| Starring: Ranbir Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Salman Khan and Rani Mukherjee
lthough there were a few grumbles in the cinema about the length of the movie, ‘Saawariya’ engaged most of the audience who at the end said they couldn’t wait for a sequel.
The movie tells the tale of unrequited love between a ‘lady of the night’ and a struggling musician, the later on the other hand is head over heels with a beautiful young girl who in turn has waited a year for her lover’s imminent return …. Quite a mélange!
‘Saawariya’ (meaning ‘beloved’) has all the standard Bollywood ingredients but it stands out for me because the characters are magical rather than farcical. With sets reminiscent of ‘Moulin Rouge’ we travel to RK’s Bar where Gubji ( a lady of the night) reminisces over the love of her life – Raj, a travelling musician who lives with his head in the clouds and dreams of meeting an angel.
And that he does –Sakina is the girl of his dreams – a stranger he meets crying upon a bridge in the dead of night. He even gives up his promising career at RK’s just to spend time with her.
But the story is so much more it tells of a man who is on a quest for a perfect world – one where sadness doesn’t conquer and happiness is the order of the day. There is a magnificent scene where he shows Sakina how to fight off the sadness.
Raj brings joy to all he meets – be they the prostitutes, Sakina or ‘Lillipop’ the little old lady who opens her heart and home for him.
Newcomers
Director – Sanjay Leela Bhansali went on a search for new talent for this ‘exotic love story’. The brief was ‘fresh, youthful energy and joy’. These he found in Ranbir and Sonam Kapoor. ‘they became like my children,’ he said. ‘They gave me a fresh perspective on life and film’.
In addition he used a novice musical director – Monty Sharma who spent more than two years perfecting the 10 songs for the film. ‘There were many firsts in this film,’ he said. ‘I introduced two new singers– Shail Hada and Parthiv Gohil, and I also roped in Anuradha Vakil and Rajesh Pratap Singh to do the costumes, and it’s the first time that these two well known designers have designed for film. ‘
Do yourself a favour a treat yourself to a wonderful romantic evening at the cinema.
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