Enough has already been said about what's wrong with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's enormously-hyped
Saawariya. Here are my two, er... five cents on why you should and should not want to watch the movie.
Five reasons to watch Saawariya:*
Ranbir Kapoor makes a splendid debut. Even as a first-timer, Rishi and Neetu Kapoor's blue-blooded son shows tremendous range, polish and magnetism. Besides being a terrific dancer, his naturally disarming disposition and vulnerable boyishness makes him effortlessly likable. Unlike the conventional launch, wherein the hero parades in trendy designer wear and zooms on a bike with a bunch of babes in tow, our guy is made to wear an outlandish wardrobe and clown around his unrelenting object of affection. And yet, Ranbir as Ranbir makes quite an impression.
* Ditto for
Sonam Kapoor. In addition to her classy screen presence, she delivers her lines with mesmerising clarity and consciousness. There is something majestic about Sonam's almond-shaped eyes, which convey intrigue, mischief and depth with astonishing fluency. Although her Sakina is clearly self-seeking and confused, Sonam's goodness makes us not grudge her reel avatar's final decision.
* The duo share an exquisite screen chemistry. And while director Bhansali messes up on a lot of counts, he successfully brings out the romance in rhythm from the debutants. Watch how Ranbir's protective body language finds a fond response in Sonam's playful warmth. They look wonderful together and hopefully we'll see a lot of them as a pair.
* If you want to educate yourself on how even creativity, in excess, can damage a film's prospects, watch
Saawariya. The musical looks like a running catalogue for 'Interior decoration for the aesthetically-challenged or wildly eccentric.' Bhansali's blue-green attempt at restoring
Moulin Rouge in Film City with wall paintings of Noorjehan and Hindu goddesses, giant-sized Buddha figures, a lotus-infested pond, brightly-lit shops, spire-head buildings and a arc-shaped bridge is, at best, a fascinating farce.
* Or because you have already seen
Om Shanti Om and are curious to know what the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer is up against.
Five reasons to skip Saawariya:* Because Sanjay Leela Bhansali does not have a sense of humour. His characters are sarcastic, cynical, self-centered, brooding or moody. In a nutshell, one-dimensional. The conversations they have are either too obsolete or plain boring. It appears as if the filmmaker is conscious of his solemn image and is catering to just that, leaving no room for much-needed
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