Broken and Beautiful

Saiyaara | Director: Mohit Suri | Cast: Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda | Hindi

The wind is perpetually fanning her curls, and as soon as he is successful, highlights appear in his blowdried hair. When she is upset, she tears pages from her diary. When he is angry, he imag­ines he is Virat Kohli hitting a six and win­ning a match for India. She was dumped in the past by a particularly vile boy, he has been cleaning up after his alcoholic father for years. So naturally the two are made for each other. She writes songs and he sings them. Until tragedy strikes. And he has to choose between his burgeoning music career and his growing love. Mohit Suri has traversed this universe before with just as haunting music but now his simple tale of love and longing, forgetting and forgiving, seems to have tapped into a desire in audiences to see a return to romance. The two leads are fresh and throw them­selves into the romance full tilt, with no inhibitions, and the supporting cast of concerned parents, diabolical music companies, and loyal buddies perform their tasks well. But the focus is on debutant Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda (who was excellent in Prime Video’s Big Girls Don’t Cry last year). They kiss as beautifully as they cry. The colour scheme of the film matches its moods—blue when they are trying to mend each other, and sunny when they are healing. Beautiful broken people helping each other get through life is an old trope but Saiyaara brings it new vigour.

Ahaan PandayAneet PaddaMohit SuriSaiyaara