By Planet Bollywood, November 9, 2007 - 10:49 IST
37 of 45 people found this review helpful This is one of those films that will take you to the magical world that exists within director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's fevered mind. It's a love story taken to another level. Unrequited love never looked or felt so good. The film is spellbinding, heartwarming, and yes, heartbreaking as well...
By News Online, November 9, 2007 - 10:52 IST
5 of 7 people found this review helpful But the story is so much more it tells of a man who is on a quest for a perfect world – one where sadness doesn't conquer and happiness is the order of the day. There is a magnificent scene where he shows Sakina how to fight off the sadness...
By Indya, November 9, 2007 - 10:54 IST
7 of 9 people found this review helpful The scenes that stand out are - Ranbir's fighting 'unhappiness funda' monologue to Sonam, Rani's first visit to Ranbir's house and her verbal dual with his land lady, the climax sequence between Ranbir and Sonam. There are chances that you might end up coming out either completely fascinated or totally appalled about what you experienced in those 2 and a half hours.
By Buzz18, November 9, 2007 - 10:56 IST
3 of 7 people found this review helpful The film tends to grow on you. If you have the patience to sit through the first half, chances are that you will walk out of the cinema hall smiling. Also the music, may not have appealed only for itself. But the picturisation works wonders and that is possibly the strength of the movie itself. There are songs that make you cringe and affect the pace of the film drastically...
By MumbaiMirror, November 9, 2007 - 11:02 IST
2 of 6 people found this review helpful The picture itself then is merely a post-card, where every passionate aspect draws attention to itself, but the protagonists, or their intimate story. The dirt from the carpet blowing in the wind as the leading lady walks through it; the white clock tower that faces the imagined town; the huge bust of Buddha by it...
By Rediff, November 9, 2007 - 11:04 IST
3 of 10 people found this review helpful The story is simple: a minstrel, full to the brim with can-do enthusiasm, falls in love with a fair maiden. All would be well, except she is awaiting her faraway lover. Doggedly the singer tries to awaken her love, while she loyally stalks the bridge assigned to the some-night rendezvous. Over four nights, love, loyalty and longing are all born and questioned.
By Allbollywood, November 10, 2007 - 08:46 IST
8 of 11 people found this review helpful "Saawariya" is like a dream where the characters themselves live in a dream world. Escape from this world is akin to death. No one dies in Bhansali's majestic make-belief world and nothing wilts. Not even love when it is taken away from the boy who loves to entertain the unhappy girl in distress.
By Planet Bollywood, November 10, 2007 - 08:49 IST
Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Saawariya" is as much homage to his distinct style of filmmaking as it is to the bygone Raj Kapoor movies of yesteryear. In fact, Ranbir Kapoor's character Ranbir Raj's anscestry can be traced back to the beloved vagabond clown that Raj Kapoor performed in movies like "Shree 420".
By Glamsham, November 10, 2007 - 08:50 IST
4 of 4 people found this review helpful Full marks to Sanjay Leela Bhansali for treading the musical path to weave a sincere love story. Like an excellent music conductor, Bhansali waves his baton, to squeeze up a fine performance from his cast. Absolutely flawless...
By Filmfare / Times of India / Indiatimes, November 10, 2007 - 08:51 IST
1 of 1 people found this review helpful Sweet innocence has returned once again to Bollywood and Ranbir and Sonam are part of it. Though the film is slow at several places, one cannot forget that there is freshness in Saawariya that hasn't been seen in a very long time. If you loved the purity of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, then you are bound to love film as well.
By New York Times, November 10, 2007 - 08:53 IST
2 of 3 people found this review helpful "Saawariya" announces itself as an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's "White Nights," but whatever Russian soul may dwell deep within it is pretty well drowned in Bollywood style...
By Sify, November 10, 2007 - 08:54 IST
1 of 1 people found this review helpful Bhansali's world is an enchanted one, straight out of his imagination, where festive lights are always on, the women are demure and story-book feminine and the men are good-at-heart gentlemen; where songs and dances can be broken into at any given time, and where voices and laughter echo...
By DNA India, November 10, 2007 - 08:56 IST
1 of 1 people found this review helpful Bhansali invites you into this fantasy world and asks you to share the passion and pain of first love and unrequited passion. But he moves so slowly, often repeating himself, that the whole romance of the situation falls flat. The fact that he makes Ranbir go through any number of Raj Kapoor moments as the wide-eyed innocent young man also jars.
By Radiosargam, November 10, 2007 - 08:57 IST
Salman Khan is kept only for some star value in the film. He has nothing to do in the screenplay and his omission wouldn't have affected the story in any which way. Rani Mukherjee does well in her brief role. Zohra Sehgal is top class, as ever...
By Merinews, November 10, 2007 - 08:58 IST
2 of 3 people found this review helpful Overall, if you call this cinema, it won't be wrong to say Bollywood masala is preferred. Bhansali kept the movie under wraps and that's the reason for the initial response. Otherwise people would have discovered what it is all about and never gone to the theatre. It’s not worth the money if you are not a photography and lighting student.
By Bollywood Mantra, November 10, 2007 - 08:59 IST
2 of 3 people found this review helpful Overall Saawariya has the right ingredients, big stars, big director and grandeur but the ingredients have not been utilized well. The story, script and screenplay are major pitfalls for the film turning out to be just about average. Saawariya turns out to be a disappointment for the Diwali festive season. At the box-office the film may hopefully do average due to the hype surrounding it.
By Indicine, November 10, 2007 - 09:00 IST
2 of 3 people found this review helpful To sum up, Saawariya is one of the weakest films directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Except for the performances by the lead stars and a few songs, there is nothing that the movie offers. As a movie it disappoints! But do watch it once for Ranbir Kapoor, he's brilliant!
By Now Running, November 10, 2007 - 09:02 IST
1 of 2 people found this review helpful Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a perfectionist and has always made excellent movies. But this time around with Saawariya he disappoints. Most of his previous movies might not have fared well at the box-office but they have always won critical acclaim for substance and quality...
By NDTVMovies, November 10, 2007 - 09:03 IST
3 of 5 people found this review helpful Saawariya is a meditation on love. Sanjay Bhasali is an ambitious and fearless director. Here he is performing a tight rope act without a safety net. He doesn't pull it off but his failure has more grace than most people's successes.
By Times Now, November 10, 2007 - 09:05 IST
3 of 4 people found this review helpful Saawariya is based on a short Russian story, White Nights which was set in the 19th century. Sanjay Leela Bhansali takes an essentially sweet and simple love story and drowns it in a chaos of noise and colour. Making a pretentious, stilted hash of it. Forget the strange unreal setting and the wafer thin characterization...
By Full Hyderabad, November 10, 2007 - 09:07 IST
3 of 5 people found this review helpful Saawariya is just a very pompous film, something the director constructed to push himself as a grand showman more that anything. As the in-your-face references keep telling you, Ranbir Kapoor is the next successor to the Kapoor legacy, but what you also see is that Bhansali thinks of himself as the next director successor to the same legacy as well.
By Indiaglitz, November 10, 2007 - 09:09 IST
2 of 4 people found this review helpful I am sorry Ramu. I am sorry Anurag Kashyap. I was heartbroken when I was disappointed by your AAG and NO SMOKING respectively. Couldn't help it since your reputation made me expect wonders from you. But Sanjay Leela Bhansali's SAAWARIYA has made me completely forget the two films that were most mercilessly panned by one and all...
By Ibnlive, November 10, 2007 - 09:10 IST
3 of 6 people found this review helpful Like all of Bhansali's previous pictures, Saawariya too is a visual spectacle. Few filmmakers' can match his attention to detail, his magnificent use of lighting and colour, and his sharp ear for music. But in the end, it's not about the sweeping scale or the lilting melodies, Saawariya fails to touch your heart, it's an exercise in excess...
