Saiyaara review: Is it the last of your 'Stars', Mr. Mohit Suri?

Saiyaara review: Is it the last of your 'Stars', Mr. Mohit Suri?

‘Saiyaara’ - Mohit's melancholic musical finds solace in moments and memory, until it exhausts us with a migraine.

He’s a throbbing musical sensation with demons of the past. She’s a gifted writer and poetess nursing a terrible heartbreak. Sparks fly, they conjure a great romance. Ahaan Panday’s as Krissh Kapoor and Aneet Padda as  Vaani Batra exude the fresh vibes of a couple with a youthful appeal but their romance treads a tough traffic laid by destiny - which you will always find in a Mohit Suri film.

‘Saiyaara’, makes a mark with impressive and sure-footed performances from its leads - Ahaan Pandey and Aneet Padda, who carve a tortuous, moody romance drenched in pain, sufferings and healing. But Panday lacks the vigour and ardour of a passionate musician – there’s more rebel than a real rockstar in him. He’s got sullen and expressive eyes that convey depth and emotions and his toxic rage forms a perfect folly to Padda's demure and sensitive persona, and together they forge a great chemistry, quite commendable as for their career start, but Mohit's treatment is more frustrating than fascinating.

The film pans out familiar beats of Suri's previous outings where fractured souls flourish in each other's company. But it is nearly 20 years since he's been making films and I still don’t understand his logic – Mr. Suri, why can’t career and companionship co-exist in the flight of relationships? Why does one of them have to be sacrificed? Why does your protagonist from the weaker sex come with a jinxed tag?

The tracks act like sedatives. Albeit gorgeously picturized which also includes a dreamy detour to Alibagh, they all sound the same. Which doesn’t actually work in the film’s favour considering the fact that music is built as its DNA. Suri creates sumptuous semi-lighted frames, but the fragments in his story-telling don’t necessarily add up. Seldom do the scenes spark promises. Like the one, when Vani’s mother (played by Geeta Agarwal) is confronting her, while the dialogues depict the awkward facial exchange between her Dad (Rajesh Kumar) and Ahaan in the other frame.

Krissh and Vaani navigate tumultuous terrains, hit roadblocks and reveal a great tenacity but their chemistry ceases to conclude until Suri exhausts you with a migraine. Milking grief and emotions from your central story and neglecting the surrounding entities is never a good idea.

In the rollercoaster ride of romance, the ensemble elements go for a toss. Krish’s volatile bond with his music band, the numerous call-in and call-off with a reputed music brand or an undercooked equation his alcoholic father (played by Varun Badola, who definitely deserved more footage) look all contrived and convenient – as if they are a coterie and in a ‘Star-in-the-making’ mission. 

 

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