Saiyaara

Directed by Mohit Suro, Saiyaara is a love story that seems to exist solely within the realm of cinema. Where else can you see a character stating, “Dil se banaya gaana hain, feelings hain isme” (The song is crafted from the heart, it embodies emotions) with a straight face and in all seriousness? Or lines like, “Tumse milne ke baad mera dard beh gaya” (My sorrows have washed away after meeting you), as Vani Batra expresses to Krish Kapoor.

Every generation deserves its Aashiqui, if only to show that audiences here will never tire of morose musicians neglecting their mental health and then singing about it. The crowd at my Friday morning screening mostly comprised college kids. Invariably, there was a good bit of wisecracking and talking back to the screen. But when it was time for the big concert number, many of them had their phones out and recording. Saiyaara, directed by Mohit Suri for Yash Raj Films, actually began life as a third Aashiqui that never worked out. It isn’t a Bhatt production, but it’s a Bhatt film in spirit. Which is to say, it’s gloomy, emotionally charged, self-flagellating, and full of hummable rock ballads that all sound the same. Pitching a song to a popstar, aspiring singer Krish (Ahaan Panday) sets to music a partially written poem by fledgling writer Vaani (Aneet Padda), whom he barely knows. They’re hired to work on it together (I winced when he snatches her notebook as she’s working—a move that would earn you the lifelong enmity of any real writer). Initially, they seem to reinforce each other’s sadness. He has an alcoholic father and a massive chip on his shoulder; she was dumped by her fiancée on their wedding day. But as the song takes shape, they start to trust, then encourage, each other. She opens up, he calms down, they grow closer.

When asked about his ear for aspirational sadboi soundtracks, director Mohit Suri correctly deduced that viewers tend to recall the songs from his movies more than the movies themselves. It’s a skill in mainstream Bollywood, of course, especially in an age where Hindi film music is going extinct as a screenwriting and narrative-shaping tool. But the opposite has held true for Suri’s vessels like Zeher (2005), Awarapan (2007), Woh Lamhe (2006), Malang (2020), Hamari Adhuri Kahani (2015) and most of all, Ek Villain (2014); the albums were so addictive that the storytelling often felt like it was biding time and filling space between songs. Aashiqui 2 (2013), that lilting A Star Is Born adaptation, came the closest to being remembered through its tunes, not for it.

After delivering logs of deadwood, Mohit Suri, who loves to paint doomed romance on celluloid, returns to his Aashiqui roots with a fresh coat of mush whose ebbs and flows make one feel volatile and vulnerable in equal measure. An uplifting tale of unalloyed love whose pathos leaves its soot on the young souls, Saiyaaracarries the brooding intensity of a Mahesh Bhatt romance in the body of a maudlin Yash Raj love story. With mental health as the villain of the piece, the story echoes the times when love is reduced to a lollipop by market forces. In the digital age, Mohit dials back to the pre-rom-com era, when heartache travelled through the screen on the wings of melodies, sacrifice was considered a virtue, and selfless love was celebrated. Led by Irshad Kamil’s Saiyaara mera badla nahin hai, Mausam thoda badla hua hai (My love, you are the same, only the time has turned its back on us), the tripping soundtrack, put together by five composers, grows on your senses.

Bollywood is going back to classic romances after years and it feels refreshing. The audiences in the past month have been treated to love stories and anthologies in Anurag Basu’s Metro In Dino and Vivek Soni’s Aap Jaisa Koi recently, and now Mohit Suri’s Saiyaara focuses on young love. Suri, who has made a name for creating musicals and angsty love stories, returns to his comfort zone and collaborates for the first time with Yash Raj Films- another name synonymous with Bollywood romances. The film marks the debut of Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda and looks and feels like Aashiqui 3 with similar romantic ballads, drama, angst, and love. But is Saiyaara a Gen Z version of Aashiqui? Let’s find out.

‘सैयारा मतलब तारों में इक तन्हा तारा, खुद जलकर जो रोशन कर दे जग ये सारा।’ यह डायलॉग है, दर्द-ए-दिल की कहानियों के महारथी हो चुके डायरेक्टर मोहित सूरी की नई फिल्म ‘सैयारा’ का। इश्क में खुद को मिटाकर अपने प्यार को रोशन करने वाले ऐसे सैयाराओं की कहानी मोहित ‘आशिकी 2’ के जमाने से सुनाते आ रहे हैं। यह फिल्म भी उसी की नई कड़ी है, जिसमें प्यार, दर्द और सुरीले गानों का कॉकटेल है। साथ ही अहान पांडे (चंकी पांडे के भतीजे) और अनीत पड्डा के रूप में दो नए चेहरों की ताजगी भरी केमिस्ट्री भी। कहानी की कमी-बेसी के बावजूद मोहित का प्यार का यह दांव इस बार भी सही ही बैठा है। कहानी संगीत की दुनिया में चमकने का सपना देखने वाले एक उभरते हुए कलाकार कृष कपूर (अहान पांडे) की है। अहान के एंट्री शॉट से ही साफ हो जाता है कि वह ‘आशिकी 2’ के आरजे और ‘रॉकस्टार’ के जेजे टाइप बेपरवाह, गुस्सैल, सिगरेट के कश खींचने वाला बंदा है। जबकि, उसके उलट वाणी बत्रा (अनीत पड्डा) एक शांत, समझदार, खुद में गुमसुम रहने वाली लड़की है, जो हाल ही में एक दर्दनाक ब्रेकअप से बाहर आई है। हां, टैलंटेड दोनों खूब हैं।

Saiyaara is proof that Hindi mainstream cinema hasn’t (yet) forgotten to make a film that tugs at the heart, and more importantly, quietly but firmly makes its place in it. Bringing back old-school romance with a modern vibe, Saiyaara may seem Aashiqui 2-coded in parts, but has enough feel and fire to power its way to blockbuster box office… one which has been missing a raw, real and relatable love story for a while. Directed by Mohit Suri — the man who has earned enough cred in spinning love stories that meld a beating heart and deeply-felt humanity with searing chemistry and chartbuster melody — Saiyaara introduces two new faces as its leads. But in an age where a performance on a Friday rarely makes a career soar or stumble anymore — determined as it is by social media heft, paparazzi pull and networking skills — Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda prove that they are in it for the long haul. If what they have delivered in their debut film is anything to go by, two new actors with promise and passion, skill and sincerity are born. The stardom that they will invariably achieve after this film will be but a byproduct of the hard work they have put in.