The last thing I thought I’d be writing about in a Vikramaditya Motwane movie is the extraordinariness of an action sequence, but the one in Lootera is a tonic, an example that makers of bigger, flashier films should study instead of lazily resorting to sound-effects-enhanced fisticuffs. This sequence begins with the sense that things aren’t right, and it’s borne on a background score that sustains a steady thrum and explodes at the right moment, then subsides, and just as we think the worst has passed, there’s another danger, and then tragedy. In between, we see people running, flapping their arms wildly, thinking on the move, ducking here, darting there. The cutting is first rate, and the choreography is like art in the way it utlilises the spatial geography of the region. Most potent of all is the whiff of danger. You cannot make an action sequence work if the participants appear invulnerable. A body can hurl itself on you, as if from nowhere, and stun you with its momentum. Even if you are the film’s hero.
That hero is Varun (Ranveer Singh), a young archeologist who arrives at a zamindar’s (Barun Chanda) mansion to request permission for a dig in the premises – but he also comes as a reminder that, as the zamindar says sadly, “Duniya badal gayi hai.” It’s a new world, and Lootera is a story filled with transformations. The din of conches and ululations during Durga Puja, at the beginning of the film, gives way to a sterile silence. The warm glow of earthen lamps gives way to cold, wintry whites. The zamindar’s daughter Pakhi (Sonakshi Sinha) transforms from a Chevrolet-driving princess in silks to a commoner who hardly leaves her house. Varun changes from a guarded presence to a lover who wears his heart on his sleeve. And in the new India – this is West Bengal in the 1950s, when electricity has made an appearance – a servile European sophistication gives way to local cool as Rossini yields to SD Burman. Where the zamindar’s mansion echoed with the overture to The Thieving Magpie, a transistor now bursts forth with Tadbeer se bigdi huyi, from Baazi.
Lootera is inspired by the O Henry story The Last Leaf, but it takes its cues almost as much from Baazi. Varun’s character arc is modeled on the Dev Anand persona of a sinner who redeems himself when he finds love, and his friend (Vikrant Massey) is even named Dev, after his screen idol, whom he imitates very well. (That’s short for Devdas, and the latter half of the star’s name is yoked to the name of a character called Atmanand.) And here too, we have a “villain” – in the sense of the man who’s after the hero — named KN Singh (Adil Hussain). That era of cinema is also recalled in Pakhi’s tubercular condition; not since Leela Chitnis has an actress coughed so much on screen. Other screen memories arise from the Bengali setting, which many of us non-Bengalis have seen mainly through the eyes of Ray. If the sheltered Pakhi, with her amiable aimlessness, reminds us of Charulata (is the scene where she holds up magnifying glasses to her eyes a wink at Charulata’s lorgnettes?), her father is the impractical zamindar from Jalsaghar, still unable to comprehend that his ruling-class days are over. A sly scene where he cannot bring himself to admit that he knows nothing about electricity points us, instantly, to his impending doom. (And in one of those only-in-the-movies coincidences, we are reminded of the recent Raanjhana as well, with a knocked-over cup of tea indicating the heroine’s anger with the hero who’s wronged her and is now attempting to make things right.)
Lootera is an easy film to like. The dialogue (“khayaali pulao”) is flavourful. The performances are uniformly excellent, and every actor gets juicy showcase moments, as when Pakhi begs for Varun’s company (“Kal? Parson? Tarson?”), or when her father gazes at his denuded room of treasures (the look of devastation that crosses his face is unforgettable). The filmmaking, one very showy camera move apart, is exquisitely tasteful – even the threat issued by a villain (Arif Zakaria) is muted to the point of making him sound like he’s murmuring to himself, and we know Pakhi is playful not through exaggerated boisterousness but by her switching on and off a lightbulb, with a child’s delight in a new toy. The detailing, like the skin-crawling rasp of pen on paper – Pakhi is a writer – is perfect. The songs are (mostly) wonderfully used. Through Shikaayatein, for instance, we follow Varun’s mental process en route to a crucial decision; we see him thinking about her, about him, about them, about that astounding tree outside, which, with its gnarly branches, belongs in the deep dark woods of a fairy-tale forest. (Only Mujhe chhod do sounds off, coming after a rapprochement.) The poetry is terrific too, not just in the lyrics but in the romance that suffuses the filmmaking in the stretches like the one where Varun and Pakhi begin to lead the life of a long-married couple, their idyll interrupted by phone calls no one cares to answer.
The false notes, up to a point, are few. I could have lived without a second Dev Anand number (Yaad kiya dil ne…) highlighting the yearning in the Pakhi-Varun relationship, and the scene that follows, with her writing and him asking questions and us wondering if that’s her sindoor really smudged, is one hushed love scene too many. But the real problems arise when Lootera begins its reenactment of The Last Leaf. Till then, the story is referenced obliquely – in Varun’s desire to make a “masterpiece;” in the story of the Bhil raja whose life is similarly intertwined with a distant (and green) object; in the heroine’s deteriorating health; in her existential acceptance of her condition. Most of Lootera works independently of O Henry’s construction. We see the story of a zamindar in his dying days. We see the story of a lonely woman who’s drawn out her shell by a rakish outsider. We see the story of a man brought up one way but now wanting to turn over…well, a new leaf. What we don’t see is the sappy, sentimental story of a woman who stares out of a window, at the tree outside, waiting to draw her last breath as the last leaf falls.
The O Henry story becomes, in the final stretch, the film’s undoing. The author’s melodramatic plots are perfect for our cinema, and Rituparno Ghosh, with Raincoat, proved that an indigenized adaptation was not out of the question. But that story of mutual sacrifice made sense when narrated in the subtle and “realistic” style of filmmakers like Ghosh and Motwane, while The Last Leaf, with its daft romanticism in the end, is better imagined than seen on screen, where the literalness of the images makes everything look foolish. Someone like Bhansali would have married the melodrama on the page to melodrama on the screen (and things that look ludicrous at a lower pitch have a way of seeming most normal when the volume is turned up) – but at this subdued pitch, the closing portions don’t leave us with the high that the story does (even if that’s just a Chicken Soup-y kind of high). There’s a Bhansali moment towards the end, involving the biting of a shoulder and the quelling of a defiant arm, that looks like a transition point in the film’s tone – it’s as if we’re finally seeing this twisted, tortured love for what it is – but after this near-theatrical display, Lootera slips back into restraint and “realism.” With this preferred mode of operation, why pick this material in the first place? It’s like building the Taj Mahal with matchsticks.
Copyright ©2013 Baradwaj Rangan. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
Arun
July 6, 2013
Thanks for the review. I am curious as to the “filmmaking – one very showy camera move apart” that you write of – which scene are you referring to ?
I am curious about one section of the film (when they are stranded late in the night owing to a punctured tire). For about 2 minutes the picture was suddenly very grainy. Was this done with any specific design ?
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Qalandar
July 6, 2013
Superb review, one that does justice to the film’s strengths, and is able to articulate what had been bothering me about the film’s last thirty minutes or so…
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Vanya
July 6, 2013
Loved your review. I watched the movie last night, and random visuals and snippets of music from the movie are still whirling around in my head. It’s been a while since a movie had that effect on me. I could tolerate the tonal shift towards the end, but what really irked me was how Motwane got expositional twice — once with the parrot = leaves analogy, and then, unforgivably, with Varun’s actions at the very end. This is the sort of movie people would love to watch again, so why not leave something in there for them to appreciate the second time around?
Re: the absence of a (chicken-soupy) high at the end, I wonder if that’s because in The Last Leaf, you’re left to infer what the painter did, and don’t “watch” it happen from his point of view, so you can’t absorb the full cost and consequences of his actions.
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shikhar bharadwaj
July 6, 2013
Amit trivedi’s background music though perfect for most parts was quite obstructive sometimes.The film was using silence so well that at times i felt the bkg score got loud and jarringly out of place in the first half.
e.g.the scene early in the film where the father is narrating the story(of the green object 🙂 ) to the ailing daughter ,the background music was trying hard to make us feel how sweet the moment was. I found the same problem in some other scenes too. It would have worked better without it.Also the spoon feeding through the flashback scene in the end.Such devices suit a certain kind of films. Here it was out of place.
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brangan
July 6, 2013
Arun: That head shot when he turns back during Shikaayatein…? Saw that?
The picture was grainy for us in other scenes too — kinda off and on thing. No idea what happened. I don’t think it’s part of a design. Something technical is more like it.
Vanya: Yeah, that exposition was annoying… And I did mention that point in the review, that The Last Leaf, with its daft romanticism in the end, is better imagined than seen on screen, where the literalness of the images makes everything look foolish.”
shikhar bharadwaj: I had no issues with the score. It worked for me. There was a lot of silence in the film and the parts that carried the score offered a nice contrast/relief. Besides, the music has to play the “romantic” role here as the characters on screen are somewhat distant. If there was no music, then everything would be distant.
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Partha
July 6, 2013
Great review as usual BR. You were spot on with the observation that incorporating ‘The Last Leaf’ into the narrative is the movie’s undoing. It becomes too much of a set piece and makes the director compromise on the integrity of the vision thus far. There were peels of laughter from a section of the crowd in the theater where I watched during the sappy last quarter alone which must have spoilt the party for the largely appreciative ‘senti’ crowd otherwise 🙂
Also the tree which is purportedly a central character looks so unreal whether it was when green or when brown – which takes away from the realistic tone of the movie.
Another grouse of mine is the same as in period movies like ‘Kaalapaani’ – the artifacts – be it a belt or an archeologist’s bag or a pen look spanking new and not lived in.
Apart from these it was a very enjoyable movie. ‘Jal Sagar’ and Ray came mind to mind often – an achingly beautiful archaic first half. Lots of chuckling going on all around.
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Sid
July 6, 2013
@BR: I loved it far more than you did, though I do think the film’s only misstep was the final scene with the flashback (wasn’t really needed!). But to me that’s a minor flaw in an otherwise superb effort all around.
Re: The grainy images — I thought this was the case whenever there was low light in the film (or am I remembering incorrectly?). I’m quite sure this was by design — to render it something like a painting (in keeping with the period nature of the film?). To me the grainy texture was beautiful — some reviewer even mentioned Monet while reviewing this film.
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Shalini
July 6, 2013
For once I agree with everything in your review, BR. :-)Lootera had me with its meticulous detailing [I knew being a lover of old Hindi films would pay off one day 🙂 ], singular focus on romance, atmospheric music, and…Sonakshi’s gorgeous saris.
PS. Glad you devoted the first paragraph to the chase scene – it was such a joy to experience such virtuoso filmmaking.
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Bala
July 6, 2013
@ baradwaj : are you referring to this? (meant to be *gave up that camera move) (delete if reposted :-D)
bigMuahahaBala (@bigbala) tweeted at 1:08 PM on Sat, Jul 06, 2013:
I do wish they that camera move from Dev D a rest though. You know, the one attached to the actor while he moves around? #lootera
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elfstone
July 6, 2013
The soundtrack felt a wee bit modern, I was hoping for a old world feel. However did you notice the similarities between Shikayatein and Rachel Portman’s One Day?Apparently, netizens have been pointing it out on youtube. As for the cinematography, throughout Lootera I kept on thinking, instead of in your face blueness Saawariya might have benefited from a similar color palette.
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Sylvan
July 7, 2013
What a nice review.
Having read The Last leaf, I too felt that the concluding portions should have been better. In that story, the ailing character’s health is tightly interwined with the falling leaves and hence the last leaf was of importance to the character and the story. Here it just somehow touches upon that aspect but it never gets the maximum mileage out of it. I would have prefered a similar kind of end to the character who creates the masterpiece as it would have had more impact.
And wasnt there scope for the role of the lady friend of the main character in the original plot here in this story? The Divya dutta and the earlier female assistants role could have been a single one. My two cents.
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Mohammad Farooq
July 7, 2013
Your detailed approach towards reviewing is amazing. Although, for me the “the last leaf” part was something i took back. Loved the movie. Here’s my review, do read and share your views.
http://reveringthoughts.wordpress.com/2013/07/05/lootera-my-review/
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brangan
July 7, 2013
Bala: Yup, as he’s turning around.
elfstone: “instead of in your face blueness Saawariya might have benefited from a similar color palette.”
I think differently. The cinematography is a function of the storytelling. Motwane wants to lead you into a mood. Bhansali wants to plunge you into a mood. Apples and oranges. “Devdas” would not work without its saturated reds, and “Saawariya” would not work without its saturated blues — it is a night movie, primarily.
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elfstone
July 7, 2013
Yes, that is probably explains why Devdas’s color scheme felt jarring to me, I always thought it was meant to highlight the costumes. Makes sense, Thank You. To me the saturated blues felt a bit stagey whereas I was hoping for a lighter,dreamier hand, or maybe I should have approached the movie with a clean slate instead of letting the literature influence me in the first place. On a tangent, do you have any plans for phoren movie reviews (S.Korea has upped it game lately) or even animated ones? Would love to read your take on ponyo and it’s ilk.
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Shahani
July 7, 2013
Your review resonates much of what I felt about the film except that I found Mujhe Chod Do as a prelude to the impending tragedy and neatly reflects the character’s sense of contentment at his last attempt to set things straight. The mismatch was that it immediately comes after his very optimistic conversation ( isse bhi bada chakravyuh se nikla hoon) and gives away the end. The issue with our songs is that the lyrics give away much of the storyline, which makes me think only if Motwane had placed Mujhe Chod do in the end.
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prasunbanerjee
July 7, 2013
Anyone else felt that … may be … just maybe … the director could have tried to make this film in black and white ? I know it might have been suicidal at the box office (but then the audience in my theatre in pune didnt like it anyway) … but was just wondering !!!
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Srivathsan.S (@Srivathsan_S)
July 7, 2013
I felt that the The Last leaf reenactmanent was pretty good . Very happy to see Indian film makers craft such a gem of a film . The most important person apart from Motwane n Mahendra Shetty who deserves credit is Amit Trivedi , he just elevated most scenes to another level .
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Kutty
July 7, 2013
Going by your review, isn’t the shift in tone also reflecting of the overall change in character arcs? 🙂 Regards the overtly literal representation of The Last Leaf, as someone who has not had the good fortune of reading it, it did not come off as something out of place. What was out of place was him force-fitting the flashback (as Sid points out) or her dad reiterating that she was his parrot. Those would have been better left for the viewer to discover! And again, am with Sid on the grainy portions of the film. If I remember right, all these shots were night shots. And the movie was definitely the better for them!
I felt that the movie moved from the surreal to the romantic when Paki refuses to call up the police. From that moment on, it was all about inducing some mushy tears. Maybe that’s why the change was not quite so drastic for me. And the way Motwane ends his movies is just so wonderful. The ending is not about a wedding, or death or a successful career. It is about that one moment of unbridled joy. Therefore in Udaan, it is not about Rohan succeeding in life, it is about him just being able to finally leave his house. Here, it is not about Paki breaking down and dying with Nandu or Nandu returning after serving a sentence.
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Rahul
July 8, 2013
I liked your review. Though I have a slightly different take. I think the ending didn’t work because it was not true to the original – that it could or couldn’t have been is another question.
The decision to make a film on “The last leaf” ,to weave a story around a moment, is inherently a poetic one, The essence of the original is not just the idea of altruism, its also the idea of creation by self destruction. “The last leaf” was not only O Henry’s but also Behrman’s masterpiece. O’ Henry ‘s story creates a beautiful interplay between the selfless idea of altruism and the narcissism of creation of a masterpiece to effect a magical ending.
Lootera makes the questionable choice of mixing atonement and love with self destruction. To me, it spoils the metaphor of the original. In my book, it would have been better to have Varun quietly and selflessly walk way. It has way more dignity than getting himself killed in a loud and vulgar fashion.
Probably something like this , one of my favorite endings of all time
The ending is also incongruous with the low key approach of the terrific first half. Most major events ease into the narrative. Love between Pakhi and Varun just happens perfunctorily. The big betrayal does not come with a bang, instead it manifests itself as a bewildered and broken Zamindar quietly standing at the foot of the stairs . The Zamindar does not as much die as he fades away. That is why , the ending feels even more out of place. In some ways, this movie is similar to Kahaani – beautifully realized moments but a tacky ending.
On another note, it was heartening to see the mention of Baba Nagarjun. Some viewers who don’t know him yet may wonder and discover the poetry of a great man.
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carla - filmi geek (@carla_filmigeek)
July 8, 2013
Lovely, lovely review. I think I found the balance of melodrama and realism worked a little better than you did. The chase scene was magnificent – I am not a huge fan of chase scenes generally – and I especially appreciate your articulation of what was so superb about it, which I was not comfortable articulating myself. I was also struck by two additional aspects of the film (that discussed at length in my own review):
First, visual echoes of Satyajit Ray; although the story goes a very different way, there was a lot in the first half that put me in mind of films like Charulata and Ghare Baire. The home itself, the way it was decorated, the use of the long galleries and slatted windows and colonial treasures all kept reminding me of Ray. Evoking all of that may even add a subtext of escape or breaking forth to Pakhi’s writing that is not explicit in the film.
Second, in addition to the colorwork, there was a fascinating use of focus and a control of depth of field in the photography that played interesting tricks with viewer’s attention. Especially places where movie conventions lead you to expect out-of-focus elements in the scene to resolve into focus, and then they don’t – very unsettling and fascinating control of where in the frame we look and how it makes us feel. I can’t think of anything else quite like this.
carla (Filmi Geek)
http://filmigeek.net
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mohammed noufal (@neogunner)
July 8, 2013
The ending as you said just undid all the right notes he hit till then… Just as perplexed as you are,but it was poetic in its own way… But the thing that rankled me the most throughout was sonakshi’s forehead… i know it might sound silly but she could really give gervinho a run for his money….. Objectively speaking her performance as really good and so was his. The music was brilliant too …had it on loop till the move… And unlike bhansali, Motwane doesnt overpower what he is trying to say with the way he is saying it… the pre interval scene was one of the best i can remember. the confluence of the music the lighting and the contrasting looks on their faces was awesome… But fact remains despite using better tools udaan remains unsurpassed
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brangan
July 8, 2013
elfstone: But even if you let the literature influence you, this is more or less an equivalent look. Doestoevsky is anything but subtle, as I noted in my review here.
About foreign films, I used to have a dedicated column in my earlier job, but just don’t have the time now, save for the odd piece in my weekly column “Lights, Camera, Conversation.”
Shahani: By having the song at “the end,” you mean over the closing credits? You know where that song might have made more of an impression? As he’s walking away at the end, and just before he runs into KN Singh and gang. At that stretch, an existential musing such as this (“Zinda hoon yaar… kaafi hai”) may have felt right, and we would still have, as you say, “a prelude to the impending tragedy and neatly reflects the character’s sense of contentment.”
Kutty: “And the way Motwane ends his movies is just so wonderful. The ending is not about a wedding, or death or a successful career. It is about that one moment of unbridled joy. Therefore in Udaan, it is not about Rohan succeeding in life, it is about him just being able to finally leave his house. Here, it is not about Paki breaking down and dying with Nandu or Nandu returning after serving a sentence.
Brilliant observation. Thanks. BTW, my thoughts on “Udaan” are here.
Rahul: Dude, what’s your beef with atonement? It didn’t sit well with you in “Raanjhanaa” as well… 😀
Here, I didn’t mind that atonement was added to the mix (rather, replaced the altruism) because this wasn’t an exact translation of the story. This film used that story as a takeoff point, and so the changes didn’t bother me much. I didn’t care that the movie tried to do something else from the book — that’s par for the course, I think.
The big betrayal does not come with a bang…
I loved how the “big-bang”-ness of the betrayal was left to the background score, while the events on screen itself didn’t show any explosion. Beautiful!
carla – filmi geek: Interesting points about focus, etc. Can you explain this point about what you call “interesting tricks” and “Especially places where movie conventions lead you to expect out-of-focus elements in the scene to resolve into focus, and then they don’t…”?
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Rahul
July 8, 2013
BR, lets leave Ranjana alone now, shall we?I am not going to that board any more 🙂
As for Lootera,, I am not being a literalist. I do not have any problem with the film modifying the original- neither do I have any problem with atonement.. Just saying, that in the story the themes of altruism and the desire to create a masterpiece work like yin and yang. One is selfless and the other is self aggrandizing.
In the movie though, there is no yin to the yang of self aggrandizing emotions of love ,atonement , the vanity of creation and the vanity of dying a heroic and loud death.
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carla - filmi geek (@carla_filmigeek)
July 8, 2013
Hello brangan 🙂 One instance that sticks with me specifically occurred, I think, during the chase scene. Varun squints at the figures of two women framed in a window in the middle distance. The shot cuts from the blurred figures to his face and then back to the figures. I found myself expecting the figures to resolve into focus, which would be the normal convention here. They do not, and the effect was quite unsettling – I felt it very immersive, drawing me into Varun’s point of view instead of the usual omnisicent camera view.
There were other instances too where the camera-work played with depth of field. The very shallow focus shifting between items on Pakhi’s writing-desk was a recurring example of this. It drew my eye around the screen in unexpected ways.
carla (Filmi Geek)
http://filmigeek.net
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Vishal
July 9, 2013
Hi BR, I agree with you that the denouement of the movie was a bit over-the-top and in variance with the rest of this otherwise superb film. I, however, feel that you were a bit harsh in your review when you have been more lenient with way inferior movies. How thoughtfully the frames have been composed, how beautifully pauses have been used in the movie (this is one movie that celebrates silence), the BGM and songs are extremely good and well-used, the screenplay stays completely focused. And how about Sonakshi’s (surprisingly) incredible and moving performance? I teared up twice during the second half of the movie, though I admit the ending left me cold.
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indianmalefeminist
July 9, 2013
Okay, I’m gonna go ahead and go a bit off topic here.
Anurag, the time he was under the radar and all that – he wrote a piece on Black, how technique dictates content and all that. Now given that he’s produced and Lootera himself, would love to know your thoughts on this @brangan?
Haven’t seen the film (will do), but the moment reviews came in, this is the first thing that popped up in my mind actually.
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sidsblog
July 9, 2013
Here you go..
http://moifightclub.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/vikramaditya-motwane-responds-to-our-criticism-of-lootera/
“why so much grainy footage in 2nd half?
VM : Aesthetic call that me and (Mahendra) Shetty took. We both like grain and purposely went for a high grain stock. Wanted to give an aged, period feel without making it glossy or sepia tinted. In fact, there is more grain in the injection scene in the first half, which is just an under-lit scene. Mistake on our end.”
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brangan
July 11, 2013
indianmalefeminist: Did Anurag praise “Black” or criticise it for its technique? I am a fan of Bhansali’s cinema. Unfortunately, we have this mentality of equating subtle with good, melodramatic with bad — but I like the fact that he has a vision, he knows what he wants, at what pitch, and coordinates everything (sets, cinematography, acting, songs) to reflect that pitch. It’s not for all tastes, sure, but why go to the movies if every filmmaker had the same sensibility?
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anuradha
July 11, 2013
Just saw this film and I loved it..Apart from the detailing of the period, I think it was the sense of silence the film endorsed.Maybe it was nostalgia for a time when time really stood still and drama was between people(and not their gadgets!).It defines a sense of romance and pulled it off..and the theatre I went to had an audience who stayed with the silences…and that was memorable!
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SAT in Pimpri Chinchwad
July 12, 2013
I loved The Film. the Pace of The Movie is very Slow But The background Score takes The Heart. Sonakshi Looking Like Reena Roy. Over All Movie Is Good But Will Not Be a Comercial Hit.
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kk
July 12, 2013
Though not half as bloodless and insipid as Udaan, this movie lacked that something that could truly make it soar. Ranveer Singh never seemed to be able to fill out emotionally to cover all the shades of his character. Sonakshi Sinha was better, but only in the latter half – it’s nice to see a younger actress who is willing to look less than beautiful in the service of her role. Barun Chanda was tall and graceful and given the most ridiculous line to spout: “Aap mera tota ho.” Seriously?
The action sequence, though, was great. It reminded me of the one in Feroz Khan’s Dayavan.
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indianmalefeminist
July 13, 2013
Baradwaj: He did imply that it’s a case of technique dictating content.
http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main10.asp?filename=hub022605Color_of.asp
Not sure if it’s my poor memory, but he had more criticism of Bhansali on Passionforcinema, which is now down unfortunately. So I won’t comment much on that.
And oh, fair enough there, valid point. I’m not fond of his brand of filmmaking myself but can see your point there.
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brangan
July 15, 2013
“Where the zamindar’s mansion echoed with the overture to The Thieving Magpie, a transistor now bursts forth with Tadbeer se bigdi huyi, from Baazi.”
Just occurred to me this morning that there may be a reason The Thieving Magpie was chosen here — even the magpie is a bloody lootera 🙂
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D
July 17, 2013
A bit surprised that nobody has mentioned the influence of Anurag Kashyap in the chase scene described here (and I mean ‘influence’ in the best way possible). Is it just me, or did that scene remind anyone else of the chase scene in Black Friday? I believe Motwane has assisted Kashyap at some point, so the comparison may not be too far fetched.
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Kutty
July 18, 2013
Going through that Udaan review, I am wondering if we have somewhere lost your leisurely reviews to a more fast paced versions (a consequence of squeezing timelines?). No means looking down on your recent reviews, but the prose and depth on that Udaan review are something else. 🙂
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Manreet S Someshwar (@manreetss)
July 19, 2013
I enjoyed reading your review but you make no mention that Ranveer Singh is wooden and does not shoulder the burden of ‘leading man’ well. He would have benefited from watching some of Dev Anand’s movies, especially ‘Bambai Ka Babu’ where Dev Anand played a conflicted character with pathos and pizzazz. Ranveer though seems in need of voice training and yes, demonstrate some facial muscle.
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Akrati Chaturvedi
July 20, 2013
Wonderful movie..though with slow pace , it keep viewers tied up because of its awesome background music, excellent cinematography all done wonderfully to depics Bengal of 1950s ..here’s i wrote something for it http://akratichaturvedi.blogspot.in/2013/07/lootera-heartfelt-tribute-to-ohenry.html
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Jerina
July 26, 2013
Since I was so invested in the movie in the first half, I was tremendously disappointed by the lack luster ending. This could have been the premise for a good romantic movie, even if it needn’t have had a happy ending. But after Varun’s deceit in the first half, I was simply unable to feel for his character. I wanted him to be punished, to be caught and put in jail or even be killed.
By making that leaf stick (the literal depiction of O Henry’s story bought a certain silliness to the content) to the tree, I felt Varun was condemning Pakhi to a life of loneliness. I felt it was simply not fair.
This is Sonakshi’s second movie that I have seen after Dabangg, and I was happy to note that she acts well. Ranvir was a bit of a let down in the initial scenes, coming across as being wooden (perhaps he had to underplay?) but was excellent in the scenes where he unleashes emotions. When will he appear in a Band Baaja Baraat type movie again, I wonder?
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Abhirup.
July 26, 2013
I don’t think there’s anything unfair about what Varun did, nor was he “condemning” Paakhi to anything. He re-ignited in her the will to live. That’s all. And I think that’s a beautiful, selfless thing to do, though, as Mr. Rangan has pointed out, a literal depiction of it was hardly necessary. Being in love doesn’t mean you have to be joined at the hips, to the extent that if one of the lovers dies, the other must follow suit promptly. That I-love-you-and-you-love-me-so-let’s-be-together-in-death template is not something that’s particularly sophisticated, and it certainly doesn’t work as a conclusion to every love story. Paakhi staying alive at the end of the film makes perfect sense and lends the film a lot of credibility.
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UPN EarnesTaster
July 27, 2013
i fully agree with your gripes about the some of the scripting choices made later in the movie, but my other issue was with Motwane’s preference for underwhelming college-band music even for key mature scenes.. But i could find positives even after that. Spoiler alert!- When the hero walks towards the inspector in the last scene, the inspector looks up with a smile thinking the (anti)hero is handing himself in, Varun too looks on with a dreamy smile, but then the inspector’s expression suddenly changes after noting a certain detail- it was Motwane’s style of inserting sly inflections even in a de rigueur setting, and later Pakhi too finishes with a smile. However heavy the wreath is, Motwane still plants some pretty bright flowers on it…i want him to hit a clean sixer next time.
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Jerina
July 29, 2013
Abhirup – For me, all that you wrote would work, yes…but for another story which is written differently and which plays out differently. Not this one. After exhibiting complete selfish nature in almost three-fourths of the movie, including the one towards the end where he tries to make up with her by preparing tea and food, only to tell her that he will leave the next day if the cops came looking for him, his change of heart is not convincing.
And happy endings don’t have to be Romeo and Juliet types or even lets live happily ever after, as long as the movie is able to convince the viewer that what he or she is seeing is the happy ending. I would have been happy with Varun dying and Pakhi living on too if the argument was prsented better.
BR’s last line of the blog, sums it up very well for me. 🙂
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Abhirup.
July 30, 2013
Except that he doesn’t display a “complete selfish nature in almost three-fourths of the film.” He is already in love with Paakhi in the first half of the film, and even decides to get married to her and stay with her. It is only the threats from Chacha-ji (Arif Zakaria) that makes him abandon her, and it’s clear that he deeply regrets doing so (he even says as much). In other words, he leaves her not because he is “selfish”, but because he is forced to do so. And in the second half, his decision to stay with Paakhi amply demonstrates his desire to atone for his act. During the ‘Shikaayatein’ song, he was leaving Paakhi’s house, but then he turns back and returns to her, and this is something of a turning point in the film, for it shows the beginning of his redemption. Plus, he has been drawing the leaves and tying them to the tree for days (remember that when we see him climbing the tree to tie the latest one, we see other threads tied to the branches), which also proves that he is anything but a totally selfish man. His “change of heart” had occurred much earlier in the film when he goes to Paakhi’s father and asks for her hand in marriage; circumstances forced him to do otherwise, but deep within, he had already ceased being who he was prior to meeting Paakhi. When he meets Paakhi a second time, and sees what she has been reduced to owing to his actions, he decides not to mess up yet again, and does what he does to make her willing to live again. So, yeah, I think Varun dying and Paakhi staying alive is a good, proper ending.
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potripaadadiponne
October 2, 2013
The “Zinda Hoon Yaar” song showcases Varun’s state of mind by the end of the movie. Here’s an article that delves into the lyrics of that song http://potripaadadiponne.com/2013/09/29/one-contented-life/
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MovieMan
February 19, 2014
Sorry for being Late BR . but i feel the songs both Siskiyaan and Ankahee gives away such insight into the movie, the later (Ankahee) must have been used as Intro Song at time of BHil Storytelling at first instance.. though its music was played but words missing…
IMO may be casting should began after that scene with the song.. setting a platform for what say lines like ” Patte jo Shakhoon se toothe.. bewajah to nahi roothe… ” like the casting song in Udaan ..
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VJ
November 12, 2019
BR, after 5 years happened to catch this movie & had a whiff of freshness from motwane ( Pre Sacred games).. though the 2nd half with the reenactment of “the last leaf” felt coerced and might have sounded great when the writers were hashing it out on the script which didnt seem to translate on screen.. Why cant we just make films for less than 2 hours and be done with it?
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rsylviana
November 12, 2019
Why cant we just make films for less than 2 hours and be done with it?
AMEN !!!
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