SLB and I

I've had this long love for foreign movies; more notably, movies from India.
As a child I remember sitting on the floor in the home of a Hindi-speaking family, and watching old Indian movies, played on a projector, and shown on a white screen.

I was swept away by the music, the dancing, the "dhushm dhushm" fight scenes, the beautiful heroines, the dashing heroes...it was lovely!
And still is.

"Bollywood" has gone very mainstream...very Hollywood, lately, but many movie directors still manage to retain that timeless feel.

Sanjay Leela Bansali is one such director.
I love his work.
If it has his name on it, I'll buy it.
No questions asked.

So I was happily surprised to see one of his recent works at the local Movie Gallery.
That's right...
I found Saawariya right at the bottom of a shelf.
Just one copy.
But that was enough.

Oh, what a feast for the eyes and ears this was!
I just loved it!
The music was timeless, the set was fabulous and elaborate, the dialogue poetic (yes there are sub-titles in English for the non-Hindi speakers)...it was lush, rich and thoroughly entertaining.

The story was based on Dostoevsky's "White Nights", which probably explains how it came to circulate within a regular movie rental chain.
If you get a chance (and have 138 minutes to spare) go watch it, and come tell me what you think :)

Oh, one more thing on the meaning of the title:

Production Notes - Saawariya
Meaning of Saawariya
Saawariya is beloved. But he’s not just any beloved. He’s the dusky, blue tinged (savla) God Krishna who is
adored as saawariya. On a less heavenly though as sublime note, saawariya is that beloved who is always in
love. But again, not every lover can qualify as saawariya. Only that lover who stands the test of time…who
overcomes all obstacles… who doesn’t care whether he gets the girl or not… as long as he’s consumed by
love… as long as he remains in a perpetual state of being in love…
That man, that rare lover is saawariya.