One may feel nauseated to sit through a hundred and fifty minute long Film these days, especially if it’s a romantic drama. However, director Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao don’t let you get bored in Sanam Teri Kasam, featuring Mawra Hocane and Harshvardhan Rane. The director duo holds your hand and takes you through each moment of the film to make the experience worthwhile.
Last time, I was deeply moved by the achingly moving chemistry of Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapoor in Aashiqui 2, which again was based on the lines of Nicholas Spark kind of romance.
In this case, Sapru and Rao make Sanam Teri Kasam an engaging affair by sprinkling the right amount of humour with a dash of heart-rending emotions and chartbuster songs. As a result, we get a love story that is so earnest and positive that it rises above its own drawbacks.
A BIT OF THE PLOT
The Pakistani actress Mawra Hocane stars as Saru, who is a librarian. Her father Jayaram (Manish Choudhary) is extremely religious and righteous. Saru is well-cultured and intelligent, but gets rejected by the prospective suitors continuously. The delay in her marriage results acts as a roadblock towards her younger sister’s marriage as well, who is already seeing someone. Harshvardhan Rane plays the role of Inder, who helps Saru to get a makeover.
THE HIGHS AND LOWS
The plot has many revelations and twists that I will prefer to not talk about. Yes, the movie is invaded bytypical Bollywoodclichés at times, but corniness may well be fine at times. I got so involved in the movie that it earned my broad emotion and paved its way towards my heart.
The music by Himesh Reshammiya is pleasing to the sensibilities with some top-notch numbers.
It adequately supports the directors to bolster the narrative in the right direction. I absolutely loved the melodious Sanam Teri Kasam and the quirky Tu Kheech Meri Photo.
Sapru and Rao have trust in the material that they have presented before the moviegoers. However, they got derailed twice: (1) Murli Sharma’s inspector act is absolutely bizarre and the Vijay Raaz song is absurd; (2) A tiresome second half that stretches a lot for no reason at all.
PERFORMANCES
Mawra Hocane is glorious, her glowing eyes eloquently reflect a soul in pain. The actress involves you into the crisis that Saru is going through in her life. Her performance is a tour de nuance that is extraordinarily crafted, with an invigorating honesty that entertains the viewers. Hocane manages to look drained and dwindled - leached of allure - with a kind of raw emotion that is deeply stirring. She gives a lingeringly rich and a forthright performance.
Harshvardhan Rane is an incredible actor who displays delicate emotions in this film through his gestures, and his performance uplifts ‘Sanam Teri Kasam’ to a high level of empathetic observation. Though, it is not a triumphant performance, but a performance that is heartfelt.
WORTH IT?
Performances and music apart, the film is seriously hampered by its runtime. The film would’ve benefited greatly had the editor sharpened the scissors on the editing table.
Overall, Sanam Teri Kasam is a richly emotional film about love and loss. What buoys the film and fills its cracks is Hocane's astonishing act. Sapru and Rao have filmed it all with a raw authenticity that saddens the viewers as it slow walks towards its finale.
Too long, but emotionally sophisticated and handsomely mounted romantic drama.
