DRENCHED IN DRAMA, GUITARS, GEN-Z TEARS

Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda top in looks, but struggle to add depth to cardboard cut-out characters

- By Manjusha Radhakrishnan Entertainment Editor

Watching Saiyaara feels like being a kindly high school teacher grading your students’ drama project — you want to applaud the effort, you really do, but the performance? Let’s just say it’s more “bless them” than “bravo.”

Directed by Mohit Suri, the man who gave us melodrama gold in Aashiqui 2, Saiyaara follows a familiar path of star-crossed love, tragic illness, brooding musicians, and tears that never quite reach the audience. At the heart of this pastel-hued, moodiily lit film are two fresh faces — Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda — earnest and pretty, but struggling to add depth to cardboard cutout characters.

MORE COLTISH THAN COOL