After Black it's Blue!

Movie : Saawariya

Cast: Salman Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee, Ranbir Kapoor

Rating: Rediff / Sify / Indiatimes : *1/2

My rating: ****


After Black, it is Blue!! Sanjay Leela Bhansali really has a penchant for colours ( or the lack of it)! Saawariya for many reason is like an under-water diving experience, there is blue , blue and well still more blue! Underwater you see fauna of different colours but here the cast, extras and even the table linen is blue!

Flashback! ( mine )

With people trashing the movie left, right and center! An incredible amount of negative publicity and the movie being not-so affectionately being nicknames Saawariya – Sethuporiya ( which means will you die, if translated into Tamil). I was prepared for the absolute worst!!

The first hurdle was finding company, for some reason noone shared my enthusiasm to experiment a bit with an ‘insipid movie which is almost monochromatic’ … lol.. I did find two bakras nonetheless, my poor colleagues, one even dragged her husband! The final verdict however was mixed, one colleague liked it, I loved it and the other detested it!

There is and believe me there definitely is a way to enjoy the movie! Keep in mind the
three characteristic which are unique to Saawariya, put all logic aside , sit back, relax and enjoy the visual splendor!

· Serial-lights!! You see serial lights everywhere, on the roads, under the bridge, inside the waste-paper basket, on the road, near the chicken coop and even under Sonam Kapoor’s skirt!!

· A ghost township! My colleague along with half the world had the same doubt! Where the hell is this town? I have another to add to that doubt, why the hell does it look like a bad matt painting (for all those who don’t understand that term , it’s used to describe the digital imagery you see in fantasy movies). There are boats which move on less than foot of water, people who stand around like zombies , 3 feet wide lakes so on and so forth!

· The time frame- At time you feel like we are in the present day world, there are times where u feel like you are hundred years behind but what you constantly feel is that you stuck in a monochromatic world! Don’t try determining the time frame!

· I DON'T LIKES Rani Mukerjee!! GAWD I DETEST HER ANS HER FAKE CHIRPY VOICE DIALOGUES...FRANKLY..GET A LIFE WOMAN… WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU PLAYING THE ‘FALLEN WOMAN’ … now could you please retire after you impending wedding to Adi Chopra?


So do the move make sense? Absolutely not! But it tugs at your heart strings, every scene has been canned with emotion, with love with passion and that shows!! Yes, every single frame has been tireless made to look visually splendid … and yet.. the same detail hasn’t been rendered to performance and script.

Saawariya is one of those movies where you take home something with you and one of those things is a absolutely, fantastic, superlative performance by Zora Segal! Her act as lilli-pop itself it worth every bit the Rs.120 ticket! The other is this warm fuzzy feeling, the one who get while hugging you teddy bear . Ranbir Kapoor does look gay but there is a certain sincerity in his performance which melts you.

Contrary to reports “you are NOT assaulted but he music” . The songs are simple, melodious, fabulously choreographed. However what I was pleasantly surprised by is that the songs were all delightfully short, never more than 3 minutes, always leaving us
( atleast me) asking for more.

While Ranbir is a fabulous dancer the same can’t be said about his attempt to act but I am sure he will learn with time, Anyways since when does talent determine success in bollywood ? Sonam on the other hand, is refreshingly un-perfect looking ! I made a few catty comments about hoe she need a lip-job done and a few tweaks on her face but she is an ordinary looking woman well cast in the role, which she plays ..eeeeerrrrrrr. ummmmmmm….. well to the best she can!

The story is a simple innocent boy-meets girl tale. A wandering minstrel falls in love with a fair maiden on a lonely bridge. He falls madly in love with her only to realize she has given away her heart to another man, who she waits for tirelessly. He bowls her over with his charm and exuberance but will she falter ? Will she give up her love for the young man who sweeps her off her feet??? Watch Saawariya to find out !!

If you want a second opinion ( a rather contrasting one at that ) read Neeraja’s blog
(the one who hated it !) http://whatifeel-neeraja.blogspot.com/

P.S. I say watch the movie, leave logic behind and get lost in a mesmerising, monochromatic azure melange’.