Nov 09, 2007 02:56 AM
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(Updated Nov 09, 2007 03:02 AM)
Dostoevsky is my favorite writer in all languages. The writer is known for his ability to intrude to human mind and express it in words. There are many attempts made by many to reproduce Dostoevsky's novels and short stories. Only a master can extract the essence and reproduce it brilliantly. When Sanjay Leela Bhansali who gave us black and Kamoshi attempted Dostoevsky's short story 'White Nights' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Nights_(short_story)), I was expecting nothing short of a classic film but I am disappointed!
The story is presented as told by Ghulab (Rani Mukharjee), who is a sex worker lives in a red street. Ranbir Raj (Ranbir Kapoor) who came new to the street and Ghulab meets Raj there. A perfect good boy, Raj makes friendship with all in the street, but still short of a place to sleep. With the help of Ghulab Ranbir found a place to stay in the house of Lollipop (Zohra Sehgal) who is quite old and miss his son. Another night, Raj noticed Sakina (Sonam Kapoor) waiting near the bridge for somebody. The street as I told is a red street and it was pretty dangerous to stay around. Raj offered a helping hand to Sakina and soon become friends. In no time friendship has grown as love to Raj where for Sakina she is waiting for her lover (Salman Khan) who was a paying guest earlier in Sakina's house. Saawariya is a triangular love story of the three where Salman only have very few screen presence.
The movie is having few good symbols used in frequent intervals. Whether it is an umbrella, a bridge, a safety pin, rain or snow it all have meaning. In that way Saawariya is a poetic love story by Sanjay Leela Bhansali which tried to film and present a poetic experience to the audience.
Sets are the highlight of the movie. Arguably the best set made in Bollywood, Saawariya will be remembered for that. Green, blue, light and dark….the huge set with beautiful walls and walls (even walls are a symbol when it comes to Dostoevsky) make the frames a visual treat. No doubt it is an art lovers' paradise. All congrats to Omung & Vanita Kumar Bhandula.
Ranbir Kapoor is the next better attraction for Saawariya. The newcomer gave a rocking performance and we cannot ask for more. He looks so fresh & so cheerful. (But I didn't expected him to give a full back nude scene in his first film which was quite unnecessary in the first place and Sanjay Leela Bhansali was not known for such experiments earlier.) Sonam Kapoor's acting was ok, nothing exceptional. She has to do some hard work to survive. Rani Mukherjee got a small but beautiful role and she did it brilliantly. Salman Khan's presence was limited. Zohra Sehgal was good.
Cinematography by Ravi Chandran is the third attraction for Saawariya. Eventhough it is dark, the shots are simply perfect! Music of the film was very good. Choreography was brilliant. However, I wished they used some location in Russia to make it more presentable and pleasent.
Given the fact that it is based on a very thin plot, the film should have edited down by 20 to 30 minutes. The plot will not hold good to carry the suspense for more than 1.45 hrs!
Given the pluses let me justify the low rating.
The film is extremely slow paced where for several minutes the audience left in between walls. Walls, however beautiful they are function as walls. Where the story does not move an inch forward with songs and scenes the director lost his grip.
The adaptation of the story was not well done. In Malayalam the plot was adopted and a movie was made in the name 'Summer in Bethlahem'. Where only the central theme was kept and ingredients like comedy, family values etc. added for public consumption. The film was a hit. (The same film remade by Priyadarsan to Tamil and was a failure in the form of Leysa Leysa.) Padmarajan the master story teller who knows what to absorb and what to skip took symbols only from this short story for his film 'Thoovanathumbikal' where based his story on Dostoevsky's Idiot and presented it to Indian environment. In the case of Saawariya, Bhansali tried to do the maximum justice to the original story, but in the process missed the mind of the audience completely. If Dostoevsky see Sanjay's film he will appreciate his effort for sure. However to the film format the story was so thin and the movie is not well replanted to Indian soil. All above said movies have a different climax, a happy ending here SLB stick with the book which let him down.
Only Ranbir's and Sonam's characters are detailed by the director where Rani's and Salman's characters too carry importance. Neither there actions are justified nor their backgrounds explained. Even Ranbir's character's dilemma is not well explained by the director. Ranbir and then Sonam, love a minute, change a minute is typical Dostoevsky nature but not justified to common man or logic.
The other area Sanjay Leela Bhansali missed this time is that the movie failed to touch either brain or heart of the audience. Without touching it first how we can expect the story to win audience. Right? A movie should pass its soul with emotion to the audience to become a good movie and Saawariya is not successful in its attempt.
Overall, Saawariya disappoints. While applauding Sanjay Leela Bhansali's noble intentions I would like to stress that pace of the events is extremely important in commercial film making. The plus points in the form of sets, Ranbir Kapoor, Cinematography, music and choreography…is it sufficient for you to go for a movie? If so, the movie is a definite watch. Otherwise, you may rethink your schedules.
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My rating : 2.25
