‘Saiyaara’ is Not Just Another Love Story. Its an Ambitious Journey and a Resounding Success
- With its authentic performances, emotionally charged music, and characters that felt painfully real, “Saiyaara” offered more than entertainment. It offered catharsis.
From the very first frame, “Saiyaara” announces itself as a Mohit Suri film. Moody, emotional, and unmistakably sincere. But what took me by surprise was the scale of its emotional and commercial impact. Suri, already known for exploring love and loss in films like “Awarapan,” “Ek Villain,” “Aashiqui 2,” and “Malang,” raises the bar with “Saiyaara.” This is not a story that leans on Bollywood nostalgia. There are no mustard fields, dramatic train scenes, or formulaic family feuds. Instead, the film sinks into the inner worlds of two broken individuals.
Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, both newcomers, bring an unexpected depth to their roles. Ahaan’s portrayal of Krish Kapoor, a young, brooding musician haunted by inner emptiness, feels like a spiritual twin to Ranbir Kapoor’s character in “Rockstar.” Aneet, as the emotionally scarred Vaani Batra, isn’t just a love interest. She is a poet, a journalist, and a woman abandoned at the altar. Her strength is quiet. Her beauty is fragile. Her role is unforgettable.
Music has always been Mohit Suri’s storytelling signature, and in Saiyaara, it doesn’t accompany the film. It breathes with it. Even before its release, the soundtrack had already won over audiences with haunting tracks like Saiyaara, Tum Ho Toh, and Barbaad. Mithoon’s melodies and Arijit Singh’s aching vocals add a soul-stirring undercurrent to the film.
Here, heartbreak isn’t rushed or dramatized. It lingers in long silences, unspoken glances, and unfinished sentences. For viewers who appreciate poetry, stillness, and emotional depth, the film is a quiet revelation. But its pacing and non-linear narrative posed a challenge for others, particularly younger viewers more accustomed to faster storytelling. Still, that emotional patience is what makes Saiyaara resonate so deeply for those who connect with it.
While the film draws emotional parallels with “Rockstar,” “Still Alice,” and even “50 First Dates,” it never copies them. It borrows feeling, not format.
Much of that resonance comes from the creative freedom behind the scenes. Producer Aditya Chopra made the rare and admirable choice to back fresh talent and trust a structurally unconventional script. The result is a film that breathes organically. The imperfections only make it more human. The heartbreak in “Saiyaara” isn’t sensationalized; it seeps into the story slowly, moment by moment, like the slow erosion of memory. If you’ve ever held on to someone longer than you should have, this narrative will feel achingly familiar.
While the film draws emotional parallels with “Rockstar,” “Still Alice,” and even “50 First Dates,” it never copies them. It borrows feeling, not format, blending emotional chaos, memory loss, and repetition into something that feels new. “Saiyaara” evolves rather than imitates scene by scene, and that’s part of its charm.
Its record-breaking ₹400 crore box office run wasn’t accidental. The success, although unexpected, was earned. With its authentic performances, emotionally charged music, and characters that felt painfully real, “Saiyaara” offered more than entertainment. It offered catharsis. In today’s India, where many walk into cinemas seeking not just escape but connection, Saiyaara delivered. It’s a collaborative triumph, where everyone from the scriptwriters, musicians, to the sound designers, chased something honest.
Even the title holds deeper meaning: Saiyaara, “the drifting star or distant guide”, like love that never quite lands but never really leaves. And at the heart of it all is Mohit Suri, who once again reminds us that a broken heart doesn’t make a broken film. It makes a true one. This film isn’t for everyone. But for those who allow themselves to sit in its silences, feel its ache, and live in its memory, “Saiyaara” becomes more than just a movie. It becomes a feeling that stays long after the lights come on.
With one foot in Huntsville, Alabama, the other in her birth home, India, and a heart steeped in humanity, Monita Soni writes as a contemplative practice. She has published hundreds of poems, movie reviews, book critiques, and essays, and contributed to combined literary works. Her two books are My Light Reflections and Flow Through My Heart. You can hear her commentaries on Sundial Writers Corner, WLRH 89.3 FM.
