Saiyaara - Shining new stars and magical music

Saiyaara

Hindi - Romance / Drama
130 mins
Netflix

        

Ps:- This is the biggest blockbuster of this year, so it deserves extra love from me - Long post alert

Prologue

One of the best things to come out of the Mahesh Bhatt clan (in rank order) after Alia Bhatt are Emraan Hashmi and Mohit Suri (a tie). Vikram Bhatt definitely deserves credit for laying the foundation of the Vishesh Films (VF, Mukesh Bhatt's production house)" rip off a Korean/vaguely famous English movie, add some adult-ish content, set it to amazing music, and cast decent-looking leads"

But in truth, it has been Mohit Suri who gave VF their best years in the 2000s. A steady filmmaker, he has carried the VF flag with absolute passion for Bollywood music, stunning visuals, making watchable movies. The films themselves may not have great shelf life—but the songs are part of Hindi music folklore. In Suri's filmography, Ek Villain Returns and Half Girlfriend were the only truly bad films (and even those had decent songs!).

Saiyaara follows the Vishesh Films template to the tee (for the YRF banner): a proper Mohit Suri movie with music that will be remembered, superb visuals, great-looking leads (more on them in a bit), and the usual “suspend disbelief, ignore the meh” package.

Review

Vaani Batra (Aneet Padda) is emerging from a serious depression. She is nursing heartbreak after Mahesh Iyer (some random dude we may never see again) abandoned her at the marriage registration bureau to hop on a flight to SFO with a heiress.

Vaani writes (always a book in hand), so she joins a PR/news firm where she meets Krish Kapoor (Ahaan Panday), a composer and frontman of a band. He shows up to trash a journalist who gave all the spotlight to the band’s “nepo baby” bassist, leading to their split.

Krish is the quintessential bad boy —rolling joints, living for music, chasing fame and money. Vaani collaborates with him because he collaborates with Prince (Shaad Randhawa), a washed-up rapper in need of a hit. Krish and Vaani create a beautiful song, and he is on the cusp of fame.

Cue daddy issues (you knew that was coming!). Turns out Krish has an alcoholic father in need of rehab. Vaani helps him see reason and he sells out to Prince.

Oh, did I tell you Krish lives in an absolutely dreamy glasshouse, with mood lighting, hi-tech gear, an iPhone Pro, and a Harley Davidson X440 (~3 lakh)? He even goes to a fancy college with the best cricket nets (and a grade bowling machine), where he shadow-bats like a left-handed Virat Kohli.

Anyway, in the process of giving up his song, he gives his heart to Vaani, who is healing too and they fall in love. She reunites him with his band, much to her mother’s shock and fear that Vaani might get heartbroken again ( and her mom doesn’t want to relive her own depression from taking care of a depressed daughter—her words, not mine!!).

Vaani writes, because she forgets. Tragically, she is part of the 0.04% of young people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. She hides this from everyone, including Krish, who is about to go on tour. But he finds out and returns, vowing to take care of her and leaves his music behind. Her heartbroken parents reluctantly allow her to move with him to a sprawling sea-facing bungalow in Alibaug.

They are deeply in love, and Krish cares for her. But soon, money runs dry (clearly no unseen PF savings or magical family largesse to drain anymore!), Krish has to get back on the gig. Vaani motivates Krish and wants him to success and one fine day, she disappears. Krish, her family, and even the police search for her, but she’s never found. Heartbroken, Krish goes on to become the huge star—the Saiyaara who keeps traveling—that they once dreamt of together.

Is there a happily ever after? Find out if you watch

Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda get plenty of screen time and dialogues (some quite lengthy too). Truth be told, they do well. Ahaan looks smart, and his voice has shades of Ranbir Kapoor. His easy smile, though, is held back until the second half. Aneet is sweet and strong in emotional moments, a thick accent notwithstanding.

Credit to the casting team (Shanoo Sharma) and YRF, the workshops and effort well spent in shaping the leads. A few scenes show their rawness, but overall, this is a very assured debut, rising above the average, templated writing.

Some gems in the "writing"

• Krish’s “poverty” feels laughable when he is living like an Instagram influencer.
• The father-son angle (Varun Badola) is non existent.
• Vaani’s mother is oddly tone-deaf about her daughter’s struggles. 
• Shaad Randhawa’s Prince is Mohit Suri fulfilling a family obligation
• The depression / Alzheimer’s arc deserved more sensitivity.
• Mahesh Iyer reappears as the band’s sponsor, tries to to exploit Vaani’s situation. Laughably, his only defense while being bashed up? That he didn’t know about her illness—not that he wasn’t wrong otherwise.🤷

The film is at least 20 minutes too long—so many half-baked subplots.

So yeah, Saiyaara, a blockbuster is a perfect launch for Ahaan and Aneet. The music is the backbone—front, center, and everything of the film. Dhun, Barbaad (my favorite), Humsafar, and Saiyaara will live on the 2025 (and probably 2020s) playlists.

Epilogue

As for the social media buzz about this being the Aashiqui 2 of this generation —I don’t even regard Aashiqui as a good movie 🤣( although the music will follow me to my grave).

Saiyaara could have been a truly memorable love story with a crisp 100-minute runtime, great leads, unforgettable music and characters living on for cinematic eternity. Instead, it settles for being the Aashiqui of this generation— let us hope it heralds better acting careers for its leads.