Saiyyara

After watching multiple reaction videos of Saiyyara, I finally started watching it on Netflix after almost 3 months of its release in theatres. Though the movie was first perceived as  Aashqui 3, as both have the same director, this movie is nothing close to something that looks like an Aashqui sequel. I am not only referring to the ‘happily ever after’ ending, but also the theme explored in the movie. In the screen time of 2 hour 30 mins, Mohit Suri tells a beautiful musical tale of two lovers. A straightforward, predictable and non-thrilling yet convincing story  that I absolutely loved because in the end you will want to ‘believe’ in it. Believe in Vaani’s words, Krish’s melody and have faith in their love. Or well atleast, I wanted to believe in all of it at the end!

The story starts from Vaani’s (Aneet Padda) marriage getting canceled at the last moment and she collapses. After this major shock, she finds it hard to write poetry again, and the first half of movie goes into Vaani meeting Krish (Ahan Pandey), both of them collaborating for making music, freeing each other from their past, and ultimately falling in love. Krish, ‘the bad boy’, a passionate and talented artist finds himself transforming into a sensitive and responsible person as rhythmically and  melodiously as he composes tunes to soulful words of Vaani. And then comes the ‘expected shock’ of Vaani’s Alzimer’s, return of Vaani’s ex-feyonce and her internal struggle to keep track of what is real, present and past. The rest of the movie is how Krish and Vaani reunite. It’s, simple right?

But this simple story unfolds scene by scene. Ahaan Pandey as Krish, shows full range of emotions through his expression and eyes.  He has internalized Krish’s process of falling in love with Vaani. He shows the anger, rage, the impatience and immaturity of a rogue singer at the starting of movie with the same conviction as the pain, sadness, disappointment and the hope for Vaani to remember their love once again in the climax scenes. All of this is supported by Aneet Padda, who reflects the inner turmoil effectively. One can sense the blankness and hopelessness in her eyes when she is trying to keep track of the time. Krish is a textbook case of a ‘bad boy’ turning into ‘lovable husband’ all because of the ‘kind hearted and matured girl’ who is suffering from something beyond her control. But, the story, the background and the cinematography make it believable. Real.

The background score right before Vaani faints is quite remarkable. Not to mention the song Saiyyara, which was on repeat in my playlist. One of my favorite frames in the movie is when Krish finally finds Vaani in a reel. Her teary eyes take up the full space on the screen in stadium, and he is on his knees gasping at the sight of her after an whole year. It shows how much Vaani’s presence mattered to Krish. He was on international tours, but his heart and mind was fully consumed in Vaani’s memories. On the other hand what I found underwhelming in the movie is lack of intensity of the conflict. Vaani’s Alzimer acts as a trigger for the conflict, but there is no active struggle shown from Krish’s side to understand the situation and react to it. Krish, mostly impulsive guy, just reacts like an adult to this news. I felt like there was less screen time left to develop and explore the conflict and how it affects the two leads and their relationship, in the effort to show chemistry between them in the good times.

May be the movie is yet another love story with a well-known formula to appeal crowds, but for me it felt fresh. In a world where it’s easy to find Rumi and Vicky from ‘‘Manmarziyaan’’, and we can relate to Chumki and Parth from ‘‘Metro in dino’’, where there is tradeoff between practicality of terms-conditions of a relationship and the emotional vulnerability one can feel, I need a ‘‘Saiyyara’’ to remind me of the boundlessness of love, something that in fact feels magical. The story tries to make you believe that love doesn’t have to be practical. It all has to be true and real. In the end, that’s all that matters.