Bollywood's answer to "Moulin Rouge," "Saawariya" tells a love story--as introduced by the prostitute Gulabji(played by Bollywood veteran Rani Mukherji)--of an aspiring "rock star" who comes to a red light district in India(we assume) to perform and ends up finding the love that he sings about in a dream-like way. Based on "White Nights" by Fyodor Dostoevsky, it is a visual spectacular that breaks the norm of Bollywood "musicals" with the magic of Moulin and artistry similar to that of "Memoirs of a Geisha" But, though the plot might seem predictable like a fairy tale, it takes a few surprising turns later in the second half.
It begins with Ranbir Raj(or Raj as he chooses to be called)(Ranbir Kapoor), the wannabe rock star, meeting Gulabji(Rani Mukherji) at the RK club(where she frequents) for a drink of milk. Upon performing his latest song for her, Raj is nicknamed "Saawariya"(the song's title)(translates as "beloved" and relates to the god Krishna as one who is always in love even if he never has someone to love). As the two become familiar with a somewhat razor-sharp exchange of wits, she leads him to an inn run by Lillian(or Lillipop as her son and Raj nickname her)(Zohra Sehgal), and old woman who has grown quite cold and bitter after her son left her alone at home. Upon weaving his magic with her as well, Raj is given a place to stay, and the story starts to unfold. As fate would have it, the very sort of woman he sings of(to sooth a baby to sleep and wayward prostitutes out of their sorrows) appears one night on a bridge in tears. Through the usual(though somewhat original) "games," he lures his way into her days and learns a little more about her. The lovely vision of earth and water beauty is named Sakina(not unlike Satine in Moulin)(Sonam Kapoor...hmm, brother falling in love with sister? Nope, not related.) and is quite mysterious. But, that is as far as he gets til he learns the reason for her weeping atop the bridge. Eid is soon approaching, and Sakina is anticipating the return of a love that left her a year ago named Imaan(Salman Khan). Though less dramatically than Moulin, a love triangle forms and simmers with similar tears and frustrations. Again, just when you think you know what is coming, the story shifts gears a bit.
A personal highlight for me was a moment when Raj tells Sakina she must think of fighting unhappiness like a boxing match. He does it, as he does with many of his lines, with exceptionally sharp wit, metaphors and physical comedy. It is something I often think about myself when facing life's troubles.
Such is an example of "well said," a message that is used repeatedly in the movie. After being swept up in the very "cleverness-intensive" dialogue and magical nature of the "Christmas-light village," I would go a step further and say "well shown."
But, I keep asking myself a few questions about this sort of film. Why do they so often--if not always--talk about love with an idealistic and youthful voice yet mix this with omnipresent prostitutes? Why does every story seem to come from the red light district? And, why is a prostitute the expert on love? If she knew how to find and maintain that love of one's dreams, why is she still "selling her wares" on the street?
There are a few minor difficulties with the film. The use of subtitles being, perhaps, the worst. There are moments when a line is used, translated and--when it is used again--not subtitled. Unless you are quick and capable to remember the line, you may be wondering what is being said. It seems they expect us to know the language or have exceptionally fast memories. There are other moments when subtitles are used and the actors are speaking English. I think there may have even been one moment where the english used was different than that of the subtitle. I do not understand the sense of this. The other downside comes in the form of very minor glitches and grey areas in the plot. There are moments when you anticipate something to happen a certain way when it suddenly happens differently. As I said before, these are part of the surprising twists. But, one or more of these moments took away from the drama/impact which they could have achieved(had they gone the way I saw them) with somewhat sudden and simplistic resolutions. [On a personal note, I am not a fan of men with pierced ears nor the women who wear multiple earrings including the ones in their noses. These minor visual details--along with a somewhat daring musical scene with Raj from his room--took away from my pleasure in the film slightly.]
Five minutes into this two-plus hour movie--after a string of bad trailers--I was feeling rather queasy and ready to walk out. I anticipated just another Bollywood "prostitute love story musical." And yet, as I became drawn into the magic of the amazing setting/scenery, I gave in and went for the ride(semi-lame bumps and all). Whether as a date movie or an artistic experience, "Saawariya" is a refreshingly clean(almost no coarse language and only partial nudity without any lustful ambitions or sex scenes) love story that you don't have to worry too much about the kids seeing(as it has a sort of Disney-like naivete and dream-like innocence to most of it) and can still enjoy as an adult. Though still quite musical(which personally tends to be a turn off), it is not sickenningly sweet or excessive. Which is why it slips out of the norm. And, thus, I liked it.
I am surprised the local papers did not offer a review(and that is partly why I was tempted to try this film in my desire to explore something foreign/cultural and different). I have seen other movie listings where the movies are not rated and given bare bone details. I have been exposed to some terrible films, but I see no reason why SOMEONE can't sit through these films and at least give a good or bad review. Asian films seem to becoming more dominant in the theaters in the foreign genre/market. I suppose the repetition of plot/style in Bollywood films may be a bit of a turn off to the majority of American audiences, but it is no reason to avoid screening and reviewing a decent film such as this before it gets swept under the red carpet. I might have missed out on the experience if I didn't go on a whim. I am grateful that the local theater at leased showed it(as it has thankfully done with a number of other foreign films in recent years) but also think it would have a greater audience if given a fair share of advertising and/or recognition. When a movie doesn't even get a pictoral ad in the paper so one can at least see some image/s from the film and get an idea of the characters/setting, I would suspect many would just bypass it and never look back. I am glad I took a chance on this one.
Overall, I give it three out of four stars for magical storytelling and for going a bit outside the box of the Bollywood norm. It would have come very close to a perfect four had it played out the way I saw it in my mind. I am still hesitant to slip back to two stars for the subtitle mishaps and redundancy of the "prostitute musical" arrangement which--with some somewhat confusing expressions/gestures--still bothers me. Upon hearing this was (possibly) the first Bollywood film produced/released by a Hollywood studio, I am concerned for the cultural genre but also hopeful that this may be a stepping stone to a greater diversity in Indian films.
--brainstormer,
freelance movie critic and participant in the Thoughts.com blogging experience
www.sonypictures.com/movies/saawariya/index.html
saawariyafilm.com/
www.saawariya.org/
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