Saawariya, like all Sanjay Leela Bhansali films was a much awaited film, but after it received a bad press and was trashed by all critics alike, my enthusiasm to see it dampened a bit. But then, some positive word-of-mouth publicity poured in and an angry and hurt SLB declared that it was his best film. I decided to watch the film after all, since I had truly enjoyed all SLB films except Devdas.
After sitting through this laboured effort by SLB, I realized that the critics were absolutely right. It seems that SLB has decided that he has reached such a pinnacle of success, that he can now start making films for satisfying his own creativity. He need not make films for the audience any more - the once-smitten audience would excitedly lap up anything that he dished out. Creating a perfect launch-vehicle for two starry-eyed star-kids is not his botheration. The young couple and their parents should consider themselves lucky that SLB had agreed to direct them. Remember J P Dutta launching Abhishek and Kareena, through ‘Refugee’ and how it sank without a ripple.
The story is something that anybody could have written. In fact it is more of a poem suitable to be adapted for a play. Our hero, Ranbir Kapoor, lands up in a certain city, takes up a job as hotel singer and very strangely decides to settle in a red-light area. He happens to come across Sonam, a respectable Muslim girl, staying in a palace-like house in another part of the city. She has to sail on a water canal, like we have in Venice, to reach Ranbir’s locality. Why she has to come to the red-light area remains a mystery. Ranbir falls hook-line-and-sinker for Sonam at first sight only to discover that she is in love with someone else(played by Salman Khan) and is waiting for him to return and marry her. Ranbir is upset somewhat but manages to keep a bold face. The only person who realizes his predicament is his nonagenarian land lady. Ranbir’s hopes rise once again when Sonam’s lover fails to return back at the promised place and location. Finally, she decides to settle for Ranbir but at the eleventh hour the lover returns to spoil the show and the film halts on a sad note.
The film is a set-designers delight. The city is a figment of SLB and his art director’s imagination. Narrow dark alleys, arched bridges, painted walls, decorative street lights, waterways and bright glow-signs adorn the city. Probably the story is set in some country near the North Pole like Greenland which never sees the light of the day. A blue inky darkness haunts the film throughout.
Nowhere during the film do you feel sad or happy for the hero or the heroine because you do not connect with them at all. The pace is slow and punctuated by too many songs. The romances of both Ranbir – Sonam and Sonam-Salman are not convincing. The director’s entire effort is wasted in coming up with one great set after another or in deciding the perfect light and colour combination for each set. Modern city-bred kids, Ranbir and Sonam seem to have been forced by SLB to come up with mannerisms and expressions that do not suit them at all.
Rani Mukherjee plays a pr*stitute who dons the avatar of a sutradhar .Why do we need a sutradhar to guide us through such a simple story, bereft of any complexities or intricacies, is beyond my comprehension. Perhaps, she was roped in to add star value to the film. And, perhaps, Salman Khan too is in the film for the same reason. However, Rani brightens up the film, with her magnetic smile whenever she appears on the screen. But it is too little for such a stark tale. Ranbir Kapoor shows the potential and the six packs to make it big but sadly the same cannot be said about Sonam, who looks even simpler than your girl-next-door. The two old ladies Begum Para and Zohra Sehgal, are interesting to watch. Zohra Sehgal’s character stands out and has the maximum impact.
Does the movie have any positive points? Yes, the music by debutant Monty Sharma and his lead singer – Shail Hada. It may be the only aspect that may linger on in public memory for some time.
To summarise – Saawariya is neither an entertainer nor an art film, neither a comedy nor a tragedy, neither a romance nor a tale of betrayal and will please neither the masses nor the critics. In spite of elaborately painted sets and props, it is dull and bereft of colour. It does not have a single memorable scene, or a touching moment nor any of the directorial flourishes that SLB is capable of. SLB just needs to see any of his earlier films to know where he has gone wrong.