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Saawariya (2007)

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78 comments in total

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30 out of 44 people found the following comment useful :-
excellent film!, 16 November 2007

Author: aparajita_burjwal from India

First of all after watching saawariya i still have not been able to understand why people did not like it. we should know that it is an art film and it should be looked at in the same way. we say we want different films now but when a director attempts a different film, we absolutely bash it and end up taking out as many flaws as we can. the main two characters off this film are "ranbir and sonam". now where was the city situated, in which era it is happening all this is not important. when we look at a painting, we don't look at where it is sitauted, we look at it's beauty and this exactly what saawariya is, it is a beautiful painting and we should be looking at it's beauty.

You need to have an open mind and appreciation for art films to watch and digest this one. it is true that it's not mass appealing, because it doesn't have the jhatkas and the matkas in it. I recommend you go and watch it and forget about the reviews.

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26 out of 37 people found the following comment useful :-
Treat your eyes; your ears; your soul!, 14 November 2007

Author: naveenvohra from Singapore

After you've seen this Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie; you'll probably forget how to say the title of the movie without singing it. I feel ashamed that following an over-flooding of my head with bad reviews on this movie, I actually watched it only when I was dragged to the cinema by a friend who believes in SLB more than me. And now I cannot thank the friend more for showing what I think is the best cinematic production in Bollywood ever. Don't hesitate to have high expectations since this one is made to beat them.

This movie is not a comedy- so comparing it with the parallel-released movie for the amount of laughs it gives you is hardly a fair evaluation. It's a musical based on the story by Fyodor Dostoevsky's "White Nights". It's the story of love- not the Soni-Mahiwal and Veer-Zaara type of love but just love. It's the love that just happens in a snap and sweeps you off your feet. It's definitely the type of love story that Bollywood has never narrated before. There's no family rivalry; no social drama; no unrealistic action; nothing except the love of Saawariya.

The debutant actors Ranbir and Sonam couldn't have started their career with better performances. While we'll have to wait and see how the newbies fair on the spectrum of acting when they do other films with hopefully varying roles; but for a start they completely make you believe in their characters in Saawariya. Sonam is a beauty- the type that you don't lust for because it's so pure- the type you fall in love with. And Ranbir has a disarming smile and a style that will easily get him inside every girl's dream. And with the first-time-ever portrayal of male sensuality in Bollywood in a song with him barely in the towel; Ranbir might be more than smiling in the ladies' dreams.

The movie boasts of a powerful cast besides the lead actors too. We have yet another jaw-dropping performance by Rani Mukherjee – her choreography in the song 'Chabeela' is amazing. Salmaan is playing a tough guy with little dialogues but fitting in this role perfectly. Zohra Sehgal is shining through remarkably as well. Most importantly, no body is dominating the screen over the others with a clichéd acting; the characters seem to gel together and you watch every scene believing in them and believing in the magic that the director is pulling in front of your eyes with many deeply thought over dialogues; subtle appearances; through the character's eyes; through the water and the weather and even the street lights.

The music score of the movie was great. Some of the songs that have accompanying dances are beautiful and the lyrics by Sameer are touching. Playback singers really draw your heart close into the sentiment of the song with their melodious voice with emotions and rhythm. Kudos to the two new singers Shail and Parthiv! The best of everything is still the dream-world like sets. When I saw the trailers; I felt it was too unrealistic to be good. But with the story that's meant to be a tale-of-love narrated by Rani herself; the sets were perfect to create the atmosphere of a delightful small town far away somewhere love has it's own magical dimension.

I give the movie an 8/10 for the new standard it has established in Bollywood; for the acting of every single actor in it; for the music; for the dances; for the picturesque sets; for the direction; for this movie being really good cinema. If the entertainment you are looking for is more than a few skin-deep smiles; this will be a treat! A treat not just for your eyes but for your ears too and it will even leave you with a warm thought when the credits roll at the end.

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33 out of 55 people found the following comment useful :-
A Magical Fairy Tale Which Will Both Delight You and Entertain You!, 8 November 2007

Author: happilyunmarriedeveraftr from United States

Let me preface this review by writing that I enjoyed Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Black" so much, I have looked forward to "Saawariya" for months, with the highest of expectations. And once more, I was not disappointed. Mr. Bhansali tells Dostoevsky short story "The White Nights" as a fluid, brilliantly colored and magical fairy tale. Ever since I was turned on to Mr. Bhansali's work with "Black" - and later watched"Devdas" - I have thought of him as the modern day, Hindi film industry's answer to Luchino Visconti. So it wasn't a complete surprise to learn that Visconti made a film titled "Le Notti Bianche" which was also based on the same short story. Both directors possess a unique touch with color, texture and cinematic air quality that is truly able to transport the viewer into their story, completely and delightedly. Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor are perfectly cast as the misguided lovers and Salman Khan is finally playing a character who seems to read deep into his soul and bring out the sultry quality that he so naturally possesses. "Saawariya" is not so much a Bollywood film meant to tug at your heart strings and leave you pining for your own unrequited love, but more a mood piece which will leave you wishing you could live in the imaginary world of pure, kind street walkers, beautiful all-white Eid nights and women's clothes that put French couturiers to shame. It is, as cinema is meant to be at its very root, a world of complete and utter escapism.

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13 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
A Visual Treat!, 25 November 2007

Author: Vishboy from India

A lot has been written and said about Saawariya. Majority of the critics and reviews have dismissed this movie! Well, I for one, almost gave it a miss (as it is I am not a huge fan of Mr.Bansali). But I saw the movie yesterday, and whoa-I was pleasantly surprised!!! It has to be, in my opinion, one of the most visually appealing movie of all time. I mean, right from the reel one, the movie speaks volumes about its grandeur. It is true delight on the visual senses.

So why have the critics darned it? Well, I think you have to view "Saawariya" in its own context. Comaprisons just cannot be made. It's like a book of fairy-tales. each page in the book is rich in illustrations and drawings. Just holding the book sometimes can take you in a world of dreams. This movie is precisely like that and has to be viewed in that context. The music adds to its flow-it is the part of the package.

Now to the performances: Sonam Kapoor has an angelic screen presence and her acting too is good for her debut movie. Ranbir Kapoor is a powerhouse of talent and a great screen presence too. For their first movie, the lead pair creates lots of magic! Salman Khan is barely there. Rani Mukherjee who plays a prostitute is awesome-I nearly fell in love with this prostitute!!! The movie does have some rough edges. At least a couple of sequences (including the ending) are way too abrupt! It's like the chef forgot to garnish his dish. All in all "Saawariya" is a movie that I think justifies my 8/10 rating. It is so visually appealing that one literally cannot take the eyes off! And it's not too taxing on the brains too-just a simple love story set in a far-far away land, narrated with flow and music, though at the end of it you might question the essence of Sonam's character. That to me was very baffling! Go for it!

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10 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Not that bad... It was good., 14 November 2007

Author: Bunty from India

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I saw Saawariya yesterday and I want to share my review about this movie. Saawariya is a short-story poetry based Bollywood movie. Of course it is very hard to translate a short story which is a poetry to the big screen.

Fyodor Dostoevsky's 'White Nights' was written a century ago in Russian. The poem is beautiful and extremely touching and emotional. About the movie, I think both the new comers (Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor) have done a wonderful job in first film. And of course there is Rani and Salman in this film. Salman has a very short role but Rani takes your heart away. And Zohra Sehgal is always delightful.

Film starts out with a prostitute, Gulab 'ji' (Rani Mukherjee) narrating his friend's story. Ranbir Raj, is a young man who comes to a beautiful 'town' to get a job. He gets job in a bar. Eventually he makes Gulab Ji his friend. One night he sees a mysterious girl, Sakina crying in the bridge. He asks her why she is crying, then she says that she is waiting for her lover, Imaan (Salman Khan), who has been gone to some 'country'. She asks him to help her in finding him. In the process they become very close. Raj falls in love with her but Sakina is very confused. She thinks that she likes Raj but the same time when she thinks of Imaan, she starts looking for him. In the end, Imaan comes and Sakina goes with her. Raj is alone, alone with memories of Sakina.

The movie's sets are wonderful, cinematography is amazing, and music is awe-awesome. Only I have one problem with was screenplay, being very strict and sometimes lenient to the picturization. Story suffers sometimes, but in the end you will leave theater with wonderful memories, and of course you will be sad. The movie has fairytale touch, so you don't have to think about which city they are wandering in? What is background of Raj? Why Imaan leaves his town in a haste? What happens to Gulabji in the end? and so on... You will enjoy it if you stop looking for these answers, but you can create your own answers in your mind.

On an ending note, I liked this movie and I hate those critics who are giving this movie a rating of 2 out of 5. This is a beautiful movie, and it will surely touch your heart (ofcourse if you have heart!).

8 out of 10.

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15 out of 23 people found the following comment useful :-
great move.. just not a mere time pass, 14 November 2007

Author: mohit_9390 from India

There are a very few sensitive women who are also, sensible. Yet, those rarely wonderful women make ambiguous decisions in their love

life. In fact, they mostly have two love lives. One, which they consummate and live with; and the other, which they adore, yet foolishly ignore! This ignored, yet adored beloved of a sensitive and sensible woman is …. Saawariya .

In an ethereal world, where there never existed bright sunlight and pure Love, walks in a young man with a divine charm and a heart full of love. With his effervescent charm, he spreads happiness all over; but preserves his heart for a mysterious angel; until one night, he loses it to the beautiful damsel standing on the bridge. He is so much consumed in love with her that he decides to do anything for her happiness. But on the contrary, the lady is in love with someone else, for whom she has been waiting. And so, he ends up being her Protector (protects her from the evil eyes of the bad), her Friend (sharing her pain and anguish) and her God (she prays to him to help her unite with her lover).

The story of Saawariya is about the conflict between Dreams and Destiny; the conflict between Reality and Divinity; the conflict between Temptation and Self-Dignity. Also, it emphasizes the contrast in society: when the whole city of prostitutes yearns for love (because they are not loved by anyone), the Prince of Love gives his heart to a woman, who already has the love of another person. In any society, the Rich remain Rich and the Poor remain Poor.

As a film, Saawariya is intensely passionate in poetry and obsessively brilliant in technique. And the man who put everything together in perfect balance is Sanjay Leela Bhansali . He dreams it, believes it and executes it with applaud-able conviction. The most note-worthy aspect of his direction is the treatment he bestows on the story. It is a complex explanation of a simple story and a complex story of a simple theme. And Bhansali carries it with sincerity all through-out. His fine rapport with art-director Omung Kumar and cinematographer Ravi K Chandran shines radiantly on the big-screen. Bhansali's heart, mind and soul smoothly ooze out of Monty Sharma's mellifluous compositions.

Ranbir Kapoor is perfectly cast as the Prince of Love. He is cute, lovable and charming. Sonam Kapoor is adorable enough for the character she plays. Rani Mukherjee is at her usual best and Salman creeps in for some star-value. Other actors are adequate.

If there is any glitch in the otherwise perfect film, it is Prakash Kapadia's script. Not much is wrong as long as the main leads are considered. But he stumbles into the mistake he has done for Devdas for Rani's and Salman's characterizations. He has given irrelevant dialogs to Rani's character and unappealing ones to Salman and consequently both characters seemed unimportant.

This film can be appreciated only by people who can understand the fact that sensible women are sometimes insensible and that there are men who can whole-heartedly acknowledge them. So I am not sure if I can really recommend this film to everyone.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
wonderful movie!, 23 November 2007

Author: sainineetu_2005 from India

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I wonder what has gone into those peoples heads who think that this movie is bad.It was such a beautiful film.This film had everything what a good movie should have strong performances,beautiful sets,soothing music,excellent direction. Ranbir Kapoor does a commendable job as Raj,a kind hearted charming boy,who comes in a town for work.Love strikes him when he sees Sakina(Sonam Kapoor),a beautiful young lady.Sakina has her own past.she had been waiting for her love.Raj is heartbroken on knowing her story but he continues to be her friend. Rani Mukherji is the one whom i admired the most in the movie.She plays a kind hearted prostitute.Her appearance really rocked the scene.i have started liking her more after this film.Salman khan had a small role but he portrayed his character well. The person who made these two and half hours of sheer magic is Mr.Sanjay Leela Bhansali.Hats off to you sir!

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Beautiful but flawed - typical of SLB, 22 November 2007

Author: namrata-1 from India

Without being driven by my emotions for SRK(whom I really admire), I think Saawariya is a much much better movie than OSO - I hate comparing them but that seems to be the way people want to judge it.Saawariya is definitely SLB's best work , is breathtakingly beautiful and has wonderful acting which confuses me because inspite of all this it tends to get boring.

It is a love story about an effervescent,full of life Ranbir and a serene,sad Sonam waiting for her lover to return.Meanwhile the two strike a friendship - but one of them expects more from it which makes for the rest of the movie. The movie has some great music and a few brilliant scenes but there are scenes that simply annoyed me.I couldn't make sense of it,the dialogues were pathetic(ex the Lilypop-Ranbir scenes) etc.Also the fact that the movie doesn't find grounding in reality - we don't know the place or time may not appeal to people who are not much into love stories and music.

Ranbir Kapoor is awesome.He has a charm and a skill (a Lee Strasberg product)that makes us want to see more of him.Sonam is brilliant inspite of having such a weakly written character that you feel like loving and hating as well.Rani is a show stealer but her significance to the plot is questionable and Salman is just there!

My advice would be don't watch either OSO or Saawariya - wait for a DVD to come out.Instead go check out Jab We Met which is definitely the best movie to come out this year.

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Refreshingly Different, 13 November 2007

Author: anj747 from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I can understand why some are not satisfied with this film as it is not the typical predictable Bollywood fare, however it is a refreshingly unique piece of Indian cinema. Based upon a 19th century short story by famed Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky; its stunning fantasy visuals provide a perfect setting for the romantic themes.

*** SPOILER ***

For me, the subtlety of the story revolves around the purity of true love. All of the main characters have an unconditional, unselfish love for another, including the heroine; until the last minute when she loses faith in the promised return of her mysterious hero, but whose fears are unfounded.

It can be succinctly summarised in the famous quote by Kahlil Gibran: "If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don't, they never were."

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9 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Saawariya has made me Baawariya, 28 November 2007

Author: Sonny_N from Toronto, Canada

I just watched Bhansali's rendition of Dostoevsky's White Nights and I have to admit what a visual treat it has been. From the costumes, to the dialogues, to the sets and settings…the whole film is superbly done. But one aspect of the film that thoroughly enthralled my pallet is Ranbir Kapoor's acting. This latest addition to the Kapoor Constellation in the Bollywood galaxy signals a refreshing breeze of change in Indian cinema. His soulful eyes are reminiscent of Raj Kapoor in 'Mere Naam Joker'…The happy-go-luck protagonist that spreads joy and laughter to the whole world but is left alone to wipe his tears of sorrow. The man that feels happy by providing other people with joy. His yodellings are a dead ringer for Shammi Kapoor's wild "Junglee" ways in the snowy and green valley's of Kashmir…YAHOO! The omnipresent umbrella in the film that symbolises the bond between the lover and the loved one has hints of 'Sri 420', in which Raj Kapoor professes his love for Nargis under a similar umbrella during the monsoon downpour. And to further the familial references there is a showing of Mughal-e-Azam in the film, where Prithvi Raj Kapoor plays the all-powerful Emperor of Hind…A force to be reckoned with that will see to it that the young lovers Salim and Anaarkali do not consummate their love. Mise en abîme. Sonam Kapoor's Sukeena (Nastenka) is a tad forced at times and could have been acted better…But the other female lead of the film was played to perfection by Rani Mukherjie. Gullabjie, a rose with a thorny temper is scintillatingly portrayed. Her shimmering costumes and the witty/snappy tongue is a delight to watch. Saawariya has made me Baawariya. A must see. 8/10.

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