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Saathiyan - Realities of Marriage

Girish S Lakshman | Issaquah, WA USA | 11/06/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Saathiyan is a Hindi remake of the Mani Rathnam original in Tamil "Alayapayude"Vivek Oberoi plays Aditya Sehgal, a happy go lucky rich lad who is yet to understand the true meaning of love. That is of course, until he meets Suhani Sharma (Rani Mukherjee). Suhani is a medical student intent on becoming a doctor, she doesn't want unnecessary things (like love) to get in the way of her career.She soon realizes that you can't control matters of the heart, no matter how hard you try to resist. Due to the disapproval of their parents the couple decides to elope, once married, the real tests begin.The story is nothing original. But the treatment and the focus are different. Mani Rathnam does not focus on uniting the rebellious romantics but tries to address the underlying issues of sustaining togetherness in wedlock. Practical realities and the impact of these realities on the marriage and how the couple deals with these are the main focus of the film.Vivek Oberoi and Rani Mukerjee are both good but lack the simplicity and honesty portrayed by Madhavan and Shalini in the original. The freshness of youth and the associated callousness was definitely better portrayed by Madhavan and Shalini than Vivek Oberoi and Rani Mukherjee.The music is also not as striking as the original. For anyone who has seen the original the remake is definitely a let down and for those who cannot understand Tamil I still recommend the original with the subtitles.
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What happens after Happily Ever After?

H. Bala | Carson - hey, we have an IKEA store! - CA USA | 06/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"SAATHIYA (meaning "Companion") has a contemporary look and feel and is surprisingly, effectively low key despite the eight musical acts and the sustained bits of Bollywood trappings. The film has an earnest goal in mind with regards to its depiction of young love and marriage, and it works as the story ends up more realistic and up to date in tone, but still maintaining that romantic appeal. This is the story of a boy and a girl who, out of love, choose to eschew family traditions to be together.

SPOILERS:

In vain, a young man awaits his wife at a railway stop. As he frantically searches high and low for her, the film flashes back to two years before, when Aditya, the young man (Vivek Oberoi), first met his future bride Suhani (Rani Mukerji) at a friend's wedding. Aditya is instantly smitten with Suhani. She's not amused. For the ensuing weeks and months, Aditya playfully but relentlessly pursues Suhani, who is a medical student focused on her career path and wants no distractions. She's from a poor family and wants to make her parents proud. Aditya, carefree and rudderless, hails from wealth. You see where this is going.

Suhani at last breaks down and professes an interest, and Aditya's rich parents come a-calling at Suhani's simple household to arrange a marriage. The meeting doesn't go well, as class prejudice rears its ugly head, and Suhani's proud father ends up feeling slighted by the condescending manner evinced by Aditya's dad. So, no marriage. The heartbroken kids initially accept this and try to get along without each other for a while, but you know how love goes. In the end, Aditya and Suhani wed secretly but continue to live in their respective family's homes.

But the secret comes out when Suhani's folks try to arrange a marriage for her. Suhani and Aditya are both kicked out of their homes by their furious parents. Suhani and Aditya now have to live together as a real married couple. And, really, at halfway thru the film, this is where the story begins.

END SPOILERS.

After the intermission, SAATHIYA doesn't take too long to dispense with the romance at first blush angle and instead delve into what makes a serious relationship work. Or, at least, it tries to. Forced to strike out on their own, Suhani and Aditya fairly soon arrive to the conclusion that they may have been too hasty in getting married. The first months in their now openly acknowledged marriage reflect how excitement erodes and familiarity sets in. The arguments are initially cute and Suhani even makes a game of it as she playfully marks an "X" on the calendar for each day they fight. But the arguments become more venomous and, gradually, the words become more barbed and hurtful. Then follow the days in which they don't speak to each other at all. Finally, they arrive at that stage in which the one is on the verge of leaving and the other, perfectly fine with that departure. But, here's the thing that bugs me. Looking back, the points of contention between the two seem to be too petty to result in such a dramatic division. The strongest cause for the rift seems to be that Suhani is feeling neglected and underappreciated. Their fights just don't carry that certain impact or gravity which would convince the viewer that, yes, this marriage is about to plunge off a cliff.

Rani Mukerji, she of the distinctive, sexy-husky voice, is one of the leading lights of Bollywood (check out BLACK and Hum Tum DVD 2004). And she doesn't disappoint here as I, again, found her intelligent, captivating, and vulnerable. And very cute. Vivek Oberoi (not bad in Kyun! Ho Gaya Na (2 Disc Set)) is a handsome dude who deserves acting propers here, although he runs his fingers thru his hair too often. He matches Rani scene for scene, even if I did want to jack him up for his callous behavior towards Rani in the beach musical sequence ("Chori Pe Chori"). Their chemistry doesn't quite set the screen aflame; rather, it's more of a less intense kind of heat. But it works.

The supporting cast does a fine job, with a nod to the actors who play Suhani's stern father and supportive sister. By the way, Tanuja, who is very good as Suhani's mom, is Rani's real life aunt. Shahrukh Khan and Tabu show up out of the blue in the latter stages as strangers who impact our two leads, and not in a nice way. It's a testament to the engaging performances of the two leads that Indian cinema superstar Shahrukh Khan doesn't steal the spotlight, although, yes, it is a subdued part given to him. However, it must be noted that, in the few snippets of screen time provided for Khan and Tabu's characters, they - much more clearly than Suhani or Aditya - do manage to achingly exemplify one integral aspect of relationships, which is sacrifice.

In the final tally, SAATHIYA comes across as a very good and thoughtful film, centering on the ups and downs of a young marriage. There's the normal family histrionics in the form of the vehemently disapproving parents. And something does happen later which is pretty melodramatic. But, while there is tragedy waiting in the wings, there are, at least, no outrageous love triangles, no memory loss suffered by the leads, no look-alikes or impersonations (well, okay, there's one tiny bit of impersonation here), and none of the coincidences so rife in the Bollywood genre. Just a sweet love story finally evolving into a mature relationship, even if that maturity isn't attained 'til the film's closing minutes. As a Bollywood product, it's a nice change of pace.
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