Review of Lootera: Planting the last leaf
The last leaf is the leaf of hope for Pakhi from Varun. They both love each other but, their love story is different. Varun enters Pakhi’s life amd enchants her. When he leaves, all that remains in her life is emptiness without an iota of hope. The story doesn’t end there; it has much more to give the audience, unlike the other love stories that rarely touch you. The movie instills the belief that even if nature withers off, love stands resolute.
The movie doesn’t hurry; the story, the character move at their own pace and you have to settle into that pace to enjoy each moment.
‘Lootera’ is based on the short story ‘The Last Leaf’ written by William Porter known by the pen name O. Henry. Though O. Henry’s stories were simple they were always known for an unexpected ending that carried the soul and essence of the entire story.
Vikramaditya Motwane creates the movie around the lives of Zamindar of Manikpur (West Bengal) Roy Choudhary, his daughter Pakhi Choudhary & Varun Shrivastav.
The movie is set in the early post independence era. As a director Motwane has captured all the stills, the expressions, the intense emotions through sensitively directed scenes and subtle statements without words. Even the minimal words (dialogues by Anurag Kashyap, screenplay by Motwane & Bhavani Iyer) that the characters speak are written in an intelligent manner. Words are spoken only when necessary.
It is a movie where the camera does the talking. Along with the direction the Camera team; Rubb Bhungdawala, Rashid Jam & Ishika Mohan have added a different touch to the movie.
Barun Chanda has portrayed the empowering and towering personality of Zamindar Roy Choudhary with perfection. Barun Chanda is remembered for his performance in Satyajit Ray’s movie ‘Seemabaddha’. The presence of Barun Chanda on the screen is totally mesmerizing. His posture, the helplessness and baffled expression when he loses everything to the thugs is touching. The authentic Bengali accent is something that Sonakshi couldn’t have in her speech. Sonakshi Sinha has beautifully portrayed her character Pakhi; there isn’t any scene in which she fails to touch the audience with her innocence, sensitive expression and the immense love for Varun. Her frustration on Varun leaving, her surrender to life and love, are all conveyed brilliantly.
Ranvir Singh as Varun has modulated his voice in a manner that is in stark contrast to his roles in other movies. All the grit, the violence, the fierce nature, but his restrain to show love to Pakhi are emoted without dialogues. A tough task though executed with maturity and confidence.
Vikram Massey while he is on screen as Devdas, adds humour with lot of ease. He has a unique screen presence along with Ranvir Singh.Arif Zakaria as Varun’s uncle A.K. Bajpai is apt for the stern, venomous character that he plays. Last but not the least, another towering performance in the movie comes from Adil Hussain as Inspector K.N. Singh. For the short period of time that he has on the screen, heimpresses the audience immensely with his voice and personality. Shirin Guha as Devyani (Pakhi’s friend) & Divya Dutta as Shyama are equally impressive.
Mahendra Shetty’s cinematography, Dhara Jain who has worked on the set dressing, have captured the essence of the Zamindar’s lifestyle, estate and the scenic beauty of Dalhousie and Manikpur in a way that mesmerizes you. It creates romance on screen plus in the hearts of the audience. Dipika Kalra has brilliantly edited the movie, providing the much-needed maturity to each scene, without missing the soul of it.
The costumes done by Subarna Ray Chaudhary & Malvika Bajaj are impeccable. They have studied the nuances of the wardrobe of a period that is hard to recreate. The movie doesn’t miss on any count, may it be the vintage cars, the costumes, scenic beauty, antiques, jewellery, make up, just about everything is created perfectly.
Music composed by Amit Trivedi comes as a flow and immerses in each scene and you don’t even realise when the songs wither off, though it creates the necessary impact. The minimal use of instruments in the song ‘Sawaar Loo’ and all the other songs, is the reason why the audience really doesn’t know when the music/songs halts in the background. Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lyrics have certain sweetness to hiswords, coupled with the depth and intensity much required for the sensitive movie created by Motwane.
‘Lootera’ steals your heart not only for the brilliant direction but, the perfection with which the entire team performs.
The movie doesn’t hurry; the story, the character move at their own pace and you have to settle into that pace to enjoy each moment.
‘Lootera’ is based on the short story ‘The Last Leaf’ written by William Porter known by the pen name O. Henry. Though O. Henry’s stories were simple they were always known for an unexpected ending that carried the soul and essence of the entire story.
Vikramaditya Motwane creates the movie around the lives of Zamindar of Manikpur (West Bengal) Roy Choudhary, his daughter Pakhi Choudhary & Varun Shrivastav.
The movie is set in the early post independence era. As a director Motwane has captured all the stills, the expressions, the intense emotions through sensitively directed scenes and subtle statements without words. Even the minimal words (dialogues by Anurag Kashyap, screenplay by Motwane & Bhavani Iyer) that the characters speak are written in an intelligent manner. Words are spoken only when necessary.
It is a movie where the camera does the talking. Along with the direction the Camera team; Rubb Bhungdawala, Rashid Jam & Ishika Mohan have added a different touch to the movie.
Barun Chanda has portrayed the empowering and towering personality of Zamindar Roy Choudhary with perfection. Barun Chanda is remembered for his performance in Satyajit Ray’s movie ‘Seemabaddha’. The presence of Barun Chanda on the screen is totally mesmerizing. His posture, the helplessness and baffled expression when he loses everything to the thugs is touching. The authentic Bengali accent is something that Sonakshi couldn’t have in her speech. Sonakshi Sinha has beautifully portrayed her character Pakhi; there isn’t any scene in which she fails to touch the audience with her innocence, sensitive expression and the immense love for Varun. Her frustration on Varun leaving, her surrender to life and love, are all conveyed brilliantly.
Ranvir Singh as Varun has modulated his voice in a manner that is in stark contrast to his roles in other movies. All the grit, the violence, the fierce nature, but his restrain to show love to Pakhi are emoted without dialogues. A tough task though executed with maturity and confidence.
Vikram Massey while he is on screen as Devdas, adds humour with lot of ease. He has a unique screen presence along with Ranvir Singh.Arif Zakaria as Varun’s uncle A.K. Bajpai is apt for the stern, venomous character that he plays. Last but not the least, another towering performance in the movie comes from Adil Hussain as Inspector K.N. Singh. For the short period of time that he has on the screen, heimpresses the audience immensely with his voice and personality. Shirin Guha as Devyani (Pakhi’s friend) & Divya Dutta as Shyama are equally impressive.
Mahendra Shetty’s cinematography, Dhara Jain who has worked on the set dressing, have captured the essence of the Zamindar’s lifestyle, estate and the scenic beauty of Dalhousie and Manikpur in a way that mesmerizes you. It creates romance on screen plus in the hearts of the audience. Dipika Kalra has brilliantly edited the movie, providing the much-needed maturity to each scene, without missing the soul of it.
The costumes done by Subarna Ray Chaudhary & Malvika Bajaj are impeccable. They have studied the nuances of the wardrobe of a period that is hard to recreate. The movie doesn’t miss on any count, may it be the vintage cars, the costumes, scenic beauty, antiques, jewellery, make up, just about everything is created perfectly.
Music composed by Amit Trivedi comes as a flow and immerses in each scene and you don’t even realise when the songs wither off, though it creates the necessary impact. The minimal use of instruments in the song ‘Sawaar Loo’ and all the other songs, is the reason why the audience really doesn’t know when the music/songs halts in the background. Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lyrics have certain sweetness to hiswords, coupled with the depth and intensity much required for the sensitive movie created by Motwane.
‘Lootera’ steals your heart not only for the brilliant direction but, the perfection with which the entire team performs.