Saawariya (2007)

Two souls arrive in a small town, one on vacation, the other to meet a lover. They spend the most magical dream-like days of their lives in that town... with each other.

Director:

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Writers:

Fyodor Dostoevsky (story), Prakash Kapadia,

Stars:

Ranbir Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Salman Khan

3 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Ranbir Kapoor	...	Ranbir Raj
Sonam Kapoor	...	Sakina
Salman Khan	...	Imaan
Rani Mukerji	...	Gulabji
Zohra Segal	...	Lillian 'Lilipop' (as Zohra Sehgal)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Begum Para	...	Sakina's grandmother
Vibhu Puri	...	Stranger in the rain

Storyline

Orphaned and homeless Ranbir Raj re-locates to a small town and orders a glass of milk in the RK Bar. He befriends a prostitute by the name of Gulabji, who invites him to spend the night with her, and when he refuses, she re-directs him to Lillian who rents out rooms. Ranbir meets with Lillian, who has been living alone for 37 years after her son, Vincent, left to join the army and did not return, charms her, and rents a room from her. He gets a job as a singer in a local restaurant. On the occasion of Eid, while returning home, he comes across a woman standing on the bridge. He finds her very attractive, befriends her, walks her home, finds out her name is Sakina, who is a carpet weaver and lives with her aunt and blind grandma. Just when Ranbir is about to confess his love, she tells him that she has already given her heart to Imaan, a former tenant of her grandmother's. Imaan had left, promising to return on Eid, but has not done so. She finds out that he may be staying at the ...

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Plot Keywords:

eid | letter | prostitute | tenant | love | 

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Taglines:

Her world was waiting for her love. His was waiting for her love. And when the two met...

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Genres:

Drama | Musical | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, brief nudity, some language and incidental smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

9 November 2007 (India)

Also Known As:

Oh, My Love

Filming Locations:

India

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£160,985 (UK) (9 November 2007)

Gross:

$885,574 (USA) (22 November 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

SPE Films, SLB Films Pvt. Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

142 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the daytime scenes, space lights were used ordinarily; for the night-time scenes, the space lights were applied with ¼ CT Blue gel to achieve a cool nightly mood.

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Quotes

Gulabji: One more glass of whisky, 'tender!
Ranbir Raj: And one glass of milk for me, brother!
Gulabji: [laughing] Who is this kid asking for milk in a BAR?

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Connections

Referenced in Golmaal Returns (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Chhabeela"
Written by Sameer
Composed by Monty Sharma
Performed by Alka Yagnik
Courtesy of Sony Music India

User Reviews

Treat your eyes; your ears; your soul!

After you've seen this Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie; you'll probably forget how to say the title of the movie without singing it. I feel ashamed that following an over-flooding of my head with bad reviews on this movie, I actually watched it only when I was dragged to the cinema by a friend who believes in SLB more than me. And now I cannot thank the friend more for showing what I think is the best cinematic production in Bollywood ever. Don't hesitate to have high expectations since this one is made to beat them.

This movie is not a comedy- so comparing it with the parallel-released movie for the amount of laughs it gives you is hardly a fair evaluation. It's a musical based on the story by Fyodor Dostoevsky's "White Nights". It's the story of love- not the Soni-Mahiwal and Veer-Zaara type of love but just love. It's the love that just happens in a snap and sweeps you off your feet. It's definitely the type of love story that Bollywood has never narrated before. There's no family rivalry; no social drama; no unrealistic action; nothing except the love of Saawariya.

The debutant actors Ranbir and Sonam couldn't have started their career with better performances. While we'll have to wait and see how the newbies fair on the spectrum of acting when they do other films with hopefully varying roles; but for a start they completely make you believe in their characters in Saawariya. Sonam is a beauty- the type that you don't lust for because it's so pure- the type you fall in love with. And Ranbir has a disarming smile and a style that will easily get him inside every girl's dream. And with the first-time-ever portrayal of male sensuality in Bollywood in a song with him barely in the towel; Ranbir might be more than smiling in the ladies' dreams.

The movie boasts of a powerful cast besides the lead actors too. We have yet another jaw-dropping performance by Rani Mukherjee – her choreography in the song 'Chabeela' is amazing. Salmaan is playing a tough guy with little dialogues but fitting in this role perfectly. Zohra Sehgal is shining through remarkably as well. Most importantly, no body is dominating the screen over the others with a clichéd acting; the characters seem to gel together and you watch every scene believing in them and believing in the magic that the director is pulling in front of your eyes with many deeply thought over dialogues; subtle appearances; through the character's eyes; through the water and the weather and even the street lights.

The music score of the movie was great. Some of the songs that have accompanying dances are beautiful and the lyrics by Sameer are touching. Playback singers really draw your heart close into the sentiment of the song with their melodious voice with emotions and rhythm. Kudos to the two new singers Shail and Parthiv! The best of everything is still the dream-world like sets. When I saw the trailers; I felt it was too unrealistic to be good. But with the story that's meant to be a tale-of-love narrated by Rani herself; the sets were perfect to create the atmosphere of a delightful small town far away somewhere love has it's own magical dimension.

I give the movie an 8/10 for the new standard it has established in Bollywood; for the acting of every single actor in it; for the music; for the dances; for the picturesque sets; for the direction; for this movie being really good cinema. If the entertainment you are looking for is more than a few skin-deep smiles; this will be a treat! A treat not just for your eyes but for your ears too and it will even leave you with a warm thought when the credits roll at the end.