Lootera Movie Review - Poetry on Celluloid

Vikramaditya Motwane gained name and fame with his first movie Udaan which was a brilliant slice of life drama. His second outing is nothing short of a gorgeous poetry on celluloid. Motwane through is second film proves that he is here to stay.

Adapted from O' Henry's ' The Last Leaf', Lootera is an engaging tale that reverberates with emotions and passion and aptly shows the highs and lows of a relationship. Motwane makes no commercial considerations in the movie and makes a slow-burning and an awe inspiring movie.

The film is a period drama set in 1953 in Manikpur in West Bengal, a time of great upheaval in Bengal aristocracy. Zamindari system has been abolished and the Zamindar of Manikpuri (Barun Chanda) is about to lose it all. Varun (Ranveer Singh) walks into the zamindars family and impresses one all especially his daughter Pakhi (Sonakshi Sinha). Varun and Pakhi’s stolen glances metamorphose into love but Varun does the inevitable and disappears and as fate

would have it, walks back into Pakhi’s life when she almost makes up her mind to forget him.

Lootera has a classic look about it. The visuals, the milieu, the apparel, the way each and every character communicates at an easy going pace takes you back to the bygone era. The sparkling chemistry between the actors, storytelling, Lootera is a demanding film to make, but the accomplished storyteller does that so easily and comes up with such wonderful scenes that moistens your eyes at varied junctions.      

Ranveer and Sonakshi are both first rate. Each of these two actors is known for masala movies, but watching them in Lootera, no one would be able to believe that these are the two actors playing Pakhi and Varun. Infact, Sonakshi plays a well defined character for the first time in her career and kudos to her for carrying the role of Pakhi so magnificently. Ranveer in one word is fantastic. Playing such a character so early in his career is a demanding prospect and he does it so wonderfully.

The support cast irrespective of footage time, make their presence felt. Divya Dutta is good in cameo. Arif Zakaria is terrific. Barun Chanda, as a zamindar is top notch.

The music by Amit Trivedi and lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya is so poetic that it takes the movie to another level especially “Sawaar loon”, “Shikayatein” and “Zinda” which stand above the rest.

The cinematography by Mahendra Shetty is fantastic. From rural Bengal to white snowy Dalhousie to the very last leaf on Pakhis tree, each and every frame of Lootera is delight to the eyes.

On the whole Lootera is an earnest and heartwarming story that would stay in the heart for a long time to come. I am going with 4 out of 5 for the magnificent cinematic gem.