Movie Review: Lootera

Lootera Cast: Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi Sinha, Arif Zakaria, Adil Hussain, Divya Dutta Direction: Vikramaditya Motwane Rating: The good thing about Bollywood's GenNow top lot is most of them are trying to make a difference, beyond the obvious stardom circus. Sonakshi Sinha and Ranveer Singh are both hot contenders for the number one spots but they represent a young bunch that has keenly taken to experimenting, too. Vikramaditya Motwane's Lootera is proof of this for both, just as Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet would be for Ranbir Kapoor or Tigmanshu Dhulia's Milan Talkies would be for Imran Khan. Also read: Lootera after a poor start Lootera introspects romance, blending melodrama with a subtext on human psyche. The film's mood is as enchanting as the period backdrop that unfolds its story. Motwane, who went all the way to Cannes with his 2010 debut feature Udaan ( the film competed in Un Certain Regard category), mounts his second venture on a far more lavish scale. The outcome is absorbing. But the uber- sensitive film unfolds at a languid pace that needs a certain patience to be savoured. Before anything, Lootera does not blindly copy O. Henry's short story The Last Leaf , as sections of the press have reported. Motwane and Bhavani Iyer's screenplay draw inspiration from O. Henry's story only in the climax. While Sonakshi's character bears some traces of the heroine in The Last Leaf , Ranveer's is wholly original. The two leads are aptly cast, too. Ranveer makes a dashing impression as Varun, who arrives in a small village in Bengal of the early 1950s. Varun introduces himself as an archaeologist and explains to the local zamindar that his team wants to carry out some excavation in the area. As the zamindar 's sprightly daughter Paakhi ( Sonakshi) falls in love with Varun, you realise the young man could have a more vile reason for arriving in the village. The narrative takes time to throws in its twists. Motwane's eye for details is a high point for the film. Countryside Bengal and the zamindar 's mahal come alive as the essence of an era is captured with intricacy. An interesting aspect for trueblue buffs would be spotting Motwane's tribute to vintage Bollywood noir. Ranveer Singh gives the film his best act yet, balancing Varun's dilemma, desperation and dreams. But the actor needs to work on voice modulation. Sonakshi looks every bit the Bengali girl Paakhi. Her nuances are beautifully used by Motwane to bring alive a bygone era. Lootera underlines why the standard Bollywood romance need not be about a crazed loverboy chasing the girl. Love stories, the film reminds you, can have layers too.