I am not a big fan of movies. I like so few of them! Even
fewer inspires me to actually write about it. So when I went to watch Lootera,
in a deserted theater with only two other present as the audience, little did I
know that it was going to be one of them.
For
those, who haven’t seen it yet, please do as soon as you can. I had read O’Henry’s
The Last Leaf as part of my XII th English course. Lootera’s conclusion is
based on the story. If you are too tired of Bollywood’s run-of-the-mill
melodrama, this one will give you a nice break. With subtleties of a period
romance this one is no doubt one of best films ever made in Bollywood.
All great literatures are simple stories actually. Their
greatness lies in the way their author tells them. It took me Lootera to
understand that movies were no exception. The film has a thin plotline of the clichéd
story of a rich and educated girl falling for an unworthy guy, the inevitable
hurt and the final redemption. It has, in fact, become a bitter lemon from too
much squeezing. But yet all it took was the director’s vision to make it one of
the best films I have ever watched.
It was a
nice revelation. Really. Without any of the Bollywood’s signature over the top
melodrama, glam and glitz this film tugs nicely at heart. It’s not effortless
but well worth the effort.
I had never known a Bollywood film to be so subtle in the
tête-à-tête of its two protagonists. They never sing songs running around the
trees (mind you there were plenty of trees available) changing costumes in
every paragraph of the song. Instead they converse. In their conversation too,
there is no romance, yet it is there, hovering before them, poised, and waiting
to happen. And you can feel it. Indeed, silently expressed emotions ARE the USP
of the film.
It was also surprisingly pleasant that two people who are
still green in their years and so far have been seen only in typical Bollywood
shaking and dancing taking up the challenges these roles had to offer. If you
want to know about how they have done justice to their roles, how beautiful the
sets were and how authentic the period recreation was, there are many more
reviews available from more credible sources. I won’t waste your time here.
My rambling is different. After this film I am hopeful again for mainstream Indian Cinema. Previously this type of filmmaking would have been easily termed as Art Film. No “hero” or “heroine” would have taken up such projects. It feels great to see educated, intelligent filmmaking being accepted in mainstream Bollywood. It’s refreshing that producers like Balaji, who normally produce films like Golmaal, are coming forward to take up such projects! It’s wonderful that young actors are preferring serious acting more than glamorous heroism. It seems finally after 100 years Bollywood has found its direction. It's true that it will take time for the audience, which has been fed so much on crap, to come around, but at least it's started! Love,
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Riot of Random
