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Home > Bollywood Movie Reviews > Saawariya All Hype, No Substance APK | November 09, 2007 Rating: ** (***** Very Good, **** Good, *** Fair, ** Average, * Bad) User comments Art: Omung Kumar Bhandula-Vanita Omung Kumar. Costumes: Anuradha-Reza Shariffi-Rajesh Pratap Singh. Director Of Photography: Ravi K. Chandran. Editing: Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Lyrics: Sameer. Music: Monty Sharma. Screenplay: Prakash Kapadia-Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Sound Designer: Resul Pookutty. Producer & Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Executive Producers: Kuldeep Singh Rathore-Deepak Sharma. Banner: SLB Films Pvt. Ltd.-SPE Films India Pvt. Ltd. Release Date: 9th November, 2007.  Saawariya is based on Dostoevsky's short story 'White Nights' and is the launch pad of two star kids-Ranbir Raj Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor. Sanjay Leela Bhansali shows his technical expertise again, but little else. There are good things about Saawariya. The music, a good new find a.k.a. Ranbir and its short length. Yeah, that's about it.Plot Ranbir Raj is a singer at a bar, staying as a paying guest in an area full of contrasting conservative households and a brothel. He meets Sakina on a bridge on night and falls in love with her. She is in love with Iman, an ex-tenant who leaves but promises to come back by Id. While Ranbir tries to win her love, Sakina waits and pines for her lover to fulfill his promise. The duo forms a friendship, but where it will lead is the rest of the plot. Story, Screenplay and Direction It's set in a never-never land far-far away. Well, one could hazard a guess at some time before independence (because the coin shown has the Queen on it) and far north (because it snows). For all the authenticity and perfection that Bhansali reportedly insists on, Sakina, a Muslim girl of a conservative background wears cleavage showing and backless outfits. He can take the artistic freedom of not keeping the setting unreal, but just a question, why is it all blue after black? The story itself is short, and has one of those unconventional endings. The best that Bhansali did was to keep the movie also short, instead of trying to drag a short story. It is a four day romance, and not always two-sided. The main characters all go through some conflict at some time and hence they could have had deeper character portraits. But they end up being flat, but it is to the director's discredit and not merely theirs. As mentioned before, the cinematography is nothing like the previous movies they made together (Ravi K. Chandran and Bhansali)-the colorful HDDCS and the deep and dark Black. Here the art director (Omung Kumar) gets to play with all shades of blue, navy blue-black and grey; it is supposedly a 'fairy-tale' setting so we have loads of lights that flicker sadly. Oh and there's a lake, there's a brothel and a house with a piano where Ranbir stays. So neither impress. Nor do the dialogues, with references to the Kapoor legacy thrown in for good measure. Bhansali's filmmaking style in Saawariya is of a maker who takes himself too seriously. If it's a niche movie and is meant to appeal to a small section of the audience, usually the budget does not exceed 5 crores and not 50 crores (as rumored). The pace is really slow, but the pace can be gentle yet gripping; alas, not for Saawariya, it doesn't. Subtlety is something the movie lacks. And no, it's nothing like the over-the-top but enjoyable 'Moulin Rouge' either. The music sounds good, the movie lacks depth.  Performances Ranbir Kapoor is very good for a first-timer. His voice, for some reason, sounds a little like Hrithik Roshan's and his laugh is like his inimitable father's. He dances well and performs with ease, but the director seemed to have asked for a lot of exuberance-which gets a little artificial at times. Sonam's role or character have not been worked on that much. It is limited and stifled, but she has ample grace and expressive eyes. Rani Mukherjee never disappoints. Salman Khan in a brief role suits his character. Zohra Segal is good.Music and Dance The music is good in the movie, but a song crops up every now and then. The background is a little too loud, but barring that the music is a plus for the movie. Ranbir dances well. Sonam is graceful. Last Word After all the hype and promotion, the movie is pretty average. The lead pair makes a good debut, and show some promise. They do not disappoint. This time, the director disappoints and his narrative skills let us down. It could have been a straightforward love story; but the focus is on the elaborate sets, eccentric lighting, usual melodrama with a little song and dance thrown in. |