LOOTERA (" DIL LOOT LIYA RE")

July 5, 2013

Cast: Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi Sinha.

Director: Vikramaditya Motwane.

Vikramaditya Motwane made his mark with his debut feature Udaan a few years back and seems like he is in no mood to let go of that novelty with Lootera, which has been inspired by O.Henry’s short story “The Last Leaf”.

Lootera opens in the 1950s Bengal where Varun Shrivastava (Ranveer Singh) comes to the Manikpur Zamindar’s mansion with an ulterior motive. He falls for the Zamindar’s daughter Paki (Sonakshi Sinha), who reciprocates the feelings. On the eve of their engagement Varun leaves the mansion without telling anyone. The Zamindar dies from that shock. An year later Paki is in Dalhousie trying to leave her past behind pursuing her ambition of being a writer, where she ends up bumping into Varun again.

As such it is a pretty straightforward plot (only the climax being a bit of a surprise package) but then Lootera is full of surprises right from the casting to execution. With an awesome screenplay combined with terrific performances it is pure pleasure watching Lootera unfold onscreen.

When you could not have blamed anyone for thinking what in the world someone like Ranveer Singh is doing in a movie like this, you would be surprised at the way you would start empathising with his character . It is certainly the best roles that both Ranveer and Sonakshi have gotten till date and they make the best use of it; but then, even at the risk of sounding biased, if I had to choose the between the two it is undoubtedly Sonakshi who dazzles, shines, mesmerises and LIVES as Paki. It is a treat to watch Sonakshi emote frustration, vulnerability, resistance, love and struggle and for the same reason it would not be surprising if she gets a National award nomination for the role.

At an age when Hindi cinema is mostly filled with brain numbing loud masala cinema, it is but obligatory to bow before Vikramaditya Motwane to have included so many scenes without any BGM, yet capturing the audience’s rapt attention. And when you do have BGM it is nothing short of spectacular (strangely reminding Hans Zimmer at times); in addition, Amit Trivedi has come out with some heat warming melodies as well.

The wonderful cinematography and stunning sense of lighting make the film very appealing visually. The intimate scenes between Varun and Paki have been aesthetically shot, which is one of the main reasons for Lootera belonging to the top league along with terrific chemistry that the lead pair exudes onscreen.

In the end you come out of the theatre having experienced a variety of emotions all of which you would fall in love with. Lootera is nothing short of a classic.

I am giving a 4/5 for Lootera. The best hindi film of the year till date has arrived!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

SINGAM 2 (SINGAM LE!)

July 5, 2013

Cast: Surya, Anushka, Hansika, Radha Ravi, Vivek, Santhanam.

Director: Hari.

After the flop show of Maattraan Surya is back with one of his most appreciated and cherished role as Duraisingam.

Duraisingam is now working undercover as an NCC master at a school in Thoothukudi. Thoothukudi is ruled by Bhai and Thangaraj who are arch rivals. Thangaraj’s niece Sathya(Hansika) is studying in the school where Duraisingam works. Soosu(Santhanam) is a local who helps Duraisingam with simple stuff.

Barring the unnecessary songs(especially the below average item song featuring Anjali) and separate comedy tracks, Singam 2 scores very good points in it’s first half which is very entertaining with the usual formula for masala films, which has been rightly baked by Hari with the aid of his long time mate Priyan helming the camera. All the usual shots that you have seen from the Hari-Priyan combo are present (including a lot of slow mo shots; some hitting the mark and the rest going completely off track).

Hari has worked very hard on the screenplay infusing a lot of technology and technical aspects into it but it almost completely goes off track in the second half with the introduction of a lot of sub plots and unnecessary characters. The international angle involving Danny Sapani seems to be really unnecessary when a simple continuation of the fiery action in Thoothukudi in the first half could have sufficed; something which Hari seems to have overlooked in his effort to make the sequel much more appealing than it’s predecessor. The unnecessary and below substandard songs continue appearing in the second half as well and you would most likely be tempted to take a loo break.

One of the most disappointing things with Singam 2 is the absence of a strong character like that of Prakashraj in the first part. All the 3 villains combined do not come anywhere near the sheer intensity that Prakashraj had brought on screen in the first part which was one of the main reasons for it’s huge success. Though the terrific screen presence of Surya almost negates that, a better antagonist would have made the duel much more juicy.

Anushka has almost negligible role here, which is why Hari must have added an extra song or two, but that idea falls flat on it’s face offering only irritation to the audience. The same is the case with Santhanam who,  though does nothing to harm the film, only seems to lengthen the already long film. The one surprise package though is Hansika who has given a much better performance compared to her previous films. But as mentioned above it is 

Surya who single handedly carries the film on his reliable shoulders.

Singam 2 could have been crisper with a much simpler screenplay which would have made it a great entertainer like the Saamys and the Geminis but on the whole you end up getting a good entertainer.

I am giving a 2.75 for Singam 2 and a 0.25 for the amazing Surya. Watch it for the first half and the terrific and inspiring Duraisingam!!!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.