Dr Ben Bandara It is not often that I watch a Bollywood movie in whole, simply because they are usually so embarrassing to watch even alone! I just watch them for music and for the, so far unmatched, choreography! But this film just captured my imagination and kept me arrested till the end. The only other Hindi films that I can speak of with similar admiration are 'Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost' - My Friend from Mumbai, a widely misunderstood and undervalued Indian gem, the Raj Kapoor classic, 'Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behthi Hai' - The Man from the Ganges Confluence - and recent work by maverick and pioneering art house directors of the modern India like Nagesh Kukunoor - 'Iqbal' 2005, Madhur Bhandarkar - 'Page 3' - and Rakesh Omprakash Mehra - 'Rang De Basanti' - The Colour of Sacrifice - 2006.Experimental in almost all departments, but handled by the whole crew and the cast, including the first time director Shaad Ali, with great virtuosity and panache, this is a film that everyone should see, if not for anything but just for the sheer, unforgettable experience of the breathtaking cinematography, the brilliant location selection, masterly costume, art and set design, and above all, the painstakingly executed, digital editing and subtle video effects that puts Hollywood studios to shame. If you are now encouraged to see this movie, watch for the way the camera meaningfully mimics and follows the act as if the viewer is there and sharing the experience of the scene. This filming and editing effect is so subtly handled by both the highly experienced cinematographer and the editor so that the viewer's eyes move with the camera so effortlessly, and after a short while, get accustomed to it. The effect is most prevalent though with songs and choreography, which highlights the composer, A. R. Rahman's quite apparent contribution to the success of this film.The highly acclaimed and surprisingly very young composer A. R. Rahman, easily the Alberto Iglesias of India, has single-handedly pioneered a new kind of world music, mixing the diverse traditional and folk music of India with both western and eastern classical and popular music. The result is a unique and continuously evolving sound that has reverberated around the world to such an extent that it has influenced a wide range of musicians around the world. 'Saathiya' is an excellent example of how his music influences the look, texture and feel of a film, very similar to that of masters like John Williams, Tan Dun and, in particular to the much cherished collaborations between Zbigniew Preisner and the late master Krzysztof Kieslowski. It is hard to get the 9 songs of this film out of your head once you watched the movie, not just because A. R. Rahman is a genius, but because the collaboration between him and the rest of the crew and cast has been just perfect.As an added bonus, the film is much shorter than the usual Bollywood formulaic crap, and, because it has the ability to capture the viewer's attention and hold it to the end, the time just flies while you are having fun. It also is a light-hearted attempt to examine the lives and loves of the youth of the modern and very westernised India, and doesn't bother the viewer too much with too serious and pretentious issues of life and the universe! Watch it and you wouldn't regret it, except for the last scene! Once you have seen 'Saathiya', you should see the original Tamil film , 'AlaiPayuthey' (2000) by writer director Mani Ratnam, a highly creative director to watch for. This is so much admired by Tamil speaking people around the world that it has been posted so many times as low resolution videos on both YouTube and GoogleVideo, so that you can watch it free in full as well as in parts. Despite the origin, the two films are different in atmosphere: Tamil one is quite rural looking while, the Hindi one is quite modern and urban in setting. They are both equally stupendous cinematic creations on their own right despite the differences.BrownPolar Edinburgh April 2008

Sherazade Well, it's got a stellar cast, an okay story and it's a Yashraj production. I have to admit, when I first heard about this film, I hoped to watch it and rate it was perfect 10. But it's far from it. It's just an average film with a power punch packing cast!Okay, Rani Mukherjee plays a young medical student who one day bumps into a mama's boy (played by Vivek Oberoi) at a wedding, and he instantly becomes smitten with her. Aboard two separate trains en route to different parts of the city of Mumbai, they spot each other again and a game of cat and mouse ensues daily until he musters up the courage to come and speak to her about his feelings. They slowly begin to warm up to each other and soon enough Oberoi's character sends his parents to go and check out his beloved's parents. His parents, wealthier than some get to the beat down shack where their son's beloved calls home with her parents and can hardly hide their resentment. It isn't too long that they begin to get on each other's nerves, and the meeting ends in a disaster. When Rani's character meets with Vivek's again, she decides to end their relationship because his parents were rude to hers. Vivek pleads with her then proposes to her, and they secretly get marriage. Everything goes smoothly until it becomes time for Rani's younger sister to get married. The potential family comes in to meet theirs and naturally they wonder why the older one isn't married yet, so the propose that one of their other sons marries her, that is when Rani's character drops the bombshell on them all that she is already married. This causes her sister's marriage deal to be canceled and not to mention the fact that her parents disown her because of this. Rani's character then goes off to live with her husband (Vivek) and things go smoothly for a while until they start dealing with issues that surround every married couple. Rani becomes insecure about the marriage and herself that she begins to see things that aren't there. One afternoon, she spies her husband hugging a woman at a train stop and mistakes it for an affair, when she later finds out that the woman her husband was hugging was none other than her little sister, she races home to make things right with her husband again but meets a very bad accident. That's when the Yashraj Peep whip out one of two people who probably brought Saathiya the crowd it did at the box office. The car that hit Rani's character was being driven by Tabu (in a special appearance) and she is married to Shah Rukh Khan (another special appearance) whom she races home to tell what she has done, after fleeing the scene of a crime, leaving Rani at her own mercy. SRK then races to the hospital to see if the woman is still alive, where he pretends to be her husband in order to save her life. That's Saathiya for you, yup! The much hyped Saathiya. The Best performance in the entire film belongs to Vivek Oberoi, he is just stellar and splendidly holds his own in the one powerful scene he has with the King Khan. Oh! blink and you'll miss an item number cameo by Shamita Shetty as she tries to steal Vivek away from Rani. There's also a wonderful song in the film called 'Chupke Se' performed in the film by Rani and Vivek. Listen to it and weep! Yes! it's that beautiful.

jungleking With Mani Rathnam and A R Rehman linked to a project, one cannot be in to much doubt that if nothing else the music is going to be mind blowing. But that was not the case with Saathiya. It not only had mind-blowing music and score it was one of the best movies of 2002. The music and the respective picturisations are excellent, especially in the case of the title song ‘Saathiya'. My other favorite song is the tongue in cheek song ‘Choori pe Choori'. However all the other songs are very pleasurable as well. The main question was how would first time director Shaad Ali perform on this story, that would be a remake of Mani Rathnam South-Indian movie be as good as the original? Would he produce an art movie piece as his father (Muzaffar Ali) has done with movies like Umrao Jaan, or would he deliver a commercial piece? What one can be sure of is that Shaad has taken the craftsman of his fathers art movies and put them to commercial use, and delivered a movie that is unique, professional, modern and outstanding.The acting is excellent as is the story line. Having liked Rani from Ghulam to K3G, is wonderful to see her finally taking the lead in a role that does her justice. Her realistic portrayal of Suhani, a modern genre women dealing with the trials and tribulations of married life is excellent. Having not seen anything of Viveks before, is was a surprise to see an actor of his young caliber holding such presence on screen, that it overshadowed SRK. It is evident that this actor will reach high strides in his coming career. For a change this movie actually delivers a subconscious message, something not commonly done in bollywood movies. The message is ‘lifes to short, tell those around you how much they really mean to you'. Taking this to heart, I can truly say that I loved Saathiya.

skfazli I saw Saathiya on December 20 at Naz8 Cinemas and again on December 25 at the same venue.I liked it even more the second time and intend to see it many more times on the big screen before I finally own the original DVD of the movie. Vivek Oberoi is a talent to watch.After his triumph in Company, he is superb here.Rani Mukerji as Suhani will greatly increase her fan following with this movie. A.R. Rahman and Anil Mehta who were also part of last year's Lagaan are once again magnificent. Shah Rukh Khan and Tabu make brief appearances in guest roles, but they leave an impact and make a great pair.Someone should cast them together in lead roles in a great future movie.Gulzar's dialogues are the best he has ever written. His lyrics may not be outstanding but serve the score well. Above all Shaad Ali in his first directorial effort has surpassed many veterans. His is the most assured debut since Farhan Akhtar's in Dil Chahta Hai.2002 will be remembered for two movies: Devdas and Saathiya.