One enters the cinema hall with huge expectations when the film is directed by someone like Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. The man who made cult films like 'Rang De Basanti' and 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' has now tried to adapt the Mirzya-Sahibaa legend in a modern context but fails to bring the story to life.

But alas, Rakesh Mehra takes a suicidal step in MIRZYA by ostentatiously relocating the Punjabi folklore to today's Rajashthan. The set change from icescapes of Ladakh with the sun soaked vistas of desert lands, real Havelis with real horses and VFX created bow and arrows look stunning and it is indeed an endearing experience for our naked eyes. MIRZYA is an amazing eye popping experience but behind the picturesque landscapes lies an on screen translation of MIRZA SAHIBAN in a lyrical broad way manner that is neither engaging nor smart and on the top of that the Sufi Punjabi soundtrack against the Royal Rajashthani backdrop is distracting enough to turn irritating towards the end.

Based on the tragic romance of Mirza-Sahiban, Mirzya marks the debut of actors Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher. The film is as opulent as opulent gets. Mirzya opens with Mirza shooting an arrow, while Sahiban looks on. No words are spoken. The landscape does all the talking. The placid blue of the lake broken by horse-hooves, under the forget-me-not sky. Or Mirza and Sahiban under a solitary tree painted against the twilight sky. Every frame shot in Ladakh is a feast for the eyes. The beauty is overwhelming.

Not every person experiences love in its most passionate form. Tales of Romeo and Juliet, Heer Ranjha and Mirza Sahiban are legend because the tragedy of love is romanticised and not really true to the bone. These stories are also aspirational and inspirational in equal measure. Staying true to surreal legends, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Mirzya, inspired by the Mirza-Sahiban saga is a deeply vague but extremely beautiful picture. Every frame of this visual masterpiece has been composed with care and ambition. It's a work of art. Unmistakably niche and meant only for connoisseurs of fine taste.

Hindi movies of a certain vintage used to feature an opening credit titled 'And Above All', a billing higher than the hero-heroine credits. An ultimate credit, if you will. It was reserved for giant stars, big actors taking on slightly off-centre roles, or actors too popular to be anything but the biggest. Amitabh Bachchan, Pran, Dharmendra... all got several of these in their day.

Once upon a time there was a man called Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra who lived in the Enchanted Forest of Imagination and Splendour. One day, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra decided to make a film on the Punjabi folktale of Mirza and Sahibaan, setting it in present-day Rajasthan. It was a story of love, faith, hope and betrayal, rocks and hard places, Scylla and Charybdis, devils and deep seas. It was a story that lent itself to the kind of epic scale and magnificence that Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra was known for in the Forest and the many lands of Far Beyond.

Mirzya has everything that's required for a musical romance based on a popular Punjabi folktale: a pair of fresh faces (Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher) with great Bollywood genes, a strong supporting cast, and lilting music. Outside Punjab, the story of Mirza-Sahiba may not be as well-known as the other folktales about star-crossed young love such as Heer Raanjha and Sohni Mahiwal, but it has an equally strong core of emotion.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's MIRZYA is essentially an epic love story set during the contemporary times. The film starts off with the introduction of the childhood of Munish (Harshvardhan Kapoor) and Suchitra aka Suchi (Saiyami Kher). The duo not just go to the school together, but also, sit on the same bench and help each other every time in need. One day, when the school teacher asks Munish for his homework, Suchi lends him her copy. And when Sir asks Suchi for her homework, she says that she had not done the homework.

Though the Indian audience is much aware about Romeo and Juliet, not many know the story of Mirza Sahiban, a Punjabi folklore about star-crossed lovers, whose lives end in tragedy and director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who has never tackled a love story before, decides to use this legend for launching Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher in Mirzya.

Based on the Punjabi folk legend, the love story of star crossed lovers Mirza Sahiban, this film is divided into two eras. One where, through horse-back riding and shooting arrows, Mirza tries to win Sahiban by competing with her brothers. In contemporary times, Suchi/Suchitra (Saiyami Kher) and Monish (Harshvrdhan Kapoor) are childhood friends until a gruesome crime tears them apart. Years later, Suchi returns to India for her engagement to a royal prince, Karan (Anuj Choudhary), only to fall in love and rekindle her friendship with the stable boy, Adil who is actually Monish.

A would be bride's drunk father says. The girl seems far away from any sort of remorse. A silent war is happening between the two. The father has already lost, but he won't accept it. The daughter isn't a winner either, but the feeling is yet to sink in. Ironically, the person pulling all the strings in this tussle isn't one of them. Two school kids in Jodhpur are inseparable. The girl isn't concerned about the boy's humble roots. They are happy until a tragedy befalls. Probably they would never see each other again.

On paper, if nowhere else, there is much going for Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Mirzya. The film is based on Gulzar's first screenplay in 17 years. That alone should be deemed a huge draw for those that value the subtlety of his ideas couched in poetic flights of fancy. Mirzya is toplined by two Bollywood first-timers, Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher.

Mirzya is inspired by the story of the star-crossed lovers Mirza-Sahiban, a popular folklore from Punjab. In this screen adaptation, the scenario plays out in Rajasthan, shot mesmerizingly by cinematographer, Pawel Dyllus. At the core of the story are Mohnish and Suchi, who were separated when the pre-teen boy is sent to a juvenile correction home for murder. Years later, Suchi returns from London to marry Prince Karan (Anuj).