Love.....or something like it... Review on Saawariya

A magical journey through a mystical town and into the heart of a mysterious girl; that is the journey Ranbir Raj (Ranbir Kapoor) takes up in this dream debut as an actor. SLB weaves magic onto the screen. Some movies like OSO are meant to entertain. They’re just flicks which people would have passed off if it were not for a big banner and Shahrukh Khan.

I guess, Farah Khan’s biggest strength as a director is Shahrukh Khan. On the other hand SLB takes two complete new comers and extracts the performance of a lifetime from them. Rani Mukherjee as Gulabji is the narrator of the story of Ranbir whom she calls Saawariya; the guy who came into the town one night for a job as a singer (in the most famous bar of the town – RK Bar) and fell in love with Sakina (Gorgeous Sonam Kapoor) the simple Muslim girl-next- door. Ranbir’s magical voice and amiable manner captures everyone’s heart and he sings his way into the heart of the entire colony. A special mention about the music of the movie…it is an intrinsic part of the film itself and every song tell a story. This was a relief after watching Farah Khan forcing Dard-E-Disco into the second half of OSO, where it wasn’t even required and was just put into the movie to show Shahrukh’s abs. Guess Farah Khan should seriously be worried about her future after Shahrukh. She has the potential but she’s overlooking what she lacks.

Anyway, let’s get back to Saawariya. After a long time I felt like reviewing a movie, and mostly because people and media have been rubbishing this movie, comparing it to OSO and declaring OSO as the winner in the clash of the titans, etc, etc. Infact, the media reports about the performance of the two movies splashed across all the NEWS and entertainment channels and everywhere SLB’s Saawariya was declared drubbed by OSO. I had booked my tickets for both the movies before their release itself and on consecutive days .I was expecting OSO to be just another nonsensical entertainer like Main Hoon Na and Saawariya to be a better movie going by the director’s track record (Khamoshi, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas & Black) and these media reports bashing SLB for not connecting with the crowds were disheartening. Anyway, I saw OSO day before yesterday and wasn’t extremely pleased with the movie although there were a few good things about it. And since Saawariya was said to be worse than OSO, I was in two minds whether to trust my instinct and watch it or to get influenced by the general opinion about the movie and give away my tickets…..and I’m glad I watched it. Do not expect a typical bollywood climax or any action and any clichés.

This is the first fairy tale love story of bollywood, so although many people might not accept it, the movie is in every sense a classic. The story is too simple to be reviewed and explained and telling you guys a bit would be like giving it away, so, I'm just gonna ask you to go to te movie prepared to get lost in this reverie.Watch out for Ranbir’s Charm, Sonam’s beauty and Zohra Sehgal’s characterization of Lillian (or Lillipop as Ranbir calls her in the movie) and be blown away by the simple theme, the sleepy town, the melancholic music and fall in love with Saawariya. Take a bow Mr. Bhansali, take a bow.