Lootera

Plot synopsis:
Lootera is inspired by O. Henry's The Last Leaf. In the picturesque town of Manikpur, West Bengal in 1953, a landlord goes to watch a Chhau dance with his daughter, Pakhi Roy Chaudhary (Sonakshi Sinha), an aspiring writer. After Pakhi has an asthma attack from the ensuing excitement, she is rushed home and given medication. As she recuperates, her father comforts her and narrates the story of the invincible king of the Bheel tribe whose soul resided inside a parrot, telling her that she is the parrot within whom his life resides.
One day, while learning to drive a car, Pakhi accidentally bumps into a motorcycle and mildly injures a handsome youth. A few days later, the same youth introduces himself to the landlord as Varun Shrivastav (Ranveer Singh), an archaeologist who wants to study the land surrounding the temple that the landlord owns. Over the next few weeks, Varun charms the landlord and his daughter with his knowledge and persona, and is invited, along with his assistant, to live at their home.
Soon, love brews between Varun and Pakhi as they bond over art and literature, and their love culminates into a passionate affair. Meanwhile, an act passed by the Indian government debars the power of landlords, causing tension in the Chaudhary household. The ancient artefacts the family owns must be sold, and Varun helps arrange the purchases.
As Varun's stay comes to an end, he asks Pakhi's father for her hand in marriage, and preparations of their wedding begin. Before the wedding, Varun's uncle, who has raised him, arrives and discourages Varun from marriage, stating that Varun will only give Pakhi grief because of the danger of what he does for a living—people like them are not meant to fall in love and have normal lives. Varun is conflicted but agrees and makes his choice: he and his assistant flee that very night, along with all the valuables they stole from the landlord. On the wedding day, Varun is nowhere to be found, and it is discovered that the idols from the temple have been stolen and the currency notes from the purchase that Varun arranged of the family's artifacts are all counterfeit.
A year later, a sick Pakhi is living all alone in Dalhousie.Except for her maid,she has no company. Her father has died and she has still not recovered from her heartbreak . When a police inspector asks her in helping him nab Varun, she refuses to do so, wanting only to forget him. Soon after, Varun and his friend turn up at Dalhousie for their next heist and stay at a lodge on Pakhi's property. Things turn ugly when the police gets wind of their whereabouts and a chase ensues. Varun accidentally kills his friend and a constable,and is injured in the encounter. He removes the bullet and then goes to seek refuge in Pakhi's house.
Pakhi and her maid try to turn him over to the police,but hr threatens them. Pakhi gives in,but she is nevertheless enraged and repels Varun's comforting advances and explanation. In a letter, she explains to him that she is dying of tuberculosis and will die the day the last leaf falls from the wilting tree outside the window. Her maid leaves the house promising Varun that he wouldn't be reported to the police.
Varun plans his escape but refuses to go, and takes care of the ailing Pakhi instead. He confesses that he has regretted letting her go since the day he fled. Soon, Pakhi warms up to him and her faith remains intact when each day she finds one last leaf remaining on the tree.
Eventually, it is revealed that apart from taking care of Pakhi, Varun would also paint a leaf. He tied it on a branch of the tree before he left so that she doesn't give up hope. It was his masterpiece. In the end, as he is about to escape, Varun is shot down by the police. Pakhi realises the truth after she looks at the painted leaf closely, and smiles with tears in her eyes.

Tags: romantic, storytelling

Review:
LOOTERA (4/5)Please visit - http://iamalekhya.blogspot.in/'LOOTERA' is poetry on celluloid!This chef-d'oeuvre love story by Vikramaditya Motwane resembles a poetry in beauty and the evocation of feeling, and despite a slight ramble in the second half, it wins you over.
By the time u leave the cinema hall with moist eyes and the humdrum of the background score in ur head , u know Motwane has aced it yet again , a remarkable flight after another great -Udaan ..P.S.-- If u have loved ur Bodyguards, Singhams , Cocktails ,high on testosterone - Bhatt factory products, and other Sallu Bhai stuff or are excited about SRK's Eid release..., chances are u would abhor this one, so better not go.
The story is of an archaeologist Varun (Ranveer Singh) who comes for an excavation expedition on a piece of land that belongs to Pakhi's (Sonakshi Sinha) family.
Arif Zakaria, Dibyendu Bhattacharya and Shirin Guha make brief appearances but lasting impressions.Lootera celebrates the past, mourns the demise of love, life and things of joy and beauty, but in the end affirms the primacy of the human spirit and the power of art to tide over the blows of fate.Now the big question: why a film like Lootera is not working at the box office?
second half is the look into the consequences of the choices and is way too dark and realistic in comparison to the fairy-tale approach of first half........Might be too 'different' for mainstream audiences , but this movie have one thing that most of the movies now a days from Bollywood lacks , Class....if you want to witness sheer romance and meditate silence and feel the warmth and cinema is the medium that does this the best for you.....
While Barun Chanda (who made his debut with Master Satyajit Ray's Seemabaddha) gave a commendable performance as the failing zamindar & a father of a lovely daughter; Sonakshi Sinha steals the show as vulnerable yet emotionally strong Pakhi who falls for a young archaeologist & then their lives turns upside down.
Motwane & Iyer's screenplay did justice to Henry's short story while genius Kashyap's minimal usage of dialogs evokes the perfect ambiance for a classic setting.Amit Trivedi & Amitabh Bhattacharya combo is always superb and then sealed their credibility with Lootera.
Ranveer singh (Varun) is great, he lacks punch in 1or2 odd scenes but overall an actor to look out for.Very rare comes an art film which handles a potential of standing tall for any commercial cinema.Lootera is an "MASTERPIECE", yes the movie has its flaws to an minimal margin but proves very powerful overall.
Packed with powerful performances of Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha the movie ends up being a treat to watch with its supporting cast also doing a great job.
Watch it for two geniuses and two future stars of Bollywood.It certainly is the best movie of the year and much much better than the trash that the industry has produced in the name of a love story.
Lootera is one film that reminds you of old bollywood movie-making.Even if it didn't have anything to flaunt,one can easily watch it just for the cinematography.
Coming to performances,Ranveer Singh's act is brilliant....and Sonakshi does get to showcase her acting skills for the first time (her choice of movies has been pathetic...remember Joker,Son of Sardaar and Rowdy Rathore ?).
all in all its a one time must watch love story...If you are looking for a masala movie...
all in all its a one time must watch love story...If you are looking for a masala movie...
all in all its a one time must watch love story...If you are looking for a masala movie...
all in all its a one time must watch love story...If you are looking for a masala movie...
While I would love to talk about the stars who acted so brilliantly but Vikramaditya Motwane(Director and screen writer) is at the centre of this movie.
One of the scenes where Ranveer reveals his bucket list to Sonakshi, only to figure out that it had such an important role in the climax is a simple deduction of Vikramaditya Motwane's sheer class!Every character has tremendous scope in this movie because of the movie's affinity to silence.
The supporting actors also gave exceptional performances, especially Vikrant Massey who plays Ranveer Singh's accomplice in the movie.The music by Amit Trivedi was impressive and perfectly matched the mood of the story, with tracks like "Shikayatein", "Zinda" and "Ankahee".Overall it is a well-crafted and awe inspiring movie which you will fall in love with if you invest the patience and attention that it truly deserves..
I am not going to go into details about the plot, owing to my personal opinion that any and every movie is enjoyed best when the viewer doesn't know much about what to expect or what not to expect from the story line.Now coming on to Lootera.
Lootera –a Saga of tranquil emotions sprinkled with somber pain and heart throbbing climax is a 'Masterpiece' of an artist who will have his name written in gold in the corridors of Bollywood as one of the most accomplished filmmakers of our time.Sketched on the canvas in an extravagant fashion but still being close to subtlety it portrays the story of two people who fall in love, get separated and reunite again under grim circumstances with a cop-thief story in the background.Varun an archaeologist from ASI comes to manikpur is search of a submerged city near the 400 year old temple which belongs to an aristocratic zamindar .Being a Charming young man with interest in arts and literature he impresses both the Zamindar and his Daughter.
This is when Varun accidentally enters her life again under drastically different circumstances .Lootera is a deftly crafter piece of art where every frame looks like a travel postcard with outstanding performance from the actors which gives life to the picturesque story .The leads are in top form and give their career –best performance but the real hero for me is Vikramaditya Motwane whose treatment to one of the most widely loved short story 'The Last Leaf', would have brought tears in the eyes of O 'Henry himself.Viramaditya is a director who is in total control of the story and specializing in extraordinarily shot 'Muted Sequences' which showcase a Master Story tellers grip on his art.
The music by Amit Trivedi is like Milk in 'Darjeeling Tea' it gives a flavour to the viewers which is reminiscent of 'Old World Charm'.Lootera is a must watch , technically brilliant film with outstanding direction ,music and performance.
Lootera which happens to be an adaptation of O Henry's 'The last leaf' brings a fresh new couple of Ranveer and Sonakshi for the first time together in a period-love story.
Something totally new-fangled than the usual romantic movies Bollywood has witnessed before.Motwane is the man who deserves this stature as he strikes the emotional chord with Lootera.
Till the interval of the film, Lootera tries to keep up well with the plot sufficiently proving to be a reminder to Aamir Khan's role as a terrorist in blockbuster movie, Fanaa.In the latter half of Lootera, film is set up one year later than it had ended before the interval showing beautiful snow capped areas of Dalhousie where a heartbroken Sonakshi lay in her house suffering from severe tuberculosis only to witness her lost love Varun come back in her life.
Talk of pure romance with prominent shades of an inexplicable heart wrenching tragedy mixed into it, Lootera is exactly what you should see.Vikramaditya Motwane has just hit the hammer right on the nail with this piece of story of tragic romance set amidst a backdrop of post-independent India and Bengal of aristocratic zamindars.Slow it was, but the right pace just set in at the end of the first half and you should not see this if you do not like slowly progressive film-making.
Great casting and superb camera and background music..go with less expectation and drown in the painful love story 8.5 out of 10 for Motwanes LOOTERA { LOVED IT :) }"take an anti anxiety and go if you can't bear mute scenes".
He crafted his characters meticulously and made some of the new actors put their souls in a screenplay which moves with silence but says many things.Music by Amit Trivedi gives a feel of 50's and touches your heart strings.However, Lootera is particularly for niche people who can yield the motif behind each scene, who can understand some earthy dialogues or period nostalgia.
Arif Zakaria as the challenging robber-head uncle with his protocol that thieves can't handle things like love and spending eternity which completely challenges his role as the most darkest and the most complicated man in manipulating decisions of the ones he believes has the experienced skills which involves straying Ranveer on his thievery path no attachments, no relations ..........other supporting cast such as Divya Dutta, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Shirin Guha commendable job in jam (Just A Minute)performances and lasting impressions....What to expect while watching this film, It's in the layers.....want to know what is it first of all the end of Zamindari system which allows the so called Zakaria's robbers to completely destroy the system of Barun Chanda's arrogant Zamindari attitude as they are here to steal his most precious idols; so that involves treachery, flirtatious, two face person with a conflict to choose the heart or the situation;(thankfully not the mind as it goes completely with the emotion), a cops and robber chase scene which becomes pretty intriguing as the protagonist in trying to save himself from the path he has chosen mistakenly kills his friend and a police constable which burdens with the entire corrupted murderer charge alive, The 1953 era the complete atmosphere of the Bengal, Durga Puja , Ram Leela act and striking music by Amit Trivedi which completely coincides with the culture of Bengal with a modern fusion of songs and background score that makes the canvas alive with colors and emotions.The photography as though you are seeing a live portrait with human beings living in it....And here is the best of Ranveer Singh "Mein Ek Aisa Masterpiece Banana Chahta Hoon Ki Duniya Mughe Yaad Rakhe" which completely unfolds in the climax....Wanna fall in love; start over with a painting class in those days which was already hobby of the women who loved poetry especially of Rabindranath Tagore's this is how men were considered to be the best Casanova;flirting a girl asking her to draw some leaves.........No Jokes apart...My rating 4.5/5..........My recommendation go watch it.......Or go fish.........
Henry's book The Last Leaf, Vikramaditya Motwane's 'Lootera' is a beautifully made, superbly acted film!
The screenplay,cinematography,dialogue,music,background score and last but not the least superb performances(especially Sonakshi).Much beyond expectations,after so much time a movie which will make you cry and I was so into the movie that I almost forgot that they are just acting.A must watch for everyone.Anyone can feel the romance :) Music by Amit Trivedi is mesmerizing.Perfect fit for the movie and situations.Background score is just heart throbbing although not loud.
The movie moves at a leisurely pace but there is so much to appreciate in each scene that you feel like owning a DVD of it and watch it all over again just to check over those missed details..The pace seemed to be a deterrent to some of the restless masses in the theatre which saddens me as appreciation is required for such good cinema to reach masses..And good "CINEMA" it is...since it makes use of the foundations of cinema- lights, camera, sound ,action to such effect that it lingers in your heart for long..Nevertheless, claps at the end of the movie moved me to high spirits as I realised good taste may not be common but good cinema is universal and would transcend boundaries to reach its viewers..Breaking the notion of the masses who have seen her in not so challenging glam roles in her previous outings,Sonakshi gives a thundering performance in a coveted role..Ranveer gives able support with his smart and rugged looks,his quiet notions and the intensity he portrays with his eyes ..Infact much of the communication happen with words being unsaid but exchanged through eyes..
But all in all the movie belongs to Vikramaditya Motwane.Expectations from him was always sky high with a film like Udaan in his kitty, but never did I think that he would make a mockery of the title "Lootera" and give us a cinematic gem so vivid and heart rending that stays with you for long....
If you want to dwell in a never ending untold truth of love then its surly for you.Its unconventional way of story telling and soothing music adds four moons to it.Alongwith some class act performances by its actors,camera work is also very beautiful.Every scene has bee filmed like a portrait.Inshort its a perfect masterpiece.Its a kind of movie that touches your heart.And you wait desperately to know how it would end.
And he could not have done this without the masterclass of Mahendra Shetty's rhythmical cinematograpghy and Amit trivedi's soulful background score, and off course not without the two actors , both of whose previous works were in extreme contrast to this one.While watching lootera, you feel almost like you are transformed into a magical world of the Drawings and storybooks of the yore, where nothing is ordinary , nothing is commonplace and where the conversations are in prose.
His story is eternal and could have been set in 2013 also, but the period setting enchants us with the beauty of yesterday.Motwane's heroine Pakhi is a spirited and intelligent young women with the heart of a kid and sonakshi puts her best performance till date on screen and brings the character alive.
Lootera is a great work of art and performance, basically meant for viewers who love realistic intellectual movies.
My Rating : 8/10If you like romance in movies you will fall in love with 'Lootera'.Poetic, profound and passionate.Highly Recommended!.
Here comes a movie which is a masterpiece in all sorts from beginning to end.This is the movie which includes all genres,romance,drama,art,thrill,action and much much more than that which cannot be explained in words.To be honest such movies are not meant for crowded housefull theatres,that is why they fail to succeed commercially.They demand silence,immense concentration and above all feel of the depicted art from both sides i.e each and everyone associated with film and we the viewers.It is said "The best and the most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even touched,they must be felt with the heart".Lootera is the epitome of this quote.Each and every scene has natural deep mesmerizing effect which attracts only true art lovers.Now why only true art lovers??Our Indian audiences love movies with simple stories,lacking content,depth,meaning and understanding which are the ones making it to 100 crore club,only and only because of entertainment quotient.So the movies like lootera fail to gather mass appeal.The time has come when people need to come out of Shahrukh,Salman's hypnosis and appreciate what we call The Real Cinema.Coming back to Lootera everything is awesome about it.
Undoubtedly Sonakshi's best act till date.Although Ranveer needs to mature a bit with his dialogue delivery skills especially for such type of movies,yet no complaints from his part too.Screenplay,cinematography,background score and special effects are beyond imagination.Climax is loose adaptation of O Henry's short story and one of my favorite The last leaf which is sure to bring tears in every eye.
Beautiful love story between Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi, the movie is like watching literature unfolding on the big screen.
The most amazing thing about the film is its storytelling, director Vikramaditya Motwane offers us a beautiful world of his immortal characters Varun and Pakhi.
Overall Lootera is a superb film and perhaps one of the best movie ever made in Indian cinema.
Today another movie added in my list Director of UDAAN Vikramaditya Motwane 's Lootera , a story based on a short story 'The Last Leaf" by 'O.Henry' m sure if you ever tried to find some short love story book on Railway stalls than you must know O.Henry, When a short story is extended to 142 Minute Than I expect to be bored, but with very few dialogues and lots of expression will not make you bore.
Yes, it may lack on spices side but guys, look at the outcome of the work done by the people behind it, with Motwane's directorial adroit, Trivedi's unorthodox(to the Bollywood) music, Mahendra Shetty's cinematography, Kashyap's dialogues and off course the acting of Sonakshi and Ranbir, I would say that It might not be a masterpiece but it is somewhere nearby it and at least way better than what we are served every Friday..
Motwane gets two stars of mainstream Hindi cinema, Sonakshi Sinha and Ranvir Singh, to truly enter the skins of Pakhi and Varun, and tell their beautiful and painful story.
....so beautiful, soulful music, cinematography that's a class apart and a touching story which moves at a slow but absorbing pace..both Sonakshi and Ranveer play a understated part and we can identify with their helplessness.....the movie could have moved at a faster pace in the second half but i guess then it would have robbed off the feel and the impact.
Good acting and exemplary background score as well as songs and music makes this movie a wonderful watching experience.
Varun (Ranveer Singh) and Palkhi's (Sonakshi Sinha) love story is touching, poignant and heart breaking and as good as it gets for any romantic.
I'd rate Lootera 4/10 and that too for Motwane's appealing direction, beautiful cinematography and strong performances (Sonakshi specially)..and of course the SILENCE..