Saathiya revolves around Aditya and Suhani, who despite opposition from their parents, elope and marry. Their happiness is short lived when a tradegy strikes. The soundtrack of the film was composed by A. R. Rahman, while the lyrics were written by Gulzar. The cinematography is done by Anil Mehta, while the film is edited by A. Sreekar Prasad.[2]
Upon release, the film received critical acclaim, with praises for its performance and screenplay. The film was a success earning ₹291 million (US$3.4 million) and became the eighth highest grossing film of the year.[3]
The film begins with Aditya Sehgal and his friends looking for Aditya's wife Suhani Sehgal, after she went missing a few days after having a fight with Aditya over their failing marriage. Aditya, however, realizes that he loves her more than anything and is devastated that he is unable to find her. The film goes into a flashback.
Aditya and Suhani meet at a wedding. Aditya immediately falls in love with her and pursues her, however, Suhani believes that he is simply flirting with her, though later realizes that she is falling in love with him. However, Aditya's rich lifestyle and Suhani's middle-class lifestyle creates a rift between their parents where Aditya's father Om Sehgal insults Suhani's father. Nonetheless, Aditya and Suhani elope and get secretly married. However, when a proposal comes for Suhani's elder sister, Suhani divulges that she is married, causing her to be thrown out of her house. At the same time, Aditya's parents learn of the marriage and throw Aditya out. Aditya and Suhani decide to cut ties with their parents and move into a small house and begin their married life together.
However, a misunderstanding occurs between Aditya and Suhani where Suhani accuses Aditya of having an affair causing the two to get into argument. A few hours later, while walking home, Suhani gets involved in a car accident, seriously injuring her. Aditya, having no idea of the accident, waits for her to return home assuming they would reconcile.
Aditya eventually realizes that Suhani is missing and begins to look for her. Aditya is then informed that Suhani met with an accident and is in the ICU of a hospital in critical condition. Aditya arrives at the hospital and learns that Suhani has been registered under a different name. Yeshwant Rao, an IAS officer, reveals to Aditya that he caused the accident and admitted Suhani to the hospital. Aditya threatens Yeshwant and leaves, however he learns from Yeshwant's wife, Savitri, that she caused the accident, and that Yeshwant took the blame, merely trying to protect her. The two shed tears before Yeshwant and Savitri leave. Suhani eventually regains consciousness and Aditya runs to her and expresses the pain and suffering he went through while searching for her. Suhani reciprocates her feelings towards Aditya and the two embrace.
Abhishek Bachchan was Ali's first choice for the role of Aditya. Bachchan refused and the role went to Vivek Oberoi.[6] Ali cast Rani Mukerji as Suhani. Mukerji initially refused the offer as she disliked the idea of remaking an accomplished film but was convinced to accept the part by the film's producer Aditya Chopra.[7]
There are 9 songs composed by A. R. Rahman and lyrics by Gulzar. A. R. Rahman re-used all of his compositions from the soundtrack of the Tamil film Alaipayuthey, with the exception of two songs, "Mere Yaar Mila De" and "Naina Milaike" which replaced their Tamil counterparts "Evano Oruvan" and "Alaipayuthey". The soundtrack turned out to be one of the strong points of the film. Saathiya won most of the music awards, despite facing tough competition from Devdas (2002).[8] A. R. Rahman and Sonu Nigam won Best Music Director and Best Male Playback for "Saathiya", respectively. According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 20,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's second highest-selling, behind Humraaz.[9]
For the soundtrack, the songs, "Alaipayuthey" and "Evano Oruvan" were not re-composed from the Tamil version. Instead, Rahman composed a Sufi track "Mere Yaar Mila De" and "Naina Milaike", a classical number. Lyricist Gulzar, who wrote all the Hindi version songs, stated, "In Saathiya I wrote 'Mere Yaar Mila De', which isn't a typical romantic number though it's essentially a love song."[10] Unlike previous soundtracks recorded by Rahman for Ratnam, the former composed majority of the songs by fusing the classical carnatic music genres into moderns rhythms.[citation needed]
On penning review for Bollywood Hungama, critic Taran Adarsh stated, "A.R. Rahman's music is melodious and easy on the ears. The title track is the pick of the lot, but the item song can easily be deleted, for it serves as a speed breaker in the goings-on. Perhaps, even this song was added to add spice."[11] Critic based at Australian Cine Urban praised the music, "A superb digital sound mix drives the all important soundtrack, fantasy music video clips on the cable music channels in that they are multi-costume and multi-location showpieces, taking us from waterfalls to snowy mountain fields to idyllic shorelines. Duets and full scale wedding routines follow each other as the first half zips along with its charter to set the musical mood."[12] Vijay Ramanan of Planet Bollywood, "A. R. Rahman's music and score, while simply re-created from the original except for two songs is as usual – fantastic.[13]Mr. Brown reviewed the music of the film, "The songs-chiefly are the lilting title number; the percussive wedding song "Chhalka Chhalka Re" ("It Spilled"); and the seductive ballads "Chupke Se" ("Quietly") and "Aye Udi Udi Udi" ("Flew Away") a highlight.[14] Glamsham pointed, "All in all, all praises to the music composition by A R Rahman; the music is unique and upbeat. A R Rahman has been successful in creating a different genre of music for his ever increasing list of fans. The lyrics is definitely getting subdued by the exciting music. A must buy for people who love new music".[15]
Saathiya received positive reviews from critics. Manish Gajjar of BBC noted, "Vivek Oberoi shows great promise, Rani Mukerji, plays the character with great conviction. The direction and chemistry of leads is great. The music by A R Rehman is melodious. There is no going wrong there as far as Saathiya is concerned!"[19] Udita Jhunjhunwala of Mid-Day, in her review, was positive of Mukerji, noting that "her expressions and acting are understated in a role that fits her like a glove." However, she criticized the "choppy editing and rushed pace" in the first half and the "all-too commercially overdone" climax.[20] Vijay Ramanan of Planet Bollywood noted, "Ali not only brings in a lot more youthful energy into Saathiya compared to the original, but also does a fantastic job adapting Mr. Ratnam’s screenplay into a North Indian milieu. Oberoi and Mukerji bring out the frustrations and confusions of their characters in great detail. Saathiya is a high quality product, a good family film that should strike a chord or two among romantic cinephiles."[13]
Saathiya is considered as one of the most popular romantic drama in Hindi cinema. Breaking the Bollywood stereotypes, the film was regarded for not showcasing a "Happily Ever After" story.[22] The film was Vivek Oberoi's third success in his debut year.[23] It brought recognition to Rani Mukerji who enjoyed only limited success in her previous films. Her performance has been noted as one of her most notable works.[24][25] The song "Chalka Chalka", was used in the 2008 English film The Accidental Husband.[26]
