Lootera:Movie ReviewIt must have happened with you as well as it has happened with me so many times in the past and recently it happened when I half heartedly went to watch this movie, just to give company to my friends. Treasure troves are discovered when we’re not looking for them. A few minutes into the movie and you can tell which way it is going; whether you can continue sitting and enjoying it or just sitting somehow hoping that the director might have been struck with the lightening of wisdom somewhat later in the movie . Working on this 2 decade old hypothesis of mine I could realize within 10 minutes of entering the cinema hall that it’s one of the movies that the parched soul of mine keeps craving for.

Lootera, though a loose adaptation of O’ Henry’s “The Last Leaf”, has a taste and flavor well distinct from the original short story. Set in the 1950s when the Zamindari system was abolished, It’s essentially a tragic love story of an archaeologist Varun Shrivasatava(Ranveer Singh) and Paakhi Roy Chowdhary(Sonakshi Sinha). Varun Shrivastava, who comes to Manikpur for unearthing a civilisational history dug around a temple owned by Zamindar Babu(Barun Chanda), ends up falling to the charms of the latter’s daughter. A love story which begins with a casual turn of events matures in the rustic landscapes of Manikpur and the palatial house of the Zamindar. Varun decides to get married to Paakhi despite protests from his friend Devdas(Vikrant Messy). While Paakhi’s father readies up the arrangements for the wedding, Varun is beset with the dilemma of choosing between his uncle who’s reared him up and Paakhi. It is now revealed that Varun and his friend had come to Manikpur to defraud the Zamindar of his antiques and the gold statue of lord Krishna. Overcoming his dilemma Varun chooses his uncle over his love and leaves Manikpur with the Zamindar’s antiques and gold statue of lord Krishna. Understandably crestfallen, Paakhi’s father is unable to bear this murder of his trust and succumbs subsequently. After his death Paakhi moves to Dalhousie. Fate brings both Paakhi and Varun face to face once again in Dalhousie. A poker faced inspector gets after the life of Varun and his friends in order to catch them before they could commit a similar fraud on the Maharaja of Dalhousie. In the mean time, Varun tries to pick up the threads of their love

story from where he’d left it but Paakhi, who’s still writhing in the pain of deceit and loss of her father, is not able to condone his past acts.

This movie is a sumptuous meal not a fast food, so for those who’re looking for some fast enjoyment package (Rowdy Rathore, Singh is King type) it’d be a disappointment. The connoisseurs of movies, however, will relish every minute of this romantic saga. Lootera has a unique plot which has been played extremely well by all the actors.

It’s so far the best act of Sonakshi who exudes a lot of confidence in playing a coy and innocent daughter of a zamindar. If not better, then, Ranveer Singh has done equally well but somehow this movie belongs more to Sonakshi than to him. Barun Chanda, a bhadrapurush of Bengali Cinema, has played his character with finesse expected of a seasoned artist. Unexpectedly noticeable, however, has been the role of Vikrant Messy as Devdas. He’s not a usual sidekick of the hero, jumping uselessly and trying to make silly faces or saying idiotic stuff to evoke some cheap laughs from the audience thereby justifying his paycheck. He plays his short role with maturity, delivering his dialogues boldly and confidently never appearing to be working in the shadow of the protagonist. Adil Hussain who plays Inspector KN Singh is also a very strong presence in the second half of the movie. His theatre acquired baritone voice and elegantly performed act is something you need to pay attention to. I want to see him perform bigger roles in the future.

Amit Trivedi has once again given a mellifluent music that suits the moods of both the movie and you. The background music used in the movie is entirely fresh and it is this music which actually infuses intensity in the acts. One such powerful act to notice is the one in which Paakhi is getting ready for the engagement on one side and Varun is fleeing Manikpur after duping her father. Bhawani Iyer should be credited with a very effective screenplay.

One of the things that makes this movie really appealing is its cinematography. Shooting a movie belonging to older times puts a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of the cinematographer and Mahendra Shetty has carried it off nicely. He’s captured the subtle romance between Sonakshi and Ranveer in the vivid landscapes and the palatial Haveli of Manikpur through tinted lenses and a play of shadow and light. The onset of winter depicted by the frozen landscapes of Dalhousie, deteriorating health of Paakhi and the denuding tree in the courtyard, together, as captured by Shetty created a melancholic magic in the second part of the movie. Now, coming to the director, you can clearly see an imprint of both Anurag Kashyap and Sanjay Leela Bhansali in the movie. It’s because, director Vikramaditya Motwane has been associated with both these legendary directors in the past and Anurag Kashyap has written the dialogues for this movie. But this is just to draw your attention to this fact and not to underplay the hard work and creativity of Motwane who’s produced such a brilliant piece of art.

I liked the first part of the movie set in Manikpur more. In the second part you see a lot of action and it somewhere takes it off the track. Overall, I had a feeling that the movie could have been edited more tightly cutting the total run time. Still at the end of a little over 2 hours I came out of the movie hall thoroughly satisfied and it was after watching it second time(had to accompany my wife ..Husbands can understand that) I decided to write a review.

Final words: In the times when movies are competing hard to outdo each other in terms of the concoction of garish colors and vociferous sounds they present, we get a movie that subtly yet remarkably reaches out to the audience through a fresh plot interspersed with vivid shadows and noticeable silences. Such a movie is a rarity in Indian cinema, so don’t miss it.