There are films, and then there is cinema

Film: Lootera

Director: Vikramaditya Motwane

Imagine a room full of smokers, each puffing out smoke from their respective cigarettes. And among the grey haze of smoke, picture one of them who's exhaling purple smoke. If you take that room to be Hindi cinema, the one puffing purple haze is Vikramaditya Motwane and Lootera is his dope.

With the response that his debut film received, he had a lot of reputation running on Lootera. Fortunately for him and for us, it worked wonders. The film is a love story of Varun and Pakhi, but the multi-layered narrative and the attention to detail make it more than just a love story. It isn't the first film where a man enters a woman's life and changes it as he leaves, but the plot's treatment makes it feel like a first.

The post-independence setting of a transition period when India changed from many feudal estates to one nation, the accurate costumes, the lighting, the dialogues -- Lootera checks every box of what is termed as good cinema. A little concession for the graphics, which stick out like a sore thumb, is the only fault one can find with the entire viewing experience.

Like Udaan, Lootera too permeates your skin and begins to grow inside you. And slowly, there is nothing left inside but the film. Anurag Kashyap's dialogues bring life to a fresh romance and Ranveer and Sonakshi, the agents of delivering these dialogues, are precise. For Sonakshi Sinha, this could be considered an 'acting' debut and her portrayal of a vulnerable, love-struck daughter of a zamindar is one of the reasons to watch the film.

Amit Trivedi's soundtrack has a lion's share in creating the period in which the film takes place. That, coupled with the background score and other sound elements like the radio are an audio experience that one could keep on talking about. The songs, written by Amitabh Bhattacharya have an eerie charm, honesty and innocence that is not lacking in any aspect of the film.

There is very little about Lootera that can be explained in words as a lot of it has to do with the little things that a director adds to a film. It is not meant to be understood or elucidated; it just needs to be experienced.

With Lootera, Motwane has proved yet again that in this crowded film industry, there is still scope for a filmmaker to celebrate cinema. He truly is a magician in a herd of illusionists. And coming back to the cigarette that produces purple haze, let's hope Motwane has a whole packet left. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Published in DNA (Pune) on July 6, 2013