Its difficult to write a review on Saawariya. The movie seems like an indiscreet effort after such heavy publicity, which doesn’t even have the real commercial touch. Why wouldn’t it be in trouble especially with OSO on the other side.
Let’s not sound very diplomatic here. But Saawairya, even though being rejected by audiences, has some justifiable peculiarities. Strong points are superb cinematography, brilliant music, and the exceptional Zohra Sehgal. But isn’t that all Mr. Bhansali?
Saawariya can be mistaken for an experimental musical play. The film is a fable without a moral lesson. A dramatic poem without any actual drama. A story without a plot. It’s an energizing myth of a dream woven on screen, but perceived only by the creator.
With songs springing up absolutely out of nowhere, fanaticism of crocodile tears, and with events which could only happen in a dream, Saawariya was still some good fun for me. If it wasn’t made for the masses, I guess SLB could have wholeheartedly exhibited his thoughts to make a good art film.
However, the story has nothing special. A love triangle which is not complete, the movie becomes an emotional roller coaster which is malfunctioning. I expected to see people crying by the end, but most of them had left, bored.
Ranbir Kapoor is juvenile as an actor in my opinion. He’s quite expressive in his role though, and a good dancer too. Girls do find their share of eye candy as far as his looks are concerned. Ranbir might do better with a different storyline in his future movies, hope not as the next impressive ’suiting-shirting’ model like Abhishek Bachchan all over TV.
Sonam Kapoor is very beautiful. Her innocence and sublimity can remind you of your first serious infatuation. Her smile is so pleasant, that it’s an incentive to forget everything else about the movie. It would be an insult to her elegance, if in her other roles she is made to do what other actresses do (item numbers, etc). Please vote for Sonam as the ‘Best newcomer’ for all award nominations.
Hats off to the music. The Saawariya ost has been doing great, and comes alive with an outstanding visual protraction. The only reason you will sit through many abrupt songs.
The sets… what a disappointment. SLB movies are known for their flamboyant art direction, but when it goes in excess, they lose originality. Unlike Devdas, Saawariya has amazing sets lacking an appropriate theme. A Buddha statue in a red light area, canals and boats like Venice, snowfall, artistic graffiti on streets, all make it a where-on-earth-is-this location.
To summarize…
Not recommended for:
- Diwali hai, movie chalo!
- I love Rani Mukherjee.
- I love Salman Khan.
- Usual Bollywood fans.
Recommended for:
- The hopeless romanticist.
- The Iconoclast who laughs at seriousness.
- The movie freak who just can’t miss any movie.
- The film critic.
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38 responses so far ↓
1 neha // Nov 11, 2007 at 10:25 pm
It is hard to believe that a Sanjay Leela Bansali(SLB) movie can be meaningless….
I think one more addition to the “Recommended for” list is
- People who can’t believe a SLB movie is bad until they have seen it themselves
2 Anagha // Nov 12, 2007 at 7:00 am
Ha ha ha… agree with Neha!
I like your choice of words Badal, you seem to have a creative mind at work behind that pen of yours
3 badal // Nov 12, 2007 at 9:43 am
hey thanks Anagha!
About Saawariya, see it to believe it…
4 pranay // Nov 12, 2007 at 9:57 pm
its the best movie, have seen both OSO and Saawariya, i like saawariya than OSO, as OSO is like remake of and old movie while saawariya is totally new and creative, i cant explain, you need to go and watch movie for it.
5 Nikki // Nov 13, 2007 at 12:43 am
I dont know why people think that saawariya is a flop. I know i haven’t seen it though i have a feeling i am going to luv it.
6 Anum // Nov 13, 2007 at 6:48 am
The only thing I can assume from reading this review is that nobody can accept whats new.. The cinema in India is becoming more creative, however, those who do critic this art are those who are stopping it from progressing further. Saawariya was an excellent film with great direction, those who do not appreciate it should just stick watching to the typical hindi movies that have been made in the past. Thumbs up to Sanjay! Great movie!
7 SoggyCornflakes - Bollywood | Saawariya sucks…but Sanjay doesn’t care // Nov 13, 2007 at 12:32 pm
[…] Here’s some examples of the reviews: “…a stark, lovely story about romance born and rekindled over four nights — and, picking out its barest heart, proceeds to smother it in mixed-up layers of trite melodrama.” - Rediff.com “The film could have been a cinematic masterpiece if Bhansali had focused more on developing the characters in depth rather than resorting heavily to their dramatic presentation. The silhouette of a veiled girl waiting on a bridge is appealing to the eye, but it doesn’t make your heart flinch.” - Apunkachoice “Alas, Saawariya is all style, no substance. When a director of the calibre of SLB attempts a love story, you expect to experience the various emotions that you generally associate with romance. Sadly, the emotions you experience while watching Saawariya is sorrow and after the screening, anguish.” - OneIndia “Saawariya can be mistaken for an experimental musical play. The film is a fable without a moral lesson. A dramatic poem without any actual drama. A story without a plot. It’s an energizing myth of a dream woven on screen, but perceived only by the creator.” - Bookeazy Blog […]
8 some one // Nov 13, 2007 at 1:59 pm
I got totally bored of the film.
Totally synthetic sets….
No effective stories….
I felt a thousand times for a walk out. But only the songs made me to sit.
9 Pranali // Nov 13, 2007 at 3:29 pm
I watched Sawariya and found the film to be excellent. If you have not understood the film say you did not , dont say the film is bad. It was beautiful to watch, great sets, the acting by both the newcomers was good, Rani Mukherji did a fabulous job, Salman had a small but apt role. The music was awesome. It was as if a poem was being recited on screen, reminded me of a beautiful dreamy English poem.
SLB movies are brilliant and a piece of art, definitely not for masses who take interest in crap/meaningless movies like OSO.
Some retards wrote the following comments; I would like to address these low IQ commoners:
Commoner’s Comment: The movie is dark with the film having blue shades throughout.
My reply: Pay attention in the movie hall and keep your mouth shut when the movie is playing. If you had watched the story without yapping with your friends you could have noticed that this is a story of 2 characters that meet only during night hours, there is not a single shot in the movie which has day time in it. Obviously the movie has blue shade throughout. It still looked beautiful.
Commoner’s Comment: There were too many songs.
My Reply: You are a hypocrite. The music review of Sawariya is great, so what problem do you have sitting there and listening to melodious songs. I am sure you wont have any problem listening to crap lyrics like dard-e-disco (you really have a bad ear and taste).
Commoner’s Comment: The story is boring.
My Reply: My dear friend, what was in the story that you did not like?? This story was adapted from Fyodor Dostoevsky-White Nights, a highly acclaimed story, who are you to give bad reviews about it. First make an effort to read it. OSO is about punar janam, and people still loving the movie, are you out of ur mind.
Conclusion: Keep an open mind, all movies need not be the same with a hero and his silly heroine dancing away to senseless songs, this movie is different and may not appeal to all but it is definitely not a bad film……kudos to SLB …he is a genius.
10 Review - Saawariya » without giving the movie away… // Nov 13, 2007 at 3:38 pm
[…] Intermission, The Bookeazy Blog Rating: Thumbs down …I expected to see people crying by the end, but most of them had left, bored…. See full review […]
11 Sachi // Nov 13, 2007 at 4:17 pm
The problem with the film is that its characters are not well developed. Too much time and effort has been spent in creating surrondings and no time is devoted in creating the characters and their emotions. It does not touch your heart at all. You wonder what made this guy love the girl or the girl love the other guy. There is no time spent where you can see and feel this connection being developed and thus can associate yourself with them.
The visuals of the movie has been praised a bit in some reviews, but I fail to understand why is there so much hype about them. The locaiton is not real, its all in a fancy world. Then can you compare it to the visuals of lord of the rings or harry potter. Forget those masterpieces, the visuals of movie cannot be compared even to a 3rd grade animation movie of hollywood. Reason is simple, there are only four locations in the entire movie; what and how much can you do in those four locations?
12 anukamat // Nov 14, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Good review Badal. Way to go. I’ve got serious competition now. Soon Bookeazy will kick me out.
13 Badal // Nov 14, 2007 at 7:59 pm
@Aneesh: Thanks buddy & ya right, kick you out…
@Pranali: Chill!
@Anum: I never said Saawariya is bad, in fact I’ve mentioned nice things about it than just cut-throat criticism. Btw, if you’re from Pune, were you at the Asian Film Festival? It was a week long film appreciation extravaganza. Saawariya couldn’t have been one of the films screened there because it had to be released for the critics during Diwali.
A review can be just read as an opinion rather than a logical judgment. Who wants to find logic in art, after all.
14 kunal // Nov 15, 2007 at 9:58 pm
I completely agree with PRANALI.The movie is not meant for commoner.
It arouses a rare sense of romanticism exhibited through the intense desires and elation of characters.The tint of blue in dark gives a serene soothing touch to the viewers mind most appropriately meant to foster the utter innocence in the core of movie.
There are some serious logical flaws but then movie is not meant to be logical.
The way director has brought up an aboriginal combination of surrealism and light music to experiencing adolescent emotions ,it’s brilliant.SLB is a genuine artist.Cinematography is splendid.
It’s meant for those who easily derive emotions in visualisation and perspectives.
Sonam:damn! she looks like fairy.
(”romanticist:may not be hopeless”).
15 akanksha // Nov 16, 2007 at 2:48 am
hi..i completely agree that with all these guys…who r saying saawariya is not for commoners.its a really nice dreamy movie..which takes you into a fantasy world.i think its suffering a lot because of bad press,why not let people see and judge for themselves.
16 Mridul // Nov 16, 2007 at 12:20 pm
The best part of the film was the end - yes, I mean it literally - when “The End” appears!!
17 MANGALAM PANDEY // Nov 18, 2007 at 3:32 am
ABSOLUTELY DISSAPOINTING, WASTE OF TIME… ANYONE WHO HAS TROUBLE SLEEPING, SHOULD WATCH THIS TO PUT THEM TO BED!!!!!!!
IT SHOULDNT EVEN BE RELEASED IN CINEMAS!
A BIG TIME FLOP!
OH BY THE WAY………WHAT WAS THE STORYLINE, IF THERE WAS ANY???!
18 Thyag // Nov 19, 2007 at 5:38 pm
i really appriciate ur gutts and its a good challengeing work pls do’nt bother about wt people say they will realise latter that this was a good movie……..good
19 sheena // Nov 26, 2007 at 6:06 am
Saw sawariya. I could not stand it. Left after 30 mins. The set looked artificial and dark. Sonam plays muslim girl, but wears backless clothes. It looked unreal and wrong. I am sorry for Sonam and Ranbir, they started with such a poor script. Songs are not that great.
20 Chakrasthitha // Nov 26, 2007 at 10:55 am
The best movie I can ever watch. Anyone who knows what pure love is will surely love this movie!! And yes, I did. I loved watching the Buddha snap shots and I need the stills. If at all anyone has those buddha snap shots please send it to me
21 ck // Nov 28, 2007 at 5:51 pm
huh i dont agree withthe review …. im a normal person and am not atall romantic but i relli love the movie …….. well lemme b a little harsh here …. this movie was for classes not for locals if u didnt lik it its clear tht u hav no class at all ……. ppl grow up for hevn sakes………… i salut Mr.Bansali for this movie it was relli amazin and an hardcore art movie i loved it …….. thts all and im sry if u think i was harsh or rude .. im an artist nd stayin in the industry i can say tht this was a masterpiece ….. thnx and peace
22 maddy // Nov 29, 2007 at 6:17 pm
the moviw is beautiful..artistry personified as all emotions are brought in a canvas limited to shades of green an blue..in evry joyuos momnt the canvs is green while it fades wen the scenes turn blue..the film was blue an all coz it follwd the maxim of “chaar din ki chandni phir andheri raat”…literally an figurativly…ranbir is truly the “raj ” of the film as he brings the rule of love to a sleepy town..sonam has acted vry well an shown how infatuation an love carries u away..the songs are brilliant an perfectly placed..they bring da story forward..since there is very lil camera movment it shows how hard da ppl on an behind da screen have worked..the experience of the film was ethereal
23 7 reasons why you should watch Aaja Nachle (rather than reasons why you shoudn’t) // Dec 6, 2007 at 12:37 pm
[…] is easy, we had a great experience with discussions on the Saawariya review (aka war). So I thought lets write the nice, optimistic side of Aaja Nachle. It’s not only an […]
24 chahat // Apr 8, 2008 at 11:09 am
hi ranbir i love u so much that i can do anything 4 u IIIII LLLLOOOOVVVEEE UUUU VVVVEEERRRYYY MMMUUUCCCHHH
25 chahat // Apr 8, 2008 at 11:10 am
I LOVE U VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY MUCH
26 chahat // Apr 8, 2008 at 11:18 am
ACTULLY SLB HAS MADE VERY NICE ND BOMBASTIC MOVIE
I FULLY AGREE WITH U ALL ND ALSO IN FUTURE I WILL SEE ALL MOVIES OF RANBIR KAPOOR DIRECTED BY SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI THOSE WHO SAY THAT MOVIE IS WORST I SUGGEST THEM TO FIRST JUDJE THEMSELVES THEN OTHERS
BUT I LOVED THIS MOVIE VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY MUCH
27 Biraja // Apr 9, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Saawariya boasts a wondrous (and very blue!) set to enhance the enchanted feel of the tale, but it lacks in the musical numbers department — it takes half the movie to get to a real showstopper piece, and it’s no surprise that Bollywood star Rani Mukherjee anchors it. She and veteran actress Zohra Sehgal highlight what turns out to be a breezy and passably entertaining major Indian musical, the first to be released by a major Hollywood studio.
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36 Itisha // Nov 14, 2008 at 12:41 am
Why are people calling this movie art? People think that it’s based on a popular book, so the movie automatically becomes a masterpiece.?? The movie was directed very badly. They tried to make another Devdas, but what they ended up making was bunch of meaningless scenes. The characters were not developed properly and the script was poorly written. A good movie ties all the scenes together. Each scene should have a meaning that adds to the characters and the main plot. What was the meaning of the main character singing songs to the prostitutes to make them feel better? does it show that the protagonist is kind? What does his kindness have to do with his love for the girl? What about him making his landlord lady his mother within minutes of talking to her? I can go on and on about it. But the point is that the movie is full of useless dramatic scenes that only make the movie annoying. The theme of the book “White Nights” is loneliness. I don’t think the film makers understood that theme and portrayed it well in the movie
37 Itisha // Nov 14, 2008 at 1:40 am
Another thing that completely annoyed me is that the main character is ordering milk at midnight at a bar. Who drinks milk in the middle of the night? Are the film makers try to show a contrast between the prostitute and the protagonist? For what? To make him look like a good man? If that was the case, they ended up showing the character being naive since ordering milk at midnight at a bar is ridiculous. The character had options like ordering water or soft drink if he avoids alcoholic drinks. But nope everything in the movie has to be very dramatic.
And what’s up with him following the girl on the first night and singing a song for her while the girl is scared and running away to hide. Isn’t that creepy? Would not someone sensible would go and try to help her. And if she is scared of you, would not you leave her alone - instead of singing and falling in love with her.
38 rashna // Feb 8, 2009 at 10:43 pm
after reading all this, i agree with sheena.. she is ryt!! movie didn’t make any sense at all.. it was a time- waste movie…
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