Saturday, July 6, 2013

Lootera...My Review...


I got to know about Lootera sometime in early 2012 when I saw the pics of the launch of the movie and the Production house named “Phantom”; both of them were launched on 30-Nov-2011 (I hope I am correct!). It was formed by four of Indian Cinema's young, creative minds viz.Vikas Bahl, Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and Madhu Mantena and it is India's 1st Director's Company.


And the first Production was Phantom was supposed to be Lootera! Directed by Motwane, starring Sonakshi Sinha, Ranveer Singh and music by the maverick- master Amit Trivedi…enough reasons for any Movie lover to get excited!


Amit Trivedi is by far India’s most talented Music Director right now (yes, I rate him higher than Rahman too) and he has enough accolades under his belt; Aamir, Dev D, Udaan, English Vinglish…the list goes on & on!

Motwane directed the classic Udaan which definitely is amongst my all-time favourite movies…one movie which I can watch over & over again…incidently it is one of the 3 movies which I watched with my wife just after we got married as she hadn’t watched either of them…the other 2 being Dev D and Gulaal! Yeah we watched Gulaal during our Honeymoon at Havelock Island, Andaman! And yes you can call us a crazy couple! Watching such a movie in a Jungle Villa!

The only thing which worried me about Lootera was the lead pair – Sonakshi & Ranveer…Ranveer was superb in Band Baajaa Baaraat but after that got sort of typecast & some of his press interviews weren’t really smart and then Sonakshi…she has acted in senseless movies before this! Plus the pairing didn’t look that great atleast before the first promos were aired…but then Sonakshi looked surreal on the day of the movie launch! The perfect Indian beauty…and Ranveer came on a vintage bike which I thought would be in the movie too…so there was still some hope from this pair!



The complete film soundtrack album was released online on 29 May 2012. the audio was launched at PVR CinemasJuhu in Mumbai on June 7, 2013 and Trivedi said that day "The music of this film is a tribute to R. D. Burman in terms of melody and orchestration."…and needless to say the Music is a Masterclass…just 5 songs and each one of them is a symphony of it’s own! My favourite though is "Manmarziyan"   sung by the talented Shilpa Rao and the Music Director-Lyricist duo Amit Trivedi  & Amitabh Bhattacharya…this is closely followed by "Zinda" sung by Trivedi himself! The OST kept playing in my car all the time plus during my exercise time at home! And no signs of an OD!!!



The first trailer released in March 2013 revealed that the film will release on July 5, 2013 and the countdown was on!



I followed the FB Page and the Twitter Handle of the movie as well quite closely to get all the latest updates…the excitement was palpable! And was building quite strongly….but then in the middle of June I realized that this movie was releasing very close to the start of the holy month of Ramzan and all movie halls close down during that time! I was hoping against hope that I don’t face the GoW disappointment once again almost exactly after 1 year of the GoW Saga which got banned here and I never got to watch it on the big screen! One of the saddest moments of my Movie-watching career!

Amidst these prayers I went to the office on Thursday 4th July waiting to see Lootera in the movie listings…kept going to the webpage but no luck….did that some 8-10 times and then in the afternoon all hell broke lose…Sanjay Dutt’s Policegiri was added in the Movie List & I thought this can’t be true…this movie is releasing and Lootera isn’t….such a big shocker! Came back home and got ready for the weekend ahead…

But then in the evening God showed some mercy when I opened the site again and VOILA….Lootera was added too! I couldn’t believe my stars were shining bright & history wasn’t going to repeat itself! Booked the tickets for me, Bandita, Tripathi and the Bhagat couple! Sadly the Vermas couldn’t come for some genuine reasons…

On Friday 5th July – the same day as the India release we went to the 360 Mall to watch Lootera magic to unfold at the show starting at 5:15 PM…And then it started…

The Movie builds up really very slowly…at times the 1st half was excruciatingly slow and I was wondering this can’t be this bad! The songs kept me motivated though…”Monta Re” being the best one in the first half for the picturisation & timing! The story was building up very slowly but surely…by the time the interval came I wasn’t very excited or happy about the movie – and I am being very honest here! But somewhere inside me I knew the second half would be riveting & intriguing and boy wasn’t I correct in my judgement!

The second half started with some fresh & hot Popcorn plus the magnificent Background Score of Amit Trivedi taking the movie forward and building the excitement!

Innovation at Kalatop! 
And then Dalhousie came! It was so awesome to see all those places where I have been to specially Kalatop where the BoP Darogaas trekked to in September 2011 with lots of beer & bakchodi!  Yes BoP was there too! We were at the same place where the entire second half is shot and even at the guest house too! What a moment of Déjà vu it was! It is one helluva beautiful place I must say and well captured in the movie…surreal and gorgeous at the same time!



Even though I love fast-paced movies and ain’t a fan of slow movies but this one is a clear exception…the plot & theme demanded a slow pace and Motwane has once again proved that he is one of the best modern-day Directors in Hindi Cinema!

He has made Sonakshi Sinha act – and that speaks volumes about his directorial talent – she is so nice in the movie that at times we have to rub our eyes and say “is she the same Dabangg Sonakshi Sinha!)…plus he has got Ranveer out of that Bindass-Tapori mould & transformed him into an intense actor in the movie! Adil Hussain as Inspector KN Singh (bloody brilliant choice for a character name) is real nice too!

The best words to describe this movie for me would be Mellow & Intense! And at the risk of sounding cliché I would say this movie is nothing short of being “Poetry in Motion”!

It definitely entertained me and for me it is the best love story told in our Cinema after the ever-so-legendary Romantic Movie – Qayamat se Qayamat Tak!

Be ready for a slow-paced Movie Treat with brilliant Art Design, superb acting and perfect recreation of the 1950s (which has been rarely done in recent times)…Period Dramas aren’t Bollywood Forte but this definitely breaks that bad reputation!

Watch this for the transformation of 2 young actors; for whom this would be definitely their best-ever acting performance and they should be ever so thankful to Motwane!

The biggest star of the movie though for me is Amit Trivedi – for his brilliant Music and the Background Score which helps the movie to move forward and building the excitement…do pay special attention to the background score for sure…it’s definitely the best of the recent times!

The Movie even brought out the romantic in me! Which my Brother say I ain’t! ;) and this speaks a lot about how much I liked this movie!

I am recommending Lootera to all movie lovers to witness this Period-Romance Drama on the big screen and help this movie earn big revenues so that Phantom Films can continue to mesmerize us!

I have ensured that I don’t reveal the plot much even though I wanted to write about it; maybe I would come back to this plot and add about that later!

Till the time we meet again…

Cheers to life…

Till then ride safe and have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Jai BoP!

8 comments:

Che Guevara on the Road said...

Gurpreet Dhariwal aka Sweets Desire's comment:

Dear Bud

After such a long time, I read your review and really loved it

You have an awesome style of writing. When you're recommending it so high, how can I miss it now?

Going tomorrow and I hope I'll enjoy it as much as you did

Take care bud
and why safe sex? If somebody wants to plan a baby? Huh so rude of you.

Gurpreet Singh Tikku said...

Bhai jaan....... majja aa gaya parr ke.
aapne barre hi acche aur surile dhang se shuruaat ki aur utne hi nasheele dhang se khatam bhi.

As said pehle... one could actually walk through with you through the entire Blog.

I am surely going to watch this soon and add to the kitty of Phantom Films.

Just today i watched the TEDX Talk of ANurag kashyap and how he survived for 8 years before things started working for him. And can relate how Phantom would have come into Existence.

Coming back to your Blog...... Bhai.. mast guest house, Mast Beer sambhalne ka tareeka and mast blog. Keep Writing, Keep Sharing, Keep making us Feel Good!

Che Guevara on the Road said...

Vijendra Rawat's Comment:

I hope the movie is brilliant and awesome as your review was... It was like Vikramaditya Motwane has hired a PR expert to write it....detailed, passionate, lucid....

Keep writing .... everybody can blog... but very few bloggers write with passion... which u can feel it when u read....

I never knew u blog... I used to read ur review on this wall... keep blogging , keep sharing... ... Just like GOOD THINGS .. Good Bloggers should be appreciated...

Che Guevara on the Road said...

Abhishek Bhasin: A very well written blog Nishant

Che Guevara on the Road said...

Avneesh Mehta: Haha less review and more like "My Lootera Experience"! Very enjoyable read. Glad a movie you were waitng for with such bathed breath lived up to your expectations.

Che Guevara on the Road said...

Subrat Panda: Awesome waiting for your review....so sad.. m sick and cant see this weekend..but i knew it wd be a masterpiece....i agree with Nishant ...see the movie in theater guys. Don't download it

Fenil Seta said...

Terrific review as always. Loved the manner in which you explained how you learnt about Lootera and your nail-biting moment when u weren't sure if you'll be able to see the film on big screen. I loved the film too...enjoyed 1st half as much as 2nd half. Superb locales!

Keep rocking!

FENIL

Call me Kamikaze said...

The movie was Magnificient. Some people hated it. However, when wifey and I wanted to see a movie impromptu, this was the only option nearby. So we took the tickets, had a burger each and went in. I expected it to be slow and obviously it was. However, I never thought I will ever enjoy a slow movie like this.
Cinematography was no doubt the best part of the movie but I liked a simplicity of the characters and their relationships. A concerned father telling a story to his grown up daughter. The slow developing romance. A dedicated lover without being lofty and the general dramatics we see in most love stories.