Saawariya, HDDCS, Dramas and Mangas
Nov. 19th, 2007 09:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieYes, I have tons more thoughts on Saawariya.
The observation on Bolllywhat about Imaan and Sakina's story really being another retelling of Sameer and Nandini in HDDCS (yay, I am not the only one who noticed) really really stuck with me. Only this time Sameer gets the girl, maybe that is why I loved this so ;D Seriously, though, one of the things I love about SLB's movies is in his love triangles, I always can see and root for all three people, not just view one as an annoying interloper. Here, this is even further than in HDDCS and Devdas, the 'third wheel' is the main character. And I adored Raj, and my heart broke for him when Sakina left without a second thought, without pausing and looking back. But at the same time I, like never_evil, was shouting at her to run faster, to get there before Imaan leaves. I suppose, seeing my couple preferences in HDDCS and Devdas, I always prefer the first love couple in the triangle. Or maybe it was just Salman who really was, as never_evil put it,so magnetic. When he first appeared, I sort of stopped breathing. Yes, I am a Salman fangirl, so I am not impartial, but really...
The scene where Sakina wakes up pinned to Imaan's bed is really my favorite. And then he opens his eyes. OMG. I think I hyperventilated in the theater.
It's interesting to me, the last scene with Raj. Because it made me think of the last scene in HDDCS. The same man saying good-bye to the girl, and her running away, only Nandini looks back at Ajay, and eventually even comes back. But also, in the combination of happiness about to be dashed, just like with Sameer in HDDCS song, Raj finally believes he has a chance and so does his mother figure and that is when it all strikes.
Re: Sakina being mysterious and not fleshed out, as I have seen in other reviews. I find in a lot of ways she is very much a Bhansali woman: dream-like, mysterious. But I thought she was real enough: too emotional (probably because of that sheltered household), a little manpulative, etc. She struck me as real enough within confines of what is essentially a fairytale (seriously, her grandmother keeps her pinned to herself with giant pins? Isn't it a sort of sleeping beauty/Rapunzel).
The scene where Imaan and Sakina are watching Mughal-e-Azam on the water reminds me of Cinema Paradiso, actually, when the projectionist protagonist shows movies to townsfolk, and his girlfriend comes back. Not the scene itself, necessarily, but the atmosphere.
And the end of the movie makes me think of Chaplin's 'Circus', which is fitting as Raj is rather Chaplinesque: a friendly, unworldly, odd traveller. In Circus, Chaplin just helped reunite the girl he loves with her lover, and they ride away, and he is left alone, and off he walks away again, sort of indomitable...
I suppose it makes sense Raj is left alone. First love, late-comer, doesn't matter. the quirky, boyish types don't seem to get the happy ending in SLB. I wonder if it is a reflection of the character being 'author-backed' as SLB movies are always very personal.
And speaking of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, here is one of my favorite moments in Bollywood ever, Sameer and Nandini's first meeting:
Oh God.
And here is one of my favorite songs from the movie, the very last one. Ajay is taking the torn Nandini to Salman, who is ecstatic.
Oh SLB, never change. Never ever. Who do I have to kill for you to make Bajirao Mastani?
In non-Bollywood news, a question: which drama should I finish first: My Name is Kim Sam Soon or Hello Miss? I have approximately the same amount of episodes left. Or should I finish Sapuri instead?
Speaking of Sapuri, do the the Sapuri lovers on my flist realize that the manga this is based on, has just been released in the USA? (!!!!!!) I saw the first volume (entitled 'Suppli') in the local Barnes&Noble and couldn't believe my eyes. I didn't get it yet, but I did an omnibus of the first three volumes of Tsubasa. I started watching the Tsubasa anime last year and got sidetracked but what I've seen I loved...
The observation on Bolllywhat about Imaan and Sakina's story really being another retelling of Sameer and Nandini in HDDCS (yay, I am not the only one who noticed) really really stuck with me. Only this time Sameer gets the girl, maybe that is why I loved this so ;D Seriously, though, one of the things I love about SLB's movies is in his love triangles, I always can see and root for all three people, not just view one as an annoying interloper. Here, this is even further than in HDDCS and Devdas, the 'third wheel' is the main character. And I adored Raj, and my heart broke for him when Sakina left without a second thought, without pausing and looking back. But at the same time I, like never_evil, was shouting at her to run faster, to get there before Imaan leaves. I suppose, seeing my couple preferences in HDDCS and Devdas, I always prefer the first love couple in the triangle. Or maybe it was just Salman who really was, as never_evil put it,so magnetic. When he first appeared, I sort of stopped breathing. Yes, I am a Salman fangirl, so I am not impartial, but really...
The scene where Sakina wakes up pinned to Imaan's bed is really my favorite. And then he opens his eyes. OMG. I think I hyperventilated in the theater.
It's interesting to me, the last scene with Raj. Because it made me think of the last scene in HDDCS. The same man saying good-bye to the girl, and her running away, only Nandini looks back at Ajay, and eventually even comes back. But also, in the combination of happiness about to be dashed, just like with Sameer in HDDCS song, Raj finally believes he has a chance and so does his mother figure and that is when it all strikes.
Re: Sakina being mysterious and not fleshed out, as I have seen in other reviews. I find in a lot of ways she is very much a Bhansali woman: dream-like, mysterious. But I thought she was real enough: too emotional (probably because of that sheltered household), a little manpulative, etc. She struck me as real enough within confines of what is essentially a fairytale (seriously, her grandmother keeps her pinned to herself with giant pins? Isn't it a sort of sleeping beauty/Rapunzel).
The scene where Imaan and Sakina are watching Mughal-e-Azam on the water reminds me of Cinema Paradiso, actually, when the projectionist protagonist shows movies to townsfolk, and his girlfriend comes back. Not the scene itself, necessarily, but the atmosphere.
And the end of the movie makes me think of Chaplin's 'Circus', which is fitting as Raj is rather Chaplinesque: a friendly, unworldly, odd traveller. In Circus, Chaplin just helped reunite the girl he loves with her lover, and they ride away, and he is left alone, and off he walks away again, sort of indomitable...
I suppose it makes sense Raj is left alone. First love, late-comer, doesn't matter. the quirky, boyish types don't seem to get the happy ending in SLB. I wonder if it is a reflection of the character being 'author-backed' as SLB movies are always very personal.
And speaking of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, here is one of my favorite moments in Bollywood ever, Sameer and Nandini's first meeting:
Oh God.
And here is one of my favorite songs from the movie, the very last one. Ajay is taking the torn Nandini to Salman, who is ecstatic.
Oh SLB, never change. Never ever. Who do I have to kill for you to make Bajirao Mastani?
In non-Bollywood news, a question: which drama should I finish first: My Name is Kim Sam Soon or Hello Miss? I have approximately the same amount of episodes left. Or should I finish Sapuri instead?
Speaking of Sapuri, do the the Sapuri lovers on my flist realize that the manga this is based on, has just been released in the USA? (!!!!!!) I saw the first volume (entitled 'Suppli') in the local Barnes&Noble and couldn't believe my eyes. I didn't get it yet, but I did an omnibus of the first three volumes of Tsubasa. I started watching the Tsubasa anime last year and got sidetracked but what I've seen I loved...
