Lootera
Lootera | |
---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Vikramaditya Motwane |
Produced by |
Anurag Kashyap Ekta Kapoor Shobha Kapoor Vikas Bahl |
Screenplay by |
Bhavani Iyer Vikramaditya Motwane |
Story by | Vikramaditya Motwane |
Based on |
The Last Leaf by O.Henry |
Starring |
Ranveer Singh Sonakshi Sinha |
Music by | Amit Trivedi |
Cinematography | Mahendra J. Shetty |
Edited by | Dipika Kalra |
Production company |
Balaji Motion Pictures Phantom Films |
Distributed by | Balaji Motion Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 135 minutes[1] |
Country | India |
Language | Hindi |
Budget | ₹270 million (US$4.0 million)[2] |
Box office | ₹280 million (US$4.2 million)[3] |
Lootera, /luːˈteɪrɑː/ (Robber), is a 2013 Indian historical romance film directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and partly based on author O. Henry's 1907 short story The Last Leaf. It is the second film directed by Motwane after his critically acclaimed film Udaan. Set in the era of the 1950s, the film stars Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha in lead roles. The film's producers are Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor, Anurag Kashyap and Vikas Bahl,[4] the film features music and background score by Amit Trivedi with all song lyrics penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya and cinematography by Mahendra J. Shetty.[5] Lootera released to worldwide critical acclaim on 5 July 2013 and was counted as one of the best movies of the year 2013.[6]
Plot
Lootera is inspired by O. Henry's The Last Leaf.[7] 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 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. 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. After Varun accidentally kills his friend along with a constable, he seeks refuge in Pakhi's house.
Although Pakhi does not turn him over to the police, 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.
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 and tie it on a branch of the tree everyday 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 while Pakhi realises the truth after she looks at the painted leaf closely, and smiles with tears in her eyes.[8]
Cast
- Ranveer Singh as Varun Shrivastav/Atmanand Tripathi/Nandu/Vijay
- Sonakshi Sinha as Pakhi Roy Chaudhary
- Barun Chanda as Zamindar
- Vikrant Massey as Devdas
- Arif Zakaria as A.K.Bajpai
- Adil Hussain as Inspector K.N. Singh
- Prince Hayer as Special Appearance
- Divya Dutta as Shyama
- Shirin Guha as Devyani
Production
Development
Vikramaditya Motwane wrote the script of Lootera in 2005.[9] Bhavani Iyer had co-written the script with Motwane.[10] Ranveer Singh's character was created by the director whereas Sonakshi plays the role of female character from the book.[11] Actor Ranveer Singh claimed that he was not initially convinced with his character in Lootera and had declined to star in the movie. With script readings he grew confident that he could play the role of a con man in the movie, and rehearsed extensively.[12] In an interview with The Hindu, Sonakshi Sinha stated, "I play a Bengali girl. It's an authentic Bengali look of the fifties that I am sporting and they (the director and designer Subarna) have taken a lot of trouble to go through the kind of clothes, jewellery, hair and make-up done in that era. We have tried to replicate it. Vikramaditya has kept the make-up simple with only the kajal, kumkum, and some laali on the lips which is what the women used to do then. It was the most difficult shooting experience for me so far. In terms of my character, my look, my performance and the locations, everything had to be from an era I knew nothing about."[13] The director insisted Ranveer's look be an amalgamation of James Dean and Dev Anand.[14]
Filming
In November 2011, the filmmakers confirmed Sonakshi Sinha and Ranveer Singh for the lead roles.[15] By December 2011, both the actors attended workshops for the look of the character, body language, speech as the film was set in Bengal in the era of the 1950s. Subarna Ray Chaudhari undertook extensive research to design the costumes for the characters to fit the required look.[16] A romantic song was shot in December 2011.[17] The first schedule was completed in Mumbai by end of December 2011.[18] In January 2012, the set of the film erected in Dalhousie, where the actors were to shoot over for few days was destroyed due to bad weather that caused heavy losses amounting to 5 million.[19] The weather forced the crew to trek through knee-high snow.[20] However, certain scenes were canned at Kalatop, close to Dalhousie.[18] The schedule was postponed to March 2012.[21] The next schedule began in Kolkata from 23 January 2012[22] and continued in rural parts of West Bengal.[23] Scenes involving Ranveer, Sonakshi and Barun Chanda were shot at the 11th century Jain temple in Deulghata and Belkuri. The area being Maoist affected, with great risk the entire cast and crew shot scenes under heavy police control.[24] In March 2012, the team made its second attempt to shoot in Dalhousie,[18] but actor Ranveer Singh injured his back and hence the schedule was postponed to May 2012. During May 2012, the team made its third attempt to shoot at Dalhousie wherein scenes that were left out to be filmed in the snow were shot by creating a set under artificial snowy conditions in summer season.[18][25] Certain scenes featuring Shirin Guha and Arif Zakaria separately were wrapped up by March 2012.[21][26] Along with potential 50 crew members the leading duo shot at The Itachuna Rajbari, Hooghly District.[24][27] Old house scenes were later filmed in Purulia. The final schedule of the film took place in Mumbai, and was wrapped up in July 2012.[18] The filming was complete by the end of August 2012 and the release date was scheduled to 29 March 2013.[28] The first trailer released in March 2013 later revealed that the film would release on 5 July 2013.
Music
Lootera | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Soundtrack album to Lootera by Amit Trivedi | ||||
Released |
29 May 2013 (CD release) 7 June 2013 (music release) | |||
Recorded |
2012–2013 AT Studios, Mumbai YRF Studios, Mumbai AM Studios, Chennai | |||
Genre | Feature film soundtrack, classical, Hindustani classical | |||
Length | 25:32 | |||
Language | Hindi | |||
Label | T-Series | |||
Producer | Amit Trivedi | |||
Amit Trivedi chronology | ||||
|
The music and background score for the film is composed by Amit Trivedi, with all song lyrics penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya. The music of the film is set in the styles of old Bollywood era.[29] The composer opted to keep two "antras" followed by a "mukhra" in the songs, matching to the 1950s styles of composition. The composer recorded the Chennai String Orchestra for the score.[30] The fourth song of the album "Monta Re" has its musical influence from the Baul musical tradition of Bengal. The complete film soundtrack album was released online on 29 May 2012.[31]
The main background score theme for the film bears similarity to Rachel Portman's score piece "One Day (suite)" from the 2011 film One Day.[32] It was also used in the trailer of the film. There were several reports of plagiarism. There is a song called "Shikayatein". The notes in the teaser (trailer) are a small piece from that song. This theme has one note more than the song Amit (Amit Trivedi) has created, which gives it the similarity. Music critic for Mumbai Mirror stated, "Amit has never in his life plagiarised, copied or stolen music from anyone and he's never going to start doing that. Call it a case of creative coincidence or creative convenience. But the similarity in the bunch of evocative notes that uplift an evocative, melodic piece titled One Day Main Titles from the original soundtrack of One Day, and the trailer of Lootera is unmistakable."[32] She added, "Lootera's background piece, as heard on the trailer, lets soft piano keys play out the tune followed by violins building up the tempo. Portman's piece is so dense with emotion that Amit Trivedi's fans should be happy that he came up with something as similar in the Lootera track."[32] This of course is either emotional poring of a fan, or paid media.
The audio was launched at PVR Cinemas, Juhu in Mumbai on 7 June 2013. The music composer claimed, "The music of this film is a tribute to R. D. Burman in terms of melody and orchestration." He performed the song "Zinda" and songs "Sawaar Loon", "Manmarziyan", "Monta Re" were performed by singer Shilpa Rao and lyricist-singers Amitabh Bhattacharya and Swanand Kirkire, live at the event.[33]
Track listing
The track listing was revealed on 29 May 2013 on the official social network page of the film.[34]
All lyrics written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.
No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Sawaar Loon" | Monali Thakur | 4:15 |
2. | "Ankahee" | Amitabh Bhattacharya | 4:35 |
3. | "Shikayatein" | Amitabh Bhattacharya, Mohan Kanan | 4:30 |
4. | "Monta Re" | Amitabh Bhattacharya, Swanand Kirkire | 3:58 |
5. | "Zinda" | Amit Trivedi | 4:01 |
6. | "Manmarziyan" | Amit Trivedi, Amitabh Bhattacharya, Shilpa Rao | 4:11 |
Total length: |
25:32 |
Critical reception
- Songs
The soundtrack of Lootera received highly positive reviews from critics.
Rafat of Glamsham gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "it will not be an exaggeration to compare the music of this album to late Pancham Da's swan song, the awesome 1942: A Love Story, the memorable music of which is still popular to this day. Says a lot about LOOTERA! A must have!"[35] At Koimoi, Manohar Basu rated the album 4 out of 5 and claimed, "Amit Trivedi and Amitabh Bhattacharya with this album has perhaps delivered a masterpiece they can live off all their lives."[36] Indibeats also gave it 4 out of 5 stars and observed, "if the music audience of our country are craving for quality, this must be one of the best selling albums of the year! Excellent!"[37] Sakhayan Ghosh of The Indian Express stated, "Lootera has the kind of sublimity that will grow with time, and work even better with the film." He gave the album 3.5 out of 5.[38] Yashika Mathur of Indo Asian News Service also gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars and said, "Lootera has fine compositions. No item numbers, no discotheque peppy tracks. It is a relaxed compilation of songs."[39] Giving the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, Sheetal Tiwari of bollyspice.com added, "Lootera features a great combination of lyrics, music and vocals. Its beauty lies in its quiet intensity and Trivedi proves yet again why he is one of the best composers of this era."[40] Business of Cinema wrote, "Good when we expect great from Amit Trivedi. He's set the bar so high up there, this meal cooks slow. Robbed, but not loot gaye."[41] Karthik S of Milliblog stated, "Trust Amit to spring back with a vengeance from his recent middling state!"[42]
Marketing
The first look and the trailer of the film was released on 15 March 2013. To match with the old world theme of the film, the film launch was held at the Liberty Cinema in Mumbai, which was constructed in 1947.[43] The trailer was well received and appreciated by critics, especially the featured background score.[44][45] The second theatrical trailer was released on 10 June 2013.[46] Unlike other films, the lead actress allotted forty days for the pre-marketing of the film.[44]
Release
The film was screened at Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai two days prior to its release date. The release in India was on estimated 1,600 screens, emphasising more multiplex releases rather than single screens.[47]
Critical reception
- India
The film received immense critical appreciation.
Critic Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 4 on a scale of 5 and wrote, "On the whole, LOOTERA is an intrinsically earnest and profoundly heartwarming story that stays in your heart. An absolute must for those who love romantic films or are romantic at heart. This one's a cinematic gem!".[48] Raja Sen of Rediff rated 5/5 stars and noted, "Lootera is a gorgeous, gorgeous film, one that uses its period setting affectionately, with loving detail, and not exploitatively, as our cinema is wont to do."[49] Meena Iyer of The Times of India assigned the film 4 out of 5 and noted, "Lootera is a love saga of yore." She added, "You may find this film boring if state-of-the-art, slow romance is not your idea of a movie outing."[50] Deccan Herald gave four stars and stated, "Lootera is a flawed gem filled with moments of glorious emotions. The storytelling shows the hands of a masterly visionary who tends to dither in moments of deep drama. But then there is Sonakshi Sinha, who makes you forget all the blemishes in this unforgettable tragedy".[51] Manohar Basu of Koimoi gave it 4/5 stars, commenting that "Lootera is one film that will overwhelm you. Vikramaditya Motwane has given a seraphic piece that glorifies cinema itself. The narrative is framed on a devastative tapestry and the film's climax knots up calamitously that will keep one absorbed."[52] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave it 4/5 and wrote, "An epic canvas, a quiet love story, a cops-and-robbers drama and an impressively sophisticated storytelling style: Lootera has all this and much more. In short, Lootera is a Bollywood miracle – a rare Mumbai film that is mounted on a lavish scale and yet dares not to play by the established norms of the marketplace." Critic Mayank Shekhar wrote, "God is in the detail, so is a good film–this is director Vikramaditya Motwane's second."[6] Deepanjana Pal for Firstpost noted, "Lootera fumbles as a love story and without this pivot, Pakhi and Varun's story wobbles awkwardly. For instance, you have to wonder how loving a relationship is when a woman learns the man she loves has been shot, but doesn't ask him anything about his injury."[6]
Box office
India
Lootera opened comparatively better at muliplexes and collected around ₹45.0 million (US$670,000) on its opening day.[53] The film amassed a total of almost ₹188 million (US$2.8 million) over its opening weekend.[54] The film's collections were mediocre on weekdays and it collected around ₹268 million (US$4.0 million) in its opening week.[55][56] Due to heavy falls in the following weeks, its final total finished around ₹280 million (US$4.2 million) nett.[3] Box Office India declared the film as a "flop" at the box office.[57]
Accolades
- Note – The lists are ordered by the date of announcement, not necessarily by the date of ceremony/telecast.
Distributor | Date announced | Category | Recipient | Result | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
Won | [58] |
|
|
Nominated | |||
|
| ||||
|
for Sawar Loon | ||||
|
|
|
|
Won | [59][60] |
|
for "Sawaar Loon" |
Nominated | |||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
|
|
|
Nominated | [61] |
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
|
|
|
Won | [62] |
|
for the song Shikayatein |
Nominated | |||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
|
|
|
Nominated | [63] |
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
|
|
|
Nominated | [64] |
|
|
References
- ↑ "LOOTERA (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ↑ "Lootera is a hit, Policegiri flops at BO". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
- 1 2 "Will Once Upon A Time in Mumbai Dobara Gross 100 Crore?". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 2 August 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ↑ "Ranveer-Sonakshi's shooting spot 'looted' by weather". IndiaGlitz. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ↑ "Lootera Cast and Crew". Gomolo. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
- 1 2 3 "Lootera: a slow pace romantic saga worth watching, say critics". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- ↑ "Bollywood adapts O. Henry's 'Last Leaf' for 'Lootera'". Reuters. 4 July 2013.
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2224317/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl
- ↑ Purva Desai (23 April 2013). "Films on books is a rarity: Lootera director". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Tony Tharakan (4 July 2013). "Bollywood adapts O. Henry's 'Last Leaf' for 'Lootera'". Mumbai: Reuters. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ Subhash K Jha (15 February 2012). "What made Sonakshi, Ranveer cry?". Mid-Day. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ↑ "Didn't accept 'Lootera' initially: Ranveer Singh". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ↑ Krutika Behrawala (4 December 2011). "Joker Apart!". The Hindu (Chennai, India). Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ↑ "Ranveer Singh's Lootera look inspired by Dev Anand, James Dean". DNA India. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ↑ "Ranveer to romance Sonakshi in upcoming Lootera". CNN-IBN. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ↑ "Interview: Ranbir Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha on Hindi Film LOOTERA". ওয়াশিংটন বাংলা রেডিও. 20 November 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ↑ "Sonakshi, Ranveer go intimate". Indiaglitz. 3 January 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Lootera – Labour of Love (YouTube). Balaji Motion Pictures. 2 May 2013.
- ↑ "Lootera is snowed under". Mumbai Mirror. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ↑ "'Lootera' team comes out with documentary on their hardship". Times of India. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
- 1 2 Geety Sahgal (26 April 2012). "Lootera schedule in June". The Indian Express. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ↑ "'Lootera' gets hit by bad weather". Mid-Day. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ↑ "Only 3 hours of sleep for Ranveer, Sonakshi". Times of India. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- 1 2 "Ranveer, Sonakshi bloom in Bengal". Mumbai Mirror. 11 February 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ↑ "Documentary on making of 'Lootera'". The Indian Express. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
- ↑ Rohan Swamy (12 April 2012). "Showtime". The Indian Express. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ↑ "Scene > Entering Zamindar's house". filmapia.com.
- ↑ "Ranveer Singh happy with 'Lootera' shoot". Bollywood Life. 24 August 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ↑ "Amit Trivedi used 50s format for Lootera music". The Times of India. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
- ↑ "Amit Trivedi uses orchestra to compose for 'Lootera'". IBN Live. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
- ↑ http://www.indianexpress.com/news/music-review-lootera-scene-stealer/1126040/
- 1 2 3 "Anurag hits a bum note". The Times of India. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
- ↑ "'Lootera' audio launch". MSN India. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ↑ "The official #Lootera songlist!". LooteraFilm on Twitter. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
- ↑ "Music review (glamsham.com)". Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ↑ Koimoi, Music Review. "Lootera Music Review".
- ↑ "Music review (Indibeats)". Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ↑ "Music review Lootera: Scene stealer". The Indian Express. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ↑ "Music Review: Lootera is a romantical journey". Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ↑ "Music review (BollySpice)". Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ↑ "MUSIC REVIEW: Lootera – A Breath Of Fresh Air?". Business of Cinema. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ↑ Karthik S, Milliblog!. "Lootera (Music review), Hindi – Amit Trivedi".
- ↑ "Official Trailer: Lootera". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- 1 2 Bharti Dubey (24 March 2013). "Sonakshi Sinha to promote 'Lootera' for 40 days!". Times of India. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ↑ "Is the background score of Lootera copied?". IndiaToday. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ↑ "Lootera second official trailer". Times Now. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ↑ Dhiren Trivedi. "Trade Buzz: Will Lootera steal your heart?". Bollywood Life. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ "Lootera". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ "Review: Lootera is an absolute masterpiece". Rediff. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ "Lootera". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ "Review: Lootera, a flawed gem filled with love". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ "Lootera". KOIMOI. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- ↑ "LOOTERA Registers Below Average Day One". Box Office Capsule. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ↑ "LOOTERA Finishes Strictly Average Weekend". Box Office Capsule. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ↑ "LOOTERA Finishes Poor Week One". Box Office Capsule. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ↑ "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Picks Up Strongly Lootera Is Poor". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 16 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
- ↑ "Lootera". Box Office India. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- ↑ "Winners of Big Star Entertainment Awards 2013". Indicine. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ↑ "Zee Cine Awards 2014 final winners' list: Deepika Padukone, Shahrukh Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Sonakshi Sinha and Priyanka Chopra win!". Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ↑ "Zee Cine Awards 2014: Complete list of nominations". Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ↑ "20th Annual Screen Awards 2014: The complete list of nominees". IBNLive. Colors Screen Awards. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ↑ "Filmfare Awards 2014: List of winners". Filmfare. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ↑ "9th Apsara Awards Nominees". Apsara Awards. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ↑ "IIFA Awards 2014: The list of nominees". IBN Live. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
External links
- Lootera at the Internet Movie Database
- Lootera at Bollywood Hungama
- Lootera on Twitter
|