Saawariya, hum is baar dil nahi nahin denge sanam!

About a week before Diwali, I had an argument with my boss. His line of reasoning- a man who’s made movies like Black and Devdas ought to know his business. Apparently not! The box office has announced its verdict. On Shanti Om has made 7+ crores in its first week in Mumbai alone, while Saawariya, which promised eternity to begin with, is now a slowly fading blur on the horizon.

Judging from Sanjay’s comments on his nemesis, he seems to be alternately complaining and cajoling .

Sanjay Leela Bhansali a few days after the Diwali release of OSO and Saawariya: “Telling jokes is not my idea of film-making. There is big media manipulation machinery behind Om Shanti Om.”

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, a week later: “I respect Shah Rukh Khan and have the greatest regard for him as an actor.”

What is interesting though is that there are still some remnants of the crowds that thronged the theatres to watch Saawariya in the first week of its release, perhaps driven to a large extent by the extensive marketing machinery behind Columbia/Sony? (This, in spite of the fact that the movie has been panned by critics and SLB fans alike.) As a matter of fact, it was almost fashionable last week to be able to declare that one had watched both OSO and Saawariya, loved the former and hated the latter!

There is really not much to add to what the critics have unanimously judged Saawariya to be- SLB’s weakest movie till date. The storyline does not excite enough to exert one’s imagination, Salman is wasted in his ‘blink and you miss’ appearance and Sonam Kapoor can have no great claims to either beauty or extra-ordinary acting talent as of now. As a stage production, Saawariya would have been brilliant, but for the thousands of SLB fans who expected some more of his magic, this must have been a big disappointment.

Somewhere in the middle of all the darkness in Saawariya is a spark of colour. His name is Ranbir Kapoor. You are almost able to feel the sincerity with which he approaces his debut film. Ranbir reminds you, to some extent, of Sanjay Dutt’s debut. You can’t help feeling sorry for the lad, knowing fully well what lies in store for him. And you feel sorrier for yourself, knowing that the censor board will not allow you to see his derriere on screen! Touche!

Shalini

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