It’s a cool, breezy night at a lonely hill station. A lonely woman stands still on a bridge waiting for her lover to return. From the darkness emerges a lonely man who becomes intoxicated by her beauty at first sight—the beauty of a woman who has sacrificed her soul for love. A lonely prostitute gazes longingly, wishing she could call someone her own. And so quietly flows the tale of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya—a tale of longing, passion, ecstasy and ultimately, loneliness.
He has given us many a masterpiece over the years; Khamoshi, Devdas, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Black. He returns with a monstrous production house at his whim and takes the risk of a lifetime—newcomers. Each with their own admirable legacy, this film marks the birth of two new stars. Ranbir Kapoor boasts of legendary ancestors like Prithviraj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor. No doubt, his shoulders must be aching from quite a heavy burden. Sonam Kapoor on the other hand is daughter to Anil Kapoor, who has slipped into the ‘hero’ shoes more times than we will ever be able to count. Coupled with an acclaimed director like Bhansali, the two have got quite a mighty feat to conquer.
Oh, how I wish I could say they succeed. Bhansali seems to have taken his directional ability for granted and forgotten that a film requires a strong story while concentrating more on the sets, cinematography and lighting. Oh Bhansali, where art thou? I can’t seem to find you in this film that bears your name during the opening credits. I am demanding the Bhansali who has over the years made me experience a myriad of emotions on celluloid to appear and tell me that this film is not his. That Bhansali seems to have disappeared with Saawariya.
He is a dreamer—one who does not accept the concept of reality and lives in a world of fantasy, where the world is at his feet, believing that all his dreams will one day be fulfilled. Ranbir Raj (Ranbir Kapoor) arrives at a quaint hill station and makes his first friend with a spirited street-walker, Gulab (Rani Mukerji). Eventually he finds a place to stay with an old lady named Lillian (Zohra Sehgal), who he quickly re-names Lillipop out of fondness. He becomes the son she was forced to bid goodbye to, and she becomes the only family he has.
One night, as he roams the street blindly, she arrives. Quietly, softly and discretely she tiptoes into his heart and he is captivated by her beauty in an instant. After initial lust, he falls head over heels for Sakina (Sonam Kapoor). However, he is crushed once finding out that her heart can never belong to him as she spends each night alone at a bridge waiting for her lover (Salman Khan) to return. But Ranbir Raj does not accept defeat easily. He fights life, comparing it to a boxing game, and does his best to defeat his opponent named ‘unhappiness’. If only the na
