With visible emptiness in my eyes as I scrolled through the DVD rack, came a shrilling voice from behind. “Sahabji, take this one na...too good, sachi mein, too good!!”. “You’ll always say that Rajji...last time also you destroyed my evening by renting me Hawa.” I retorted. In a hysterical mood, this DVD-renter of mine took out his slippers and started howling “If you don’t find this movie any good, beat me blue with these very slippers.” Irritated by his histrionics I snatched Saaya’s DVD and exited as fast as my two hind-limbs could carry me. So how bad or good was Saaya? Read on to find out.
.::The Plot::.
Saaya actually tells the story of Dr. Akash Bhatnagar a.k.a Akki (John Abraham) who has recently lost his wife Dr. Maya (Tara Sharma) to a landslide which occurred as she was returning from a flood relief camp in Nagaland. Akash takes to round-the-clock work to overcome the calamitous loss but strange and peculiar incidents soon start happening (like drops falling from his roof, his getting drowned in his own house, a dead-child suddenly getting up and claiming to have met Maya, the strange drawings by another child-patient) and Akki becomes dead-sure that Maya is trying to make contact with him.
However, his experiences are taken to be imaginations by his in-laws and friends alike. In fact his (and Maya’s) best friend Tanya (Mahima Chaudhary) thinks he’s losing it, and needs to remove himself from everything that reminds him of Maya. In a state of confusion, Akki comes across Sister Martha (Zohra Sehgal) who supports and encourages Akki to piece together his experiences and search for any clues that Maya is giving him.
Does Akki get the clue? If he does, what is it? Is Maya still alive? If she isn’t, then why in her super-natural incarnate does she try to come in contact with Akki, again and again? Watch the flick for the answers.
.::The Analysis of script: ::.
On a personal note, I must add that even though the subject of life after death is amusing and confusing, I still believe in it. And no, that isn’t a result of countless rumours and hearsays, but of a jarring personal experience with one of my aunts.
Coming back to the film, classifying Saaya as a horror flick will be an insult both to the genre and the film itself. Though the film undeniably carries a supernatural theme, the theme is slipped in to reinforce the belief of immortality of love. The cohesiveness of the plot is realised in the second half, when the viewer realises that all of Akki’s experiences are actually tender messages of love pointing to something interesting that Maya wants Akki to take with him. Maybe, it is just this one factor that is behind all the suspense of the flick and makes it worth a watch.
On the other hand, the deep-sunken flaws are also visible. For once, the outland-ish spooky moments in the first half of the flick (barring the hospital ones) seem to be pushed a bit too far. There are particularly two sequences like the one where Akki’s drowning in one moment, but in the next moment when Tanya comes, the house is barren-dry and another where Akki packs all his belongings in a carton, and after a moment of stroll, when he comes back, all the things are religiously put back in place! The writers haven’t incorporated any sensible conclusions to these obscure sequences, which somewhat confuses an average viewer if all this was Akki’s imagination (when actually it isn’t!)
Moreover, I would have loved Akki’s and Maya’s romantic angle to be more developed and realised than it actually was. The screenplay has mainly developed their relationship through flashbacks, which though come successful in invoking sympathy for Akki, somehow doesn’t raise any sighs for Maya’s demise.
.::The direction and the technicalities: ::.
If Saaya boasts of a good script, then the subtle treatment by Anurag Basu is something to vouch for. The director has marvellously canned the emotional and frightening sequences (of special mention are the very first scene where Akki is talking to a flood-stricken half-drowned Maya, the emotional outbursts of Tanya who wants Akki to forget Maya, the tribal sequences towards the climax and lastly the chilling hospital moments which are sure to make you gasp!).
On the technical front, Saaya again comes up trumps (quite an achievement this, taking into account the shoe-string budget it was mounted!) Fuwad Khan’s camerawork is awesome brilliantly capturing the constraints of Delhi and the scenic beauty of Nagaland’s forests. One of the best thing about the cinematography is the generous use of water (through never-ending rains, waterfalls, rivers) on-screen, which automatically lends a cold and eerie look to the film. The spirit of Maya (whose body got drowned in a river) communicating through water and rain-drops was indeed a deft touch. Editing is routine and so are the dialogues. Background music is as required.
Music (by Anu Malik-M.M.Kreem) is one of the USPs of Saaya, with practically all the tunes registering a strong impact either through their sensitive picturisation or the haunting tunes. Instantly likeable are “O Saathiya” and “Aye Meri Zindagi” which are more of flashback vehicles. Shreya Ghosal seems to be in her full form everywhere and even makes a fleeting appearance as a choir girl with another fab ditty “Har Taraf”. “Kabhi Khushboo” is another wonderful tune but somewhat slows down the film’s tempo.
.::The performances: ::.
John Abraham puts in a heart-felt, understated performance and is one of the strengths of Saaya. Practically sailing through a gamut of emotions like depression, shock, and finally solace, he demonstrates a deadly combination of good looks and commendable acting prowess. Though the female leads don’t have much to do, Mahima Chaudhary still leaves an impact with a mature performance proving that a seasoned performer doesn’t need a lengthy role to impress.
Tara Sharma, on the other hand looks wholesomely stunning, though could do with just a bit more improvisation in the dialogue-delivery. Zohra Sehgal is another performer who rises well above the script and turns an otherwise caricatured character into a believable one (Watch her uttering those words on faith and spirits—simply mindblowing!). The two kids (who have had near-death experiences) and the Naga tribes are again masterfully hand-picked to lend a novel touch to the film. There isn’t much left to do for rest of the cast, but you are sure to detest Raj Zutshi’s (passing off as a Nagaland-native driver) hamming.
.::Wanna see Saaya?::.
Supernatural films seldom come across as convincing, but the writers here (even though inspired by Dragonfly) have beautifully weaved a love angle to this paranormal plot making it a treat for the sensitive audience. It might not educate the viewers on life-after-death, but it is this hint of love and positivism that it carries subtly till the very end, that is sure to leave a pensive you moderately satisfied.
Probably, a bit more emotion would have made it much more memorable, but as of now, it remains a mature piece of film-making recommended for viewing once.
.....Hope you liked the review....Do comment if time permits....
©Karan 2003
P.S.: Don’t ask me how my DVD-renter reacted when I went back!!
