Friday Review
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A stale tale
TOO CONTRIVED: Saawariya
Saawariya
Genre: Musical
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Rani Mukerji, Salman Khan
Storyline: A tramp falls in love with a maiden waiting for her lover to return.
Bottomline: Disappointing and pretentious.
We don’t care how surreal the sets appear to be as long as the emotions feel real. We seriously don’t care about a wafer-thin fairytale plot set in Tra-La-La-La Land bathed in blue light as long as the characters’ motivations are w
ell fleshed out and are not in monotone. We don’t have a problem with musicals as long as the choreography is vibrant, colourfully energetic with as much pizzazz as the sets and the music accompanying it.
‘Saawariya’s’ choreography is uninspiring, staid and boring. It disappoints more so because Bhansali is such a master of stories about unrequited love. You always feel the angst in his films and your heart goes out to his characters (in his previous efforts). You relate to them at some level. Here, all you feel is loss — of 200 bucks and two hours of time.
It is impossible to believe that this is the same Fyodor Dostoevsky short story Jhananathan made, the much-acclaimed National-award winning bitter-sweet ‘Iyarkai,’ with refreshingly candid characters and an equally fresh landscape. Though minimalist, the art and film directors in ‘Iyarkai’ brought out the beauty of life and love through natural resources.
Bhansali’s effort is a complete anti-thesis to everything ‘Iyarkai’ was. Extremely pretentious. As Gulabji (Rani) tells us, ‘Saawariya’ is about the fairy with pink lips (Ranbir) who comes to Blue Light Area, turns down the hottest hooker and bonds with the sisters playing ‘Pari’ to them, before conning old silly Lilly (Zohra Sehgal) to give him shelter.
Sublime subtlety
We know Bhansali’s sensitivity while portraying the mentally ill. Tired of being attacked for his melodrama, this time he shows us with sublime subtlety without ever directly mentioning that this fairy is mentally ill and sometimes stalks random women with backless blouses waiting at the bridge with an umbrella when it isn’t raining.
Ravi K Chandran makes the most out of the studio sets and lights to enrich his portfolio. The film belongs to him. The art directors Omung and Vanita Omung Kumar create the best-looking sets we’ve seen in a long time, but leave gaping holes in the universe they have created. This gives ‘Saawariya’ a stage-play musical feel. Sure, art gives you the licence to keep it sketchy but fine movies are all about the detail and depth, be it sets or emotions.
Ranbir is the biggest victim of choreography, coming across as silly with his gesticulations, and Sonam giggles too much. The entire cast, for some reason, has their faces painted with randy lipstick with the exception of Salman, who is looking quite upset with kohl and his shirt on.
SUDHISH KAMATH
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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