'Saawariya' DVD out ! Review.

DVD Review

By Joginder Tuteja, July 19, 2008 - 14:50 IST

MOVIE DETAILS

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Salman Khan, Rani Mukherjee
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Producer: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Music: Monty Sharma, Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Lyrics: Sameer, Nusrat Badr, Sandeep Nath

THE FILM

I was waiting for the DVD release of Saawariya for quite sometime! I wanted to check out the film with an open mind since at the time of its release, it was the Om Shanti Om euphoria that dominated minds of millions of moviegoers out there. I wanted to know whether one could give

THE FILM

I was waiting for the DVD release of Saawariya for quite sometime! I wanted to check out the film with an open mind since at the time of its release, it was the Om Shanti Om euphoria that dominated minds of millions of moviegoers out there. I wanted to know whether one could give the film a watch at least in the comfort of home where the least you could do is keep the lights switched on (the film has been shot entirely in dark which makes one gasp for some light in the 2 hour journey of Saawariya).

Yes, I wanted to watch it again! Alas, yet again Saawariya turned out to be a disappointing affair. There were some redeeming factors though.

First and foremost I could at least talk to people around me unlike the ordeal that I faced in my earlier foray in a multiplex where all I could do was whisper to the friend next to me and question what the film was all about and where was it heading to?

Secondly, now that the hype around debut of Ranbir, Sonam, and Deepika (her Om Shanti Om had arrived on the same day as Saawariya) has died down and everyone is busy working on their respective biggies, I could well concentrate on seeing the kind of effort that the two leads of Saawariya had really put in the film. Catch the finer nuances. Study their actions. Understand the characters they play better.

Thirdly, and most importantly, try looking at Saawariya more as a piece of art rather than a hardcore entertainer that is made mainly for commercial gains.

Now it's the third point out there that actually succeeded in allowing me to sit through this Sanjay Leela Bhansali's wannabe classic once again. We know the story (there isn't much in it anyways) and we know the characters (Ranbir exuded boyish charm yet again while Sonam, howsoever 'sorted out' her character may sound, still astonishes while walking away with her 'naa jaane kahaan se aaya hai' lover Salman Khan).

So what is really left to check out and appreciate all over again? Well, yet again, you can't help but look in awe at the dream that Bhansali carried and actually realized it. Well, if not through his story then his crew at least that was handling the technical department! Art direction, lighting, sets, the entire fantasy world, cinematography, background score, sound design - if someone wants to see how all of this could come together to create a magical outing on celluloid, watch Saawariya.

Now if only at least some of this could have been shot in a color other than blue, Saawariya may just have turned out to be one perfectly shot technically brilliant film!

PACKAGING

Let's be fair - Packaging of Saawariya DVD is one of the best that has come in the recent times. The DVD box is quite classily done with a good choice of pictures on the cover and inlay decor. But then isn't that what Saawariya all about - "Packaging"!

DURATION

The film comes in a single DVD pack with the film's duration being 132 minutes.

SPECIAL FEATURES

The DVD comes with following Special Features:

- Making of Saawariya
- Premier Night
- Deleted Scenes
- Trailers

Ok, let us indeed acknowledge Sanjay Leela Bhansali for the kind of effort he had put in making his Saawariya. In an excellently directed 28 minutes long 'Making of Saawariya', one gets to see the 'real' making of the film instead of the regular admiration talks between the cast and crew members. The entire effort that went into rehearsals, workshops, shot division, music making, work of art, choreography etc. is revisited in this special segment that makes one wonder whether Bhansali would ever be able to come out of the disappointment that he must have faced after the box office failure of the film.

Also, it is quite a nostalgia to see the actors from the past (Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Shashi Kapoor etc.) being referred to as Rani Mukherjee does a special background narration for the making of this segment. And yes, the best part about this 28 minutes segment is to see Salman Khan enjoying far more time talking about the film when compared to the actual screen time he got in the final edit of the film!

'Premier Night' segment lasts another 17 minutes and continues the good impact created by the 'Making of Saawariya'. It is good to see a galaxy of Bollywood stars coming in full strength to support Bhansali, his film and his debut leads.

There are exactly three 'deleted scenes' that are incorporated in the DVD but the one, which really makes an impact is a 3 minutes long sequence between Salman Khan and Sonam. One wonders why this beautifully written and directed scene that is perhaps the only one in the film which could have established the build up of intimacy between the two actors was chopped out from the final cut. Unpardonable!

TECHNICAL DETAILS

- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Digital 5.1

PRICE

Rs. 299/=

CONCLUSION

Now this one comes after a really long wait! More than 7 months after the release of the film, the DVDs of Saawariya have finally hit the stands. Surprising, since generally a film's DVD release is delayed by such a long time only if a film has been a huge box office success. Case in point being a Taare Zameen Par or a Jodhaa Akbar that is yet to arrive on home video.

On the other hand there have been blockbuster successes like an Om Shanti Om, Welcome or most recently Race that didn't tease Bollywood followers much and quickly found a place on their DVD shelves. This is why one is surprised to see Saawariya coming so late since the world is aware that on it's release, the film was rejected on it's opening weekend itself.

are u kidding meeeeeeeeeee....

anyways im deff. buying itt..