Upon initial viewing, and perhaps only 30 seconds into the film, most viewers will draw a comparison to Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge, and such a comparison would be well-founded. Visually, it is very similar, with lavish lighting as a forefront to the dark backgrounds of the city. The lighting from the city buildings, paints an impressive picture, as do the streets which are often lit in shades of green or blue. It's very reminiscent of the set design of Moulin Rouge, and as such, comparison is certainly warranted. Furthering the comparison is the use of extravagant musical numbers throughout the film. And yeah, the music is good, although not quite as flamboyant as Luhrmann's film.

Saawaria is in fact, based on the early Dostoevsky story, “White Nights.” While it takes a few small liberties with the plot and characters, such as changing the narrator of the story, and giving the protagonist a name (the latter being an obvious necessity), it remains quite true to the original publication... with songs.

The songs are fantastic, and are the obvious high point of the film, alongside the stunning cinematography and set design. Considering the songs are all in Hindi they are surprisingly enjoyable, and really serve to draw the audience into the picture, even more-so than the film itself, which at times feels as though it lacks any real substance.

The story itself should be involving enough: Raj (Ranbir Kapoor) arrives in town and befriends a beautiful young woman, Sakina (Sonam Kapoor), and proceeds to fall madly in love with her. She has however, committed herself to another man who has vowed to return on the anniversary of Eid.

I don't want to give any more away, however you have some interesting possibilities for a dramatic love story. There are a number of problems that are inherent in this translation of Dostoevsky's original work. First, the character of Raj, while a likeable enough chap near the beginning of the film, becomes almost completely unsympathetic by the film's end. He is so singularly focused on what he wants, and has no idea what his actions must be doing to the woman he believes he loves. By the film's end he's lost all the charm that was so visible in the first and second acts. The writer, Prakash Kapadia, has also written in one more incredibly questionable act that discredits Raj's character even more, in order to bring to light the true feelings of a secondary character, who has hardly been prevalent throughout the film, despite providing occasional narration. By the films end our protagonist has been destroyed by the writer's lack of sympathy for his situation, and is relegated to being simply a pretty boy with a bad attitude. If the writer can show no signs of emotion toward Raj and Sakina's situation, how can we be expected to? This also cripples what could have been an emotionally powerful ending, which now simply fizzles out.

Those who are familiar with Dostoevsky's work may be aggravated by some of the changes made to his original concept, but rest assured the changes that were made were certainly in the best interests of creating an enjoyable film. As mentioned, the narration is provided by a prostitute name Gulabji, who makes it clear from the early moments of the film, that this is a world of her creation. This allows us to view the events from a third party perspective, rather than the first person narrative provided by “The Dreamer” (Raj in the film) in “White Nights”. It also gives credence to the overblown, yet appealing visuals. Gone are the parallels between “The Dreamer” and his servant, and their inability to live in reality. The servant has now been replaced with an elderly housekeeper who is much more a contrast to Raj's character than the servant was to “The Dreamer”. But, somewhat ironically, she is the most sympathetic character of the entire lot, seeing in Raj the same characteristics she saw in her own son before he left her, years ago.

The changes that have been made, certainly make the film more cinematic, yet the film starts to get flustered near the end of it's second act, becoming confused as to what it is actually trying to achieve. Characters become more irritating than enjoyable, and the emotional conclusion which is promised from the beginning of the film, is simply not there anymore. Through no fault of the actors, who are all quite good, the finale is weak. Thanks to an emotionally detached script, the film comes across as being completely without heart by its conclusion, and that's no way to construct a dramatic piece. Unfortunate, as the film had a lot of potential near the beginning. But at its worst, it still has a wonderful visual presentation and as mentioned, the music is great. Saawariya isn't terrible, it's just not nearly as good as it should have been.