Saturday, July 6, 2013

Movie review: Lootera




It seems like romantic movies are the flavour of the season. After the resounding box office success of Aashiqui-2, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and the more recent Raanjhana that also signifies acceptance of the audience makes one wonder- is the Indian movie buff only going to watch love stories all his life? Will Bollywood be sticking to making romantic movies for eternity? Sigh. Life's tough, as they say.

Lootera comes from the stable of Balaji Motion Pictures, which has given movies in past on variety of subjects like The Dirty Picture, Ragini MMS, Ek thi Daayan and Shootout at Wadala. This movie is inspired by O'Henry's The Last Leaf, with many modifications. It brings together the curvaceous Sonakshi Sinha and Ranveer Singh. The remaining ensemble cast comprises of unknown and lesser famous actors, which works in favor of the movie.

Somehow, something makes this movie a likeable film. Set in 1950s, there are essentially two tracks in the film- romantic and non-romantic- beautifully interwoven, crossing paths and influencing each other regularly. None of the tracks have been sidelined for a moment, as the plot progresses at a snail pace. The romantic track essentially dominates in the first half, with (average) melodies of Amit Trivedi and soothing background music. Personally, I liked the thriller track of the movie which is built up well in the first half and unfolds brilliantly just before the interval. In the last 10 minutes of the first half, the plot literally changes its course by 180 degrees, leaving audiences wanting more. The second half, however, fails to sustain the interest level and dips to a more mechanized story-telling level. The thrill decreases and the plot becomes somewhat predictable. However, some scenes are worth remembering  It is here that the story of The Last Leaf is actually implemented, and that too quite successfully. 




The film has been shot at extremely scenic locations. It is almost like a painting on the silver screen. Brilliant cinematography, I must say. The chemistry between Sonakshi and Ranveer is fresh, though Sonakshi looks overwhelming at times. As explained by an RJ in his review of the movie, "Sonakshi reminds of vintage cars- large bonnet and large headlights". Both the actors have performed well, and the ensemble cast too chips in with useful performances. However, the story telling is painfully slow, it seems that the director and story writer are in no hurry to tell us the story. And it gets slower at times, while picks up pace during important scenes. During some scenes, Sonakshi and Ranveer start talking in whispers which, though romantic, becomes pretty irritating in the midst of an already slow movie. All of this adds to the length of the movie, which is almost 140 minutes.

Overall, Lootera is a well-made film with sound performances, awesome cinematography and painfully slow pace. People who like romantic movies will love this movie. Others like me will tolerate the movie mostly for the treatment and the non-romantic track.

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