- Date of Release: 18 July 2025
- Genre: Romance, Drama
- Language: Hindi
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Saiyaara
Introduction
The Aashiqui 2 (2013) hangover is pretty evident in the world building of the new Hindi film Saiyaara. She is alone and heartbroken, he is angry and rebellious, and both are literally a match made in heaven. But the sense of nuance in any love story is that of longing, the stillness and the want for lovers to fall in the arms of each other, knowing fully well that fate has other plans for them. And that is exactly where Saiyaara scores, and scores really well. There is a sense of longing even as you are first introduced to Vaani (Aneet Padda) patiently waiting for her registered marriage to transpire outside the courtroom. Little does she know that fate has other plans that would leave her in a state of depression following an unforeseen and heartbreaking turn of events. Vaani is a writer, and someone who would allow her words to flow even when she cannot express her feelings. But when that hits a roadblock following the change of fate, you can’t help but sympathize with her while rooting for her to heal and fall in love again! So in many ways, this can be termed as Vaani’s coming of age story that is ill-fated even when she finds love again in the form of Krish (Ahaan Panday).
Story & Screenplay
Krish is to Vaani what Rahul (Aditya Roy Kapur) is to Arohi (Shraddha Kapoor) from Aashiqui 2. In fact, it would be wrong to say that Krish and Rahul may be the same person in an alternate universe, both being rebel with a cause, both being driven by angst while finding an escape route in music. Krish is a struggling singer, often flairing up at the prospect of his band being hijacked by a nepo-baby (a clear case of an uno-reverse in reality, but hey, who is complaining; Ahaan is supremely talented), and often spending most of his time creating music that is incomplete without the incorporation of words. And that is when fate brings Vaani into his life, a character that would redirect his rebellious streak while transforming it into longing and an ambition to be a ‘superstar’. She remains the words to his music, the beauty to his soul, the pearl of his eye, but what is even a love story that isn’t without a fateful heartbreak.
The sombre hues of grey and blue gracing the city of Mumbai are enough to tell you a story that remains true to its heartbreaking context. It is almost an ominous sign of an underlying tragedy, even as you witness some of the most beautiful moments between the couple, essentially both at their all times lows but helping each other overcome the difficulties. For Vaani, it is Krish who equates the lows of her life shackled in pain to that of a game of cricket, played in front of a packed stadium, offering her advice to play on the front foot. For Krish, it is Vaani who teaches him stillness and stability, often acting as a balm and soothing the pain with respect to his strained relationship with his alcoholic father. Life is seemingly back on track, but what could possibly go wrong?
The proceedings can best be termed as a roller coaster ride of emotions that slowly gathers pace around the halfway mark, particularly with respect to a major revelation that is deeply coded in the Aashiqui 2 mould. It is a tragedy waiting to transpire which would eventually have scarring repercussions in the life of the couple. And it is from this point that you notice a Gen-Z love story transforming into a matured adult love story that has familiar but sweetened traits of love, loss and longing with a dash of Vaani’s past, most of which remains the driving force of the narrative. And because the viewers are acquainted with this tragedy, the natural reaction is always of empathy and the want for the lovers to stay united through and through.
There is an inherent sweetness in the romance even as Vaani tells Ahaan to pursue his dreams, and exclaiming on how she wishes him to be a superstar singer. For Ahaan, the arc is reverse – he doesn’t want to be that Saiyaara (a star searching for his life goal) all by himself, instead wanting Vaani to be a part of his journey. There is love in the air but for how long?, a question that the makers often float along the way. And this is where I feel that the makers missed a trick in the final act. I will have to keep things vague here but had the ending been braver and bolder, the impact of the emotions brimming the surface would have been even higher. When the feeling of incompleteness were to engulf a love story, the feeling automatically transitions into notes that would gently tug the strings of your heart. The feeling is there but it doesn’t quite hit the crescendo! Nevertheless, the screenplay here is wonderfully heartfelt that is majorly successful in strumming the right notes of a love story!
Dialogues, Music & Direction
There is a sense of pain and longing even in the lines that beautifully encapsulates the feeling of love and loss. In a moment (that repeats itself on a few occasions throughout the film), you have Krish holding the hand of Vaani and exclaiming on how he still has a few minutes with her in that moment, a simplistic but beautiful line that flirts with the feelings buried deep within you. Some dialogues resemble poetry that makes its way directly to your soul, often doubling up as a whiff of air or a scent of love that you remind of that special person in your life. In other words, there are several moments created that are beautifully gut-wrenching, prompting you to invest in the couple!
The music plays such an important part in the journey here. There are different strand of emotions that are ably explored by the music, that ranges from a youthful vibe to a deep and personal place of longing, just like the title of the film. And interestingly, each song makes you want to fall in the idea of love while rooting for the couple at various instances in the drama. The BGM also utilizes the theme that it borrows from some hit songs, while transforming it into a melancholic note that pierces through your heart gently. You can tell that a lot of thought has gone into the music of the film.
There is something about real locations and the ambience that they bring with respect to the frames of the film. There is a theme of a tragedy that is seen in the first half of the film with its shade of blue hues, that suddenly transform into a sense of hope with a change in the setting in the second hour. It was a clever way of using frames to create characters around the locations while building on the ambience of love and loss through them. The editing is pretty good in a way such that you aren’t disconnected with the characters even for a tiny instance.
The love affair of director Mohit Suri and romance as a genre continues here. I have always felt that Mohit understands the emotions and the nuances of love, something that is evident in his previous trysts with the genre in the form of Aashiqui 2 (2013) and Humaari Adhuri Kahaani (2015). And he creates such relatable characters while engulfing the love story in a stream of music, that itself is a match made in heaven. Here, he successfully creates heartfelt moments between the characters that are beautiful but also aching, while lacing each moment with a sense of longing. As a result, you are thoroughly invested in the drama while rooting for the main couple, with the direction consistently hitting all the right notes.
Performances
The performances are wonderful by the members of the cast. There is a searing commentary on the plight of the music company through the characters of Sid Makkar as Vinit and Shaad Randhawa as Prince who are pretty competent as performers here. Shaan Grover as Mahesh Iyer is a character associated with the past of Vaani, a quality that easily makes his repulsive. But Shaan maintains a sense of dignity and poise with his performance that remains natural to the core, in an overall job well done. Varun Badola as Krish’s father has a heartfelt track too. In a scene, he tells his son on how not to make the same mistake as he had in his lifetime, a thing that tells you so much about his traumatic past. And he does a pretty solid job here. Rajesh Kumar and Geeta Agrawal Sharma as Vaani’s parents deliver heartfelt performances in different capacities. Rajesh is understated, Geeta is a little more expressive, but both leave a lasting impression here. Alam Khan as KV is the epitome of friendship here, sticking by his pal through thick and thin. And Alam does a wonderful job in utilizing this trait here!
It all boils down to the newest pairing of the Hindi Film Industry in the form of Aneet Padda as Vaani and Ahaan Panday as Krish, and both manage to impress here. Aneet has a pleasant personality onscreen while internalizing her emotions beautifully, something that is so evident through her expressive eyes. There is softness in her words but also trauma in her thoughts, a conflicting nature of her character that she portrays wonderfully. Ahaan is a supremely gifted performer himself. Notice his eyes that are soaked in a stream of trauma, a trait that is also reflective during his high-octane performances! If there was that one criticism, then it would be towards his muffled dialogue delivery particularly when the pitch of his character shifts towards a higher octane. But the emotional scenes that he pulls off is nothing short of brilliant here! He is one for the future and I am definitely backing him to deliver more of such consistent performances with his subsequent ventures! And the same applies for Aneet too! Go well you’ll!
Conclusion
Boasting of solid performances, Saiyaara is a beautiful tale of love, loss, heartbreak and longing that will gently tug the strings of your heart, thereby making it a heartfelt watch through and through! Available in a theatre near you!