LOOTERA is something which definitely steals your heart, leaving you spellbound as it introspects romance, blending melodrama with subtext on human psyche but dares not to play by rules. In my previous line I have written LOOTERA is something and not just a film .....to justify it I'll give you two reasons firstly it is more than a film, as its like one of those
beautiful paintings where the detailing is so painstakingly crafted that
they almost transport you to a different zone. Secondly, Calling it a film would
probably be a deep injustice as it is nothing short of sheer poetry on
celluloid. ‘Lootera’ puts a dagger through the heart, makes it bleed
profusely and then smears the elixir called love all over it. 'LOOTERA' manages to floor us with its audacious sensitivity and its proclivity to use silences to punctuate emotions and it is these muted silences that suggest a deep connectivity between pain and love. My heart goes to VIKRAMADITYA & HIS ENTIRE TEAM for giving us a beautiful flick 'LOOTERA', a subtle film which instructs you in a
not-so-subtle manner, so watch it for its moments and not for what happens next. I also wonder whether any critic or audience will be able to do justice while reviewing this gem of a movie which is like a stream full of bliss.
STORY & SCREENPLAY : How many times have we wondered what love is all about ? How often we are caught in a turmoil that whether it is love or just infatuation ? We often keep on wondering if it is real love that we feel for another individual or an emotion with any other name. Or is
it about the human psyche that causes dreams and desires, mired in the
monotony of survival, to express itself in ways beyond rationalizing ? VIKRAMADITYA MOTWANE has tactfully n tastefully taken the premise from O.HENRY'S 1907 short story THE LAST LEAF and woven it in an inexplicable, charming and delightful manner. The humor is intrinsic, a lot of dialogue is distilled to
whispers. While the first half is unhurried and replete with stolen
glances, chases across snowy hill stations and some decisive action
breathes some life into the the second half. As far as the screenplay is concerned, Bhavani Iyer has also contributed along with VIKRAMADITYA. The story has much scope for drama but
Motwane and co-writer Bhavani Iyer choose to shy away, holding back on
the exuberance and elements of surprise (often allowing the audience to
be ahead of the characters) and allowing tenderness to take over
tautness. The movie captures captures the fading glory of zamindars in 1953 Bengal. It also creates a
powerful heroine, the likes of whom rarely inhabit mainstream Bollywood. The privileged zamindar’s
daughter Pakhi (Sonakshi Sinha) is Shantiniketan-educated, recites
poetry and channels contemporary Bengali actresses . She is, however, fragile, and at
times, irrational — the Johnsy of Motwane’s take on the Last Leaf.
Post-transformation, again, Sinha deftly plays the frustrated writer and
disillusioned romantic, making you wonder if this is the same actor
from those masala potboilers. In contrast, the lootera himself, Varun Srivastav (Ranveer Singh) is
more predictable. He’s a retro, a charming conman keeping it à
la mode with double-breasted shirts, slicked-back hair and an Ariel
motorcycle. Posing as an archaeologist, he earns the zamindar’s trust with
incredible ease. Predictably, Pakhi falls for him. They stroll through
leafy lanes and sit by lakes, making flirting in the 1950s seem like a
painstaking and sluggish affair. Varun’s decision then to depart is abrupt, making the central revelation on which the plot hinges a weak one. An incredible coincidence makes
the protagonists cross paths again. The film briefly becomes a
chor-police action sequence — an aberrant ingredient — before settling
back into a languid pace.
STARCAST : I'll be candid enough to admit that i got goosebumps in my stomach when i came to know that Sonakshi Sinha is playing the female lead in this intense flick being directed by Motwane. But i am yet to come out of her spell bounding performance while writing this review and mind you its been close to 24 hours since i watched the movie. So first of all i would like to commend and say Kudos to Atul Mongia ( Casting Director ) for believing and assembling refreshing cast which has worked in favor of movie. The film looks beautiful but comes dangerously close to skipping the soul, but for one clinching factor, Sonakshi Sinha. So far we’ve seen her as a massy queen of blockbusters. Playing the ailing, dying Pakhi in Lootera she comes to a formidable level of histrionic nirvana not obtainable to any of her contemporaries. Sonakshi penetrates her character’s bleeding loneliness with fearless integrity. There are moments, sequences and scattered shots where Sonakshi is captured in various postures of unbearable vulnerability. Ranveer Singh, though able and alert in his responses, seems to rely way too much on trying to look vulnerable, charming and rakish which works in his favor. Motwane has brilliantly taken romance to a new different level with help of portraying an enchanting chemistry between Sonakshi & Ranvir. He is a delightful, enchanting performer and probably one of the very few contenders who can compete with the current favorite Ranbir Kapoor. Amongst, the other ensemble actors who manage to impress are Vikrant Massey (Used to play character of Shyam in TV Serial Balika Wadhu) as Ranvir's friend Devdas , Barun Chanda as Zamindar, Arif Zakaria as Bajpai and Adil Hussain as Inspector Singh n Divya Dutta as Housekeeper.
TECHNICAL FINESSE : The highlights of Lootera, the overwhelming reason you may choose to watch this film, lie in the technical departments. The music for this timeless classic has been given by the current golden boy of modern cinema who is one and only one Amit Trivedi. And he has given me a befitting reply by delivering the goods soon after i expressed my disappointment about his musical score for the movie Ghanchakkar. His musical compositions in this flick are soul stirring which enliven the proceedings and push your soul more towards the narrative flowing on-screen. Mahendra Shetty (Cinematographer) has astoundingly captured a sense of purity in his cinematography, luscious with light, undaunted by grain in the dark which is rare in most movies. The use of colors and lighting be it in frames, background, scenic spots or even inside premises is so audacious that it enhances the flow of romance and you are captivated by the enchanting visuals . Dipika Kalra ( Editor ) has faced lot of flak from some of the critics regarding the lengthy scenes which have finally increased the run-time to 143 minutes but on the contrary i feel she has done a brilliant job. It can never be easy to edit such an intense movie wherein you have to maintain artistic aesthetics of an intense story while also keeping commercial success or turnover in mind. Moving on to Aditya Kanwar (art director) who has startlingly recreated the period! What incredible attention to detail! Lootera superbly uses technique to immerse you in the period. No doubt, this was a purposive choice for VIKRAMADITYA MOTWANE (director), who has now shown commendable range considering his excellent first film Udaan, which was as raw an indie can get. After the brilliance of his previous outing, Udaan, few would have imagined that there could be something bigger and better in store. And behold, Motwane not only goes one step ahead to outshine Udaan but also delivers a masterpiece that is going to linger on for quite sometime in India’s illustrious history of celluloid. Lootera is an unflawed gem filled with moments of glorious emotions.
WOW MOMENTS : Although, Lootera is a masterpiece movie on the whole but I'll pen down a few sequences which i enjoyed : In a sequence of rebuffed ardour Sonakshi drops her dignity and drives down to meet Ranvir who suddenly starts avoiding her. “Will you come tomorrow? Day after? Then the day after that?....” she whispers in declining hope when he refuses her invitation to come home. The way Sonakshi troubles n takes pot-shots at Ranvir when he comes to her haveli is very amusing. But more than anything else it is their on-screen chemistry especially in a scene when they come close enough to kiss each other but Ranvir retracts suddenly is a rarity on celluloid which has been so superbly crafted that it touches your emotional chords deep inside.
CONCLUSION : Lootera is a masterpiece cult movie which is bound to sweep movie connoisseurs off their feet with its aesthetic sense. Sadly i could see lot of restless typical bolly movie loving crowd walking out of the exit gate while watching Lootera which really gave a good enough reason to prove why such good cinema is a rarity in Indian Cinema. So if you are looking for typical entertainment, than i suggest you to go n watch Policegiri instead.
ROHIT SHARMA.
STARCAST : I'll be candid enough to admit that i got goosebumps in my stomach when i came to know that Sonakshi Sinha is playing the female lead in this intense flick being directed by Motwane. But i am yet to come out of her spell bounding performance while writing this review and mind you its been close to 24 hours since i watched the movie. So first of all i would like to commend and say Kudos to Atul Mongia ( Casting Director ) for believing and assembling refreshing cast which has worked in favor of movie. The film looks beautiful but comes dangerously close to skipping the soul, but for one clinching factor, Sonakshi Sinha. So far we’ve seen her as a massy queen of blockbusters. Playing the ailing, dying Pakhi in Lootera she comes to a formidable level of histrionic nirvana not obtainable to any of her contemporaries. Sonakshi penetrates her character’s bleeding loneliness with fearless integrity. There are moments, sequences and scattered shots where Sonakshi is captured in various postures of unbearable vulnerability. Ranveer Singh, though able and alert in his responses, seems to rely way too much on trying to look vulnerable, charming and rakish which works in his favor. Motwane has brilliantly taken romance to a new different level with help of portraying an enchanting chemistry between Sonakshi & Ranvir. He is a delightful, enchanting performer and probably one of the very few contenders who can compete with the current favorite Ranbir Kapoor. Amongst, the other ensemble actors who manage to impress are Vikrant Massey (Used to play character of Shyam in TV Serial Balika Wadhu) as Ranvir's friend Devdas , Barun Chanda as Zamindar, Arif Zakaria as Bajpai and Adil Hussain as Inspector Singh n Divya Dutta as Housekeeper.
TECHNICAL FINESSE : The highlights of Lootera, the overwhelming reason you may choose to watch this film, lie in the technical departments. The music for this timeless classic has been given by the current golden boy of modern cinema who is one and only one Amit Trivedi. And he has given me a befitting reply by delivering the goods soon after i expressed my disappointment about his musical score for the movie Ghanchakkar. His musical compositions in this flick are soul stirring which enliven the proceedings and push your soul more towards the narrative flowing on-screen. Mahendra Shetty (Cinematographer) has astoundingly captured a sense of purity in his cinematography, luscious with light, undaunted by grain in the dark which is rare in most movies. The use of colors and lighting be it in frames, background, scenic spots or even inside premises is so audacious that it enhances the flow of romance and you are captivated by the enchanting visuals . Dipika Kalra ( Editor ) has faced lot of flak from some of the critics regarding the lengthy scenes which have finally increased the run-time to 143 minutes but on the contrary i feel she has done a brilliant job. It can never be easy to edit such an intense movie wherein you have to maintain artistic aesthetics of an intense story while also keeping commercial success or turnover in mind. Moving on to Aditya Kanwar (art director) who has startlingly recreated the period! What incredible attention to detail! Lootera superbly uses technique to immerse you in the period. No doubt, this was a purposive choice for VIKRAMADITYA MOTWANE (director), who has now shown commendable range considering his excellent first film Udaan, which was as raw an indie can get. After the brilliance of his previous outing, Udaan, few would have imagined that there could be something bigger and better in store. And behold, Motwane not only goes one step ahead to outshine Udaan but also delivers a masterpiece that is going to linger on for quite sometime in India’s illustrious history of celluloid. Lootera is an unflawed gem filled with moments of glorious emotions.
WOW MOMENTS : Although, Lootera is a masterpiece movie on the whole but I'll pen down a few sequences which i enjoyed : In a sequence of rebuffed ardour Sonakshi drops her dignity and drives down to meet Ranvir who suddenly starts avoiding her. “Will you come tomorrow? Day after? Then the day after that?....” she whispers in declining hope when he refuses her invitation to come home. The way Sonakshi troubles n takes pot-shots at Ranvir when he comes to her haveli is very amusing. But more than anything else it is their on-screen chemistry especially in a scene when they come close enough to kiss each other but Ranvir retracts suddenly is a rarity on celluloid which has been so superbly crafted that it touches your emotional chords deep inside.
CONCLUSION : Lootera is a masterpiece cult movie which is bound to sweep movie connoisseurs off their feet with its aesthetic sense. Sadly i could see lot of restless typical bolly movie loving crowd walking out of the exit gate while watching Lootera which really gave a good enough reason to prove why such good cinema is a rarity in Indian Cinema. So if you are looking for typical entertainment, than i suggest you to go n watch Policegiri instead.
ROHIT SHARMA.
Follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/smgr105
rohitreview@gmail.com
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