A Reluctant Start to This Review

It took me a fair bit of conviction to pen up this review. After all, talking about a movie that has grossed north of ₹450 Cr+ and is still going steady at the box office is not easy, right? 

But thankfully, the script disagrees. Truth be told, it took a lot of courage, two RedBull cans, and 150 minutes of my life to get through Saiyaara in the first place.

And to summarize graciously, if there was a name for a Bollywood cringefest in 2025, it would be Saiyaara, beyond reasonable doubt. But hey, whatever saves the multiplex business. 

The Gen Z–Millennial divide is getting more and more prominent than the Millennial–Gen X/Boomer schism, and Saiyaara’s popularity within certain age groups explains it for itself.

Launchpads and Nepotism

Anyway comin back to the movie, it's common knowledge that Yash Raj (Karan Johar??) has assumed the cardinal responsibility of 'launching new stars in the film industry' - so we have a nepo kid (Ahaan Panday) and a relative newcomer (Aneet Padda) as the lead pair.

Funnily, Panday's character, 'the' Krish Kapoor, raises the issue of nepotism in the entertainment industry in his entry scene - irony dead or still alive? 

But his stone-faced, lifeless expressions right through the film tell the real story of how Bollywood actually functions when it comes to promoting talent - but let's not go there.

Aneet delivers a much better act compared to the nepo kid, and is perhaps 1-2 movies away to become the 'national crush' of India (although a proper swimsuit and a couple of kilos might have made a stronger case in this movie itself).

Plot Holes Galore 

There are several plot holes in Saiyaara that do not make any logical sense (although if you possess some you won't watch it anyway). You see a protagonist trading artwork copyright for money to meet an exigency, while maintaining a chic studio apartment in SoBo (right swipe game strong!). 

A parent randomly solicits a complete stranger with a marriage proposal, that too in a hospital corridor. People jet across scenes set in London and India as if it were the Matrix and visa was just a thing of the past.

Towards the end, you also see one of the leads seemingly end up in a fancy caregiving facility somewhere in Himachal, without any friends or family involved (who cares about the bills anyway?)  To top it all, the movie is a gross misrepresentation of Alzheimer's as a condition (ask any trained medico if you will).

Glimpses of Relevance 

Despite all the crap onscreen, the movie does have certain elements of note. Saiyaara carefully demonstrates how the youth of today interpret marriage as a construct, which is refreshingly divergent and independent of the societal baggage that previous generations have had to carry.

It also highlights the construct within which modern day friendships function - be prepared to be on your own if your choices don't align with your pals, no hard feelings. 

Finally, you also get sensitized that a missing person's case in India is not a tech/competency challenge but sadly a volume issue.

Final Verdict: Pretty Music, Little Else

To conclude, although the support cast features quality actors such as Rajesh Kumar and Varun Badola, they are barely given screen time to enact anything of substance. 

Being a Mohit Suri movie, as expected the soundtrack is pretty good (continuing the rich Bhatt family tradition) with a couple of chartbusters already making their way into popular playlists. 

Watch it as a sanity risk.