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 naïve Raj realised that unhappiness consumes all of us eventually, doesn’t it?

First things first—Saawariya is not a bad film by any means. But is it magical? No. There is no point in beating around the bush, lacing my sentences with incomprehensible words because when it comes down to it, the film just wasn’t outstanding.

Without a doubt, the star of the show is not the Great Bhansali himself but credit for whatever brilliance the film does possess falls straight into the laps of the people behind the scenes including Omung Kumar, Vanita Omang Kumar, Ravi K. Chandran, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Reza Shariffi and Anuradha Vakil. Omung Kumar and Vanita Omang Kumar’s sets are likely the best I have seen in any Indian film to date and would leave any human being wide-eyed. They are breathtaking, enchanting and absolutely incredible. Credit for capturing this art in such a meaningful manner goes to cinematographer Ravi K. Chandran who has proved time and time again that he is among the best in the business. This guy knows his camera and how to use it! Costume designers Rajesh Pratap Singh (Salman, Zohra), Reza Shariffi (Ranbir) and Anuradha Vakil (Sonam, Rani) bring the characters to life with the overwhelming beauty of their costumes. These are the people that salvage the film and really do make you believe that you are watching a fairy-tale.

On its own, the music takes you into a whirlwind of romance and passion, leaving you gasping for air. However, in the film, it is a complete letdown because there is just too much of it! For a song to appear every few minutes is unbelievably tedious and you end up wishing the story would just progress. There are still a few tracks that stand out including ‘Jab Se Tere Naina’, ‘Thode Badmaash’ and ‘Masha Allah’. One wishes that ‘Daras Bina Chain Nahin’ was used to its full potential because that is a mind-blowing track. The choreography for ‘Yoon Shabnami’ is fantastic. Still, music director Monty and Sameer did their job by giving SLB a fantastic score to work with. However, in Bhansali’s hands, the score is not put to full use and hinders the story greatly.

At the end of the day, when you take away the melodious music, the majestic sets and the striking cinematography, you are left with an incomplete film. What’s missing? The story which is the most powerful and necessary ingredient of any film. The dialogues, script, screenplay and direction are all filled with obvious and deep holes. Though the story itself is nothing special, we have seen bad stories executed well in the past. Even so, within the plot itself there are so many questions unanswered. The screenplay drags for what seems like a millennium gone by with dialogues that lack the lustre to make you sit up.

There are still some moments that really make you feel like you are watching art enchant on screen. The scene where Sakina converses with her maid while laying on the carpet is not only visually phenomenal but in all other aspects is a master-stroke. Similarly, in the second half when Raj chases frantically after Sakina after she leaves him to wait at the bridge is heart-wrenching and reminds you that you are in fact watching an SLB film. All scenes between Raj and Lillian are hilariously cute and leave you smiling.

Ranbir Kapoor is out of this world. He’s charming, charismatic and steals your heart from the very first scene. It’s extremely apparent that he’s poured his heart and soul into this role and in the end it is him that deserves a standing ovation for performing so wonderfully in his very first film. His expressions hit the spot almost every time. He is definitely a Kapoor! He maintains the same grace that his ancestors possessed but still manages to bring something distinct of his own to his performance.

Less impressive is Sonam Kapoor, who prances around looking pretty and makes you cringe with an annoying giggle. But let’s be fair, the girl has been ripped off with an underwritten role that in fact irritates you more than anything. With what she is given, she really does try to make the best out of it and there are brief moments when you see a great actress within her. Given a meatier and more challenging role, she would have been much better. However, her chemistry with Ranbir does not disappoint one bit and there is no doubt that they make a great pair.

In a larger role than expected, Rani Mukerji is strictly decent. There’s no doubt that she is good, but the role required a special spunk, vibrancy and fire that Rani could not bring to the table. On a more superficial note, she looks more ravishing than I’ve seen her look in ages. Salman Khan truly is a special appearance and serves his purpose well. It’s a pity that his role was cut as it would have been nice to see more of him. When examining Zohra Sehgal, all I can think of is the vigour she brings to each and every one of her roles. She’s funny, endearing and shares great chemistry with Ranbir! Begum Para is equally as fabulous though she only gets a few scenes.

The technicians and performers have done their job, so who’s left to blame? Unfortunately, Sanjay Leela Bhansali. There is no way you can call this film a disaster, it’s not. But he could have done so much more. The problem is that the film is so tiring after boring conversations and too many songs that you don’t care much what happens at the end. In all his films, the story rose gradually to a peak crescendo that left your heart beating rapidly. With Saawariya, there is no such feeling—only one of incompleteness.

He seems to have lost his story in the midst of creating a path-breaking visual experience. In all sincerity, if this was a Broadway show, it would have been outstanding. At times I felt as if I was watching a play on stage, with lavish sets, costumes, over-the-top dialogues and songs every few minutes. Alas, this is a film and a film requires the ability to engross the audience in a story that they feel like they are a part of. Instead, you end up feeling like you are watching a film so far-fetched from reality, so surreal that you can’t identify with it even on a pure entertainment level. It's more like an extremely grand and extravagant spectacle. Saawariya is a disappointing film from a man who up until now fooled us into thinking that everything he touches turns into gold. If only.

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