Akshay Shah Reviews SAWARIYA (Hindi, 2007)

Akshay Shah Reviews SAWARIYA (Hindi, 2007)



SAWARIYA was no doubt one of the years most awaited films, after the critical and commercial success of BLACK (2005) all eyes were on what Bhansali would do next. When he announced that he would be directing a love story launching Rishi Kapoor’s son Ranbir Kapoor and Anil Kapoor’s daughter Sonam Kapoor expectations soared; Sony allying up with Bhansali to produce SAWARIYA was the icing on top. So does SWARIYA succeed in what it set out to do? In my humble opinion, yes! The movie isn’t flawless, and it doesn’t quiet fall in to the same league as Bhansali’s previous films, but it’s easily worth a watch once for Ranbir’s outstanding debut and Bhansali’s magical touch.



Adapted from Dostoevsky's short story WHITE NIGHTS, SAWARIYA has a very simple story at its core. The film revolves around Raj (Ranbir Kapoor), a free-spirited kind-hearted dreamer who arrives at a quaint and magical town. A magical place surrounded by dazzling mountains, shrouded in mystery and inspiring enough to be the work of a painter or poet. One silent night Raj sees a mysterious girl standing alone crying at the bridge. This chance encounter introduces him to Sakina, a shy, quiet and enigmatic girl who continues to intrigue him and one who also steals his heart. Thus follows the beginning of a new friendship, where Raj with his most charming ways and an undying spirit tries to win Sakina’s heart. However Sakina is already in love with someone else-Imaan (Salman Khan) who has left to go to another city for a year to fulfill his duties, but has promised to return to her a year after on Eid. Raj is unable to accept her haunting past and their friendship pulls him into a whirlwind of desire, madness and romance. Finally Eid arrives, does Imaan finally arrive and whisk Sakina away? Or does Raj end up with the girl of his dreams and lives happily ever after?



The screenplay by Prakash Kapadia and Bhansali himself echoes the recently Imtiaz Ali penned AHISTA AHISTA (2006). Given that this is a movie based on a short story, Kapadia and Bhansali do a superlative job at turning this in to 2 ½ hours of magic. Yes the movie is slow, at times the movie moves at a snails pace and the story often isn’t “going anywhere” as such, however that’s the beauty of the film. It allows time for the viewer to completely lose themselves in this magical world and really get to know Raj and Sakina. Yes the movie has its share of flaws, and the poor characterization of Salman Khan stands out like a sore thumb. Why is Sakina attracted to Imaan in the first place? What does she see in him that draws her to him and makes her fall in love madly? And where does he disappear to for a year? Had this been ironed out better the finale and climax of the movie would’ve certainly had more impact.



As a director this is no doubt Bhansali’s weakest film to date. As a story-teller Bhansali has certainly over-relied on his sense of style and visual flamboyance and brilliance than actual story-telling. However given the material he was directing itself is only enough to be a short story this was somewhat expected. SAWARIYA often feels like an extended poem, or a magical painting merged in to one. The narrative is often non-existent and in those moments Bhansali lets the non-verbose magic of his technical team do the work. In the past, I’ve often found Bhansali’s over opulent sets, and dazzling cinematography often over-shadow the basic human emotions of the characters, a prime example being the first half of DEVDAS, I had the same problem in BLACK, and yes SAWARIYA does the same as it’s without a doubt Bhansali’s most indulgent film to date. People have asked questions like “What era is this movie set in”? “What country is this movie set in”? However I found these things somewhat irrelevant when watching SAWARIYA. SAWARIYA is akin to reading your favorite fairy-tale or fable. Unlike DEVDAS or HUM DIL DE CHUKE SANAM, the aim here is to completely transport the viewer in to a different world, a magical world which doesn’t exist. The movie transcends time and space completely and as a viewer one must allow themselves to be transported. However this does become somewhat problematic as Bhansali in turn has alienated a large section of movie going audiences who want things to be spelt out black and white, who want masala, who want an item song, who want big butts shaking and 6 packs flaunting, and the villain being bashed to a pulp, and no doubt I too love all that, however SAWARIYA has none of that, in turn it offers the viewer escapism in it’s purest form, it offers a touching, poignant, poetic and magnetic fable and in turn asks for the viewer for patience and appreciation.



Bhansali’s handling of the love-story did leave me under-whelmed. Given Bhansali himself is the master of unrequited love stories with films like HUM DIL DE CHUKE SANAM and DEVDAS I certainly felt he could’ve concentrated more on the characters and etched them out finer. The characters of Sakina, and specially Imaan and Gulab feel incomplete in some ways. As mentioned earlier, the movie is slow and there are places where I found scenes could’ve been snipped and other places where I thought there could’ve been more (Sakina-Imaan and Raj-Gulab angles specially). The climax of the movie is has been superbly executed and this has always been one of Bhansali’s strong-points as a film-maker as he certainly knows how to set the momentum before staging a big finale which touches the viewers hearts.



Now to the performances…

Folks, put your hands together for Ranbir Rishi Raj Kapoor, the heir to the throne of one of India’s oldest film families. As I’ve always said, star-kids making their debut is akin to a double-edged sword. On one hand they have the platform to make a dream debut with the biggest of banners and budgets; however on the other hand that certainly does manifold the expectations on the kids to perform. The hype surrounding Ranbir Kapoor was incredible, and without a single shred of doubt Ranbir Kapoor lives up to expectations. Given he’s present in almost every frame in the movie Ranbir shoulders the expectations of SAWARIYA supremely well and is no doubt extremely talented. So who is he like? Does he remind one of his father Rishi Kapoor? Or grand-father Shri Raj Kapoor? The biggest compliment one can give Ranbir is that he possesses the best of both his father and grand-father. No doubt Ranbir pays a tribute to the legend Raj Kapoor here and right from his get-up, his goofy charm, and at times his chaplin-esque mannerisms which draw an instant reminder to Mr. Kapoor in AWAARA and SHREE 420. The first thing that strikes you about Ranbir is his confidence, not only does he look absolutely smashing (and no I’m not talking about the over-hype, blink-and-miss butt scene) he has an strange sort of charm and charisma which is hard to describe in words and that often reminds one of Rishi Kapoor, specially in the romantic scenes. His goofy grin, searching eyes and rubber-band like movements wins the viewer over from the first time he comes on-screen. Granted there are places where he comes across as raw, and this always going to be case given this is his first film, but there are other times like the emotional sequence where he surprises with his command over the medium and one forgets that he’s a newcomer, the climax sequence being one of them. Ranbir Rishi Raj Kapoor….welcome to Bollywood and all the best for the future.



Sonam Kapoor disappoints overall. Yes the girl is gorgeous and striking in a classical way, and reminded me a lot of Moushmi Chatterjee and Sonali Bendre in places but her performance doesn’t strike the kind of chord that one expected. One actually feels sorry for her a little given her characterization wasn’t as strong as it could’ve been to start, however her constant giggling does get annoying after a point. So no hope for her at all? I wouldn’t say that! There are scenes where she shows sparks of talent and surprises the viewer like the scene where her aunt tells her that Imaan isn’t coming and she laughs it off casually, and also the climax is ample proof that with the right films and directors Sonam can go a long way.



Rani Mukherjee is outstanding. It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed a Rani Mukherjee performance, but as the zinda-dil prostitute Gulab she is absolutely amazing, and no doubt deserving for a Best Supporting Actress Nomination. She lights the movie up every time she’s on screen with her flamboyant presence, and her delivery and expressions are flawless. One does wonder what Rani’s fascination is for playing a “lady of the night”, after MANGAL PANDAY (2005) and LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG (2007) this is the third time in 2 years Rani is playing one.

Salman Khan doesn’t have much to do here in a 10 minute appearance. One wishes his character had a personality given he’s so crucial to the crux of the story. However Salman Khan sleep-walks through his role and delivers what is undeniably one of the most wooden and non-expressive (more-so than usual) performances of his entire career!! Truly disappointing.

Zohra Sehgal is lovable as ever, and provides some great moments of comic relief in the movie. Begum Para and Achla Sachdev are good in their small roles.

Technically the movie deserves a 10/10, magical, exquisite, surreal, and simply indescribable in words! Ravi Chandran’s camerawork quiet easily is the finest I’ve seen this year. Each and every visual in the movie is a beautifully brushed painting on celluloid, and the creative passion that Chandran has captured these is outstanding, and deserves a standing ovation. Omung Kumar and Vanita Omung Kumar’s artwork is beyond excellent. The magical town they’ve created is dazzling and it’s hard not to drop you jaw in absolute awe. Choreography by Ganesh Hedge, Shamak Davar, Mallu and Pappu is fantastic. No doubt Ranbir is one of the finest dancers to grace the silver screen in recent years, and one that will definetly be compared to Hrithik Roshan and Shahid Kapur.



Music has always been one of the biggest USP’s of a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film and SAWARIYA is no different. The title track SAWARIYA is infectious and the picturization further elevates the impact of the song at the start and towards the end, no doubt the best song of the film. JAB SE TERE NAINA reminded me instantly of R.D Burman, nuff said. MASHA ALLAH is soothing to the core and Kunal Ganjawala is at his best. YOON SHABNAMI, PARI and CHABEELA too leave their mark and are melodious to the core.

All up where does that leave SAWARIYA? As I said earlier, in comparison to expectations SAWARIYA is a disappointment; however the movie is most definitely worth a dekkho for Bhansali’s magical touch and Ranbir’s stunning debut.



Overall Rating=7.0/10.0

A.Shah