used all along to the point of being tiring and even irritating at times. Most actors have done a good job but no one stands out or dominates the screen. No larger than life characters or powerful performances, probably to make the audience identify with them.
All in all don’t go with too high an expectation and you won’t be disappointed.