Lootera

Rating : 4/10
Release Date : 5th July, 2013
Time : 142 minutes
Director, Writer : Vikramaditya Motwane; Co-Writer : Bhavani Iyer; Music : Amit Trivedi
Starring : Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi Sinha, Barun Chanda, Vikrant Massey, Adil Hussain, Arif Zakaria, Shirin Guha

Love. The first half showcases the joy it brings, the smiles, the tenderness, the sense of completeness and its unique ability to make the heart soar. The second demonstrates the darker side, where people do silly, inexplicable things despite a hundred reasons to go the other way, where rationality is conveniently sacrificed time and again at the altar of cupid. And somewhere in the middle of the over-indulgent, second half, that’s when they lose me. And, in this case, most of the audience.

Its set in an interesting era, shortly after Independence, where, despite the serene exterior, everything is changing, and that too at a rapid pace, as the nation finds its feet. Zamindari (the feudal land ownership system) is under threat and in Bengal, Barun Chanda, one of the big landlords of the area, is very unsure of which way the wind is blowing nowadays, even ignoring the sane voice of his trusted advisor.

In such a mileu lands up Ranveer, from the Archeological Society of India, accompanied by his colleague, Vikrant. They want to dig near one of Barun’s temples, find him to be a willing host, and soon have earned his trust, a room in his house and also a place in mildly spoilt daughter, Sonakshi’s heart

Idyllic times follow. Of painting and painting lessons, where the pupil becomes the tutor, where tea is had in the evening, elaborate meals at night and a whiskey at night. Tender moments, shared intimacies, soft romance and everything seems alright with the world. Ranveer offers to help Barun cope with the changing environment, to find buyers for his antiques, before the government seizes them. There is even talk of him marrying Sonakshi. And then things change irrevocably.

The less said about the second half, the better. The locale shifts to Dalhousie, the characters lose all reason, the plot takes strange twists, there is a cop, Adil Hussain, who takes a central role, though his inability to nab his victim, despite having him surrounded with several men on more than one occasion must surely rankle ? To confuse things even further, the adaptation of a famous English story also kicks in…but true to form, the emphasis is on the wrong part of the story, not its uplifting moral.

The movie looks beautiful, feels lovely, everything is in soft focus, good use of light and shade. They get the environment, sets right (should be easy since in most of Bengal time has stood still since Independence anyways), and the music is soft, melodious, a perfect accompaniment to the visuals.

What they get wrong is the plot. And the characters who rapidly cease to be identifiable, or behave in a consistent manner. And the mannerisms – when you transplant people into a different era, its easy to get the clothes right, the lingo correct but very difficult to be able to make the actors get their behavior, walk and body language right. Would someone as junior as Ranveer stand up or eat with the zamindar in the manner he does or would he be more servile ? Would someone in his position in that era own sunglasses ? Minor details, yes, but would love to know what you think ?

Net, this is yet another film afflicted by the curse of the disastrous second half, by the middle of which, the audience had completely given up on the film and were more interested in their own wisecracks than anything the film threw up