”Teri ik haseen ke badle, meri yeh zameen ley le, mera aasmaan ley le”. The imagery and the song resonates well after the end credits have left you enthralled and smitten by this small simple but affecting love story. A remake of Mani Ratnam’s “Alai Payuthe”, there is nothing new in the stable, the same old rich boy meets poor girl with parents throwing a wobbly. Why then is Saathiya such a pleasure?

Adi (Vivek Oberoi) makes his way to the railway station, intent on picking up his wife from the railway station. Trains arrive and trains depart but Suhani (Rani Mukherji) is not on the train. Where is she, why has she not arrived? The film then sets about to explain her disappearance and the possible reasons for it. The camera pans back and we almost enter a picture frame, glancing into vignettes of their life. The story then unfolds all in one night and wil by the end of it, complete a full circle.

Suhani and her sister Dina are two middle class girls. They come from a very simply background. Suhani, the younger of the two wants to become a medical practitioner. Aditya comes from a rich background and comes across Suhani at a friend’s shaadi. This is not quite Arvind Swami setting eyes on Manisha Koirala in “Bombay” but is set in a different milieu but the feeling is similar. Its all very simply done and very engaging. Adi pursues Suhani, on the train, at her college, at home. An assault of songs leaves the viewer in no doubt that love will blossom.

Adi’s parents go to Suhani’s home to ask for her hand in marriage, albeit somewhat reluctantly but Adi’s father (Satish Shah), somewhat of a snob, insults Suhani’s parents (Tanuja and Sharad Saxena) who throws them out of the house. The romance appears to be at an end but you know that Adi and Suhani will pine for each other. Adi pursues Suhani again and she persuades him to marry her but that they would not tell anyone until the time is right.

Time is never right and when Dina receives a rishta for marriage with an added proviso that Suhani marry the younger brother, Suhani has to reveal that she is already married. Thrown out of her parents home, Adi and Suhani set up home together. But marriage does not prove to be as rosy as the romance was and soon, the couple are having problems on a daily basis. One fight too many and Adi in a fit tells Suhani to go back to her home. It is against this background that we come back to the present, with Adi waiting for Suhani at the railway station.

Mani Ratnam wrote the story and the screenplay and his stamp is very much there in this film. Yes, there is nothing new in the story but it is the way that the film has been handled that puts it several notches above your usual bollywood boy meets girl melodrama. Shaad Ali, in his debut does not go for candy floss but paints a simple yet affecting love story. Songs are aplenty but except for chori pe chori (I believe this has been cut from the version in India), all flow with the film. Still, he manages to keep proceedings on a very understated level with no high melodrama and keeping the characters very real. The second half especially, dealing with the little marital upheavals of the couple, is relayed most convincingly. The most obvious comparison that one can make is with Kunal Kohli’s debut in Mujhe se Dosti Karoge, another Yash Raj Presentation, which was more gloss and little heart and which Saathiya triumphs over most convincingly.

Rani Mukherji is perfectly cast as Suhani, a simple yet strong headed girl who is devoted to her family but torn by her love for Aditya. Her love tears the family apart but it is a choice that she has made and she has to live by it. Rani is absolutely wonderful and it is difficult to see this role done by any other actress. Appearing in many inane films (Nayak, Chalo Ishq Ladayen), you forget that here is an actress of tremendous talent. She has this knack of being able to carry off the ordinary with such a great deal of charm. Vivek Oberoi has a very commanding presence which belies the fact that he is not conventionally good looking, neither does he have the star brawn. In some respects, he is similar to Shahrukh Khan in this respect and one admires this young actor for having successfully carried off a conventional love story. Its the usual songs and dances routine but he does this with a great deal of panache. You can see that this is a conscious effort made by Vivek Oberoi not to repeat his characters as this role is completely the opposite of the role in Company. A great actor in the making here. The rest of the cast is excellent with special mention to be made of Sharad Saxena and Tanuja.

By now the cat is out of the bag that Shahrukh Khan and Tabu have small roles in the film. However, for those who believe what is said in the gossip mags, especially Showtime, let me assure you that Shahrukh and Tabu are certainly not doing a raunchy number in the film!!! And for those who are going by the preview of Saathiya in Showtime mag, I was laughing my head off at the storyline given...which completely distorts what the film is about.

The cinematography is excellent and the film is superbly edited. The icing on the cake is A.R Rahman’s music tuned to some outstanding lyrics from Gulzar. Almost each and every song, from the title song “saathiya”, to “chupke se”, “oh humdam suniyo re”, “chhalka chhalka”, “Banjar hai sab bajar hai” is a classic of poetry meets Rahman’s stunning music. Chori pe chori is a rather pedestrian effort and out of place and naina milayke is too similar to chhap tilak to make a mark. Gulzar’s lyrics ensure that the songs remain etched in your mind long after the film has ended....”banjar hai sab banjar hai, hum dhoondhne jab firdaus chale...”, “chupke se, raat ki chaadar tale, chand ki bhi aahat na ho, badal ke peechey chale...”, “Oh janiya raat ko chori chori nangay paon chand aaye ga”, all songs with the most wonderful imagery. But the song which stands above all must be “saathiya”. Possibly the most stunningly evocative and song since Chaiyya chaiyya, this is a masterpiece for Sonu Nigam, A.R Rahman and Gulzar...