Lootera- The Thief of A Lover

A still from the movie Lootera

To experience happiness in life get a good education, work, earn money, find a life-partner, have kids and retire with dignity. To experience pain, fall in love.

A story partly written by Vikramaditya Motwane and partly an adaptation of The Last Leaf by O Henry makes for a perfect romantic hindi drama. The movie’s strongest pursuit is its story. It reminded me of the era of old Hindi movies when only two characters were sufficient for a movie to be a success. Ranveer Singh (Varun/Nandu) who played the rogue though neat, soft but heartbroken and skilled but a fraud thief of a lover. He will be remembered for the acting he displayed though somewhere his voice is not as strong and brisk. His voice lacked command and fell frail in more instances than one.

Sonakshi Sinha( Pakhi) playing the mistress of beauty and the victim of love blended into the portrait of the movie with flying colors. Her myriad expressions and a tall figure gave the movie its much needed heroine.

Set in the post Independence era in Kolkata and then later in Dalhousie the movie exemplifies how movie directors don’t need to go to exotic locations to make movies while rather have a wonderful and pleasing set in India.

Another commendable attribute of the movie was the background score by Amit Trivedi. All the songs were written by Amitabh Bhattacharya. Music is the food of love so play on, as rightly said by Shakespeare sums up how it gripped the audience’s attention.  The suspense angle introduced in the movie made the audience want the movie to go on. The right beat, the right rhythm and the right drop of the music kept the movie interesting. The songs have become an instant hit.

As far as my observation takes me none of the characters had many dialogues. Music became a healthy substitute for the same. Symbolism in the cases for Pakhi’s father’s death and the tree on which her life depended were used well.

Few factors added charm to the movie which included the contrast of colors used, the panorama of green lush fields, Dalhousie’s almost picturesque beauty and well thought out pair of Ranveer and Sonakshi.

The climax may seem as unrealistic as it is romantic. The end is open to interpretation. While some may discard the movie for me the formula which the director, Vikramadiya Motwane, brewed worked !

Photo courtesy: http://www.filmfare.com/media/content/2013/Jul/lootera1_1373033361_600x450.jpg