Saathiya

With Mani Rathnam and A R Rehman linked to a project, one cannot be in to much doubt that if nothing else the music is going to be mind blowing.

But that was not the case with Saathiya. It not only had mind-blowing music and score it was one of the best movies of 2002.

The music and the respective picturisations are excellent, especially in the case of the title song ‘Saathiya'. My other favorite song is the tongue in cheek song ‘Choori pe Choori'. However all the other songs are very pleasurable as well. The main question was how would first time director Shaad Ali perform on this story, that would be a remake of Mani Rathnam South-Indian movie be as good as the original? Would he produce an art movie piece as his father (Muzaffar Ali) has done with movies like Umrao Jaan, or would he deliver a commercial piece? What one can be sure of is that Shaad has taken the craftsman of his fathers art movies and put them to commercial use, and delivered a movie that is unique, professional, modern and outstanding.

The acting is excellent as is the story line. Having liked Rani from Ghulam to K3G, is wonderful to see her finally taking the lead in a role that does her justice. Her realistic portrayal of Suhani, a modern genre women dealing with the trials and tribulations of married life is excellent. Having not seen anything of Viveks before, is was a surprise to see an actor of his young caliber holding such presence on screen, that it overshadowed SRK. It is evident that this actor will reach high strides in his coming career.

For a change this movie actually delivers a subconscious message, something not commonly done in bollywood movies. The message is ‘lifes to short, tell those around you how much they really mean to you'. Taking this to heart, I can truly say that I loved Saathiya.

All same old stuff...love love and hell lot of songs.. Pata nahi kab sudhrenge yeh loooooog.. Now a days all the love stories are the remake of the movies from south india.

Shaad Ali's Saathiya is one of the best films of 2002. Everything about it -- from the story line, the cinematography, locations, emotions, performances to A.R. Rahman's beautiful soundtrack -- makes it a worthy film. The film marks the directorial debut of Shaad Ali, and it shows he has not gone far from his father (the great Muzaffar Ali) in terms of talent and imagination. He extracts good performances from his actors, he has a sense and understanding of emotion and clearly has a knack for capturing the complexity of marriage and relationships, which are infused with impressive lifelike sensibility in this film. Basically the story's success boils down to the fact that Ali portrays it with authenticity. This is a fantastic directorial debut (although he would ruin that image in his future projects BAB and JBJ). Rani Mukherjee is the main highlight of the show, the soul of the entire film. This is her career-best performance. She is simply flawless in every single scene - beautiful, vibrant, natural and convincing. Vivek Oberoi is a talented actor and acts very well, though he is not as good as his female costar. He does have to work on the more emotional expressions, but otherwise gives a complete performance. Gulzar and A.R. Rahman give life to the film with a superb list of songs, each of which is a gem. My favourite songs include "Saathiya", "Aye Udi Udi", "Chhalka Chhalka Re", "Chupke Se" and "O Humdum Soniyo Re". To sum it up, Saathiya is a very impressive, entertaining and realistic picture on relationships and marriage. I highly recommend you to see it.

Saathiya is one of those rare films that beautifully captures the innocence of first love and the challenges of marriage in the real world. Directed by Shaad Ali and supported by A. R. Rahman's unforgettable music, the movie is both soulful and relatable.

The chemistry between Vivek Oberoi and Rani Mukerji feels genuine and heartfelt. The first half celebrates the charm of young romance, while the second half thoughtfully explores how love matures when faced with misunderstandings, responsibilities, and life's everyday struggles.

What makes Saathiya special is its emotional honesty - it doesn't just show a fairytale romance, but also the effort it takes to sustain one. The cinematography is refreshing, the dialogues are natural, and the songs like Saathiya and Chhalka Chhalka Re still remain timeless favorites.

✨ Overall: A heartwarming love story with depth, music, and emotions that stay with you long after the film ends. Definitely worth watching, especially for those who believe in the power of love beyond just romance.

Saathiya, a movie that i wanted to see because of its beautiful songs. I never expected that the story would be as enjoyable as the songs. This movie is made as simple as they could and yet made it look nice without any huge sets, or without of having characters in the story who are like supposely equivalent to Bill Gates. This is a movie which most of the people could relate to especially considering most of the indian population living in india lives through middle class values which is addressed in the movie. The romance is not overexaggerated. Basically, talking about the movie a viewer would not be disappointed. The direction was very veteran like considering it was Shaad Ali's first film. He did a fabulous job at the climax point. To bring out the performances worthy of awards and praises from the leading actors, Vivek Oberoi and Rani Mukherjee. Rani Mukherjee has done her part better then her male counterpart but I would not dare take anything away from Vivek Oberoi. Vivek lends a good support but it is clear that movie's driving force was Rani Mukherjee, movie belonged to Rani Mukherjee arguably her best performance ever till date. Overall, it is a good heartwarming experience with good tunes to hummm in isolation. Characters will easily relate to you, it is that beautifully played out.