Mohit Suri’s ‘Saiyaara’ movie review: Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda sail through this messy, imperfect love story

Cast: Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda, Varun Badola, Rajesh Kumar

Director: Mohit Shri

Language: Hindi

There haven’t been too many promotional activities for Saiyaara. It’s a film that stars two newcomers, Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda. During the promotions, director Mohit Suri has been speaking about the comparisons with Rockstar and Aashiqui 2. He revealed how his wife asked him if he had his own filmmaking style like Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Pradeep Sarkar. It has been two decades for the filmmaker and now it seems he has his own voice and versions of telling a story. He’s milking the same emotions packaged in different tales. The hero is a reckless maniac, the heroine is a fragile soul bruised inside out. And just like many of his previous outings, Saiyaara too begins with a heartbreaking moment.

The love-struck saga sees Panday as a ticking time bomb with insufferable anger and smoking issues (Hello Kabir Singh). We can sense that even before we see his face, because of the way his entry shot is staged. Padda is the angel of this devilish world, and we can sense that even before we see her face because of the way her entry shot is staged. Suri has a refined understanding of music and melancholy; the haunting soundtrack always compensates for the naïveté in the performances. The people in his films always end up biting more than they can chew. The director always throws his actors into deep waters with hit-and-miss results. The same could be true for Saiyaara.

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Suri ’s films are mostly humourless. You may hear one or two jokes here and there. There’s a good joke here as well that involves someone’s masters. But you do flash a smirk when Panday assaults a journalist only because he favoured a nepo kid. He unleashes a full monologue on Nepotism and real talent. Whether the irony was intentional is a question for the makers. But you cannot deny his relentlessness in making stories driven by passion and pathos.

Vaani and Krish, the people the two newcomers play, are hard to comprehend. Nobody knows what they’ll do next. If Krish is a lunatic and a disaster in the making, Vaani is light and dainty. But she’s just as stubborn. No late night shifts, no passive smoking, no profanity when you’re with her. And now destiny has brought the two together. There are endless scenes and montages of chalk and cheese that skim the surface and never pierce through, and sadly, come across as hollow. And this happens despite your wish to root for them. Both have a gloomy past, so pain becomes their drive. And maybe that’s why neither of the two cracks a smile for a full hour. But after a point, we realise why Vaani is the way she is. And there’s something heartfelt about the way Padda plays this character. One must give it to the filmmaker for the way he stages his female characters. They not only have more meat but far more agency and control over their characters.

Ahan Panday’s sincerity only begins to show post the interval when his outbursts and outrageous behaviour are sanitised and his character becomes a lot more restrained. Even the couple’s togetherness feels more earned. But some jarring moments come in the way. Krish’s journey from the streets to super stardom happens in a flash. A parallel track about Vaani’s former flame feels erratic. The Malang-isque visuals and Aashiqui-isque pining also stop Saiyaara to have its own identity. There’s also a tinge of Ajay Devgn and Kajol’s U Me Aur Hum. But no further spoilers.

What keeps Saiyaara afloat is how two new faces submit to the vision of a filmmaker despite the messiness and imperfection of the narrative. What also holds the film together is the stunning title track even if the other songs may not have the lasting legacy of Suri’s previous works. It may not have the gorgeousness of the other love stories, but it may drag its feet, but the intent and inherent sincerity make up for it. Because when is love ever perfect?

Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)

Saiyaara is now playing in cinemas