Abhishek Kapoor’s ‘Fitoor’ was a much-anticipated Bollywood release
in early 2016. However, director Abhishek Kapoor, unlike his earlier
films ‘Rock On’ & ‘Kai Po Che’, has failed to create engaging
content this time. Great expectations, fewer fulfilments.
A thirteen years old Kashmiri boy Noor falls head over heels with
Firdaus, the daughter of Begum, town’s richest and most influential
woman; and the feelings are reciprocated by Firdaus as well. Begum, who
has suffered the agony of heartbreak at a younger age, plans retaliation
on their mutual affection and Firdaus is sent to London to study. A
poor Noor, who has no parents and stays with his sister and
sister-in-law, is a gifted painter. Drugged high on the idea of
acquiring equal social and financial status that Firdaus possesses, Noor
proceeds to Delhi to shape his career as an artist and meets Firdaus
again. Noor desperately tries to fit into Firdaus’s social circle; while
Firdaus is all set to marry a Pakistani minister. This follows with
complicated emotional dilemma and outbursts.
Good parts first. Tabu plays Begum (Firdaus’s mother) and has
absolutely stolen the show. From the undying trauma caused by a past
betrayal to a broken mother trying to captivate her daughter’s heart and
ceasing her from falling in love again; darkest of emotions come alive
with Tabu’s performance. Out of the entire cast, she is the only
convincing one. Visuals, especially that of Kashmir, are beautiful &
Swanand Kirkire’s lyrics merged with Amit Trivedi’s melodies are a
treat for us. They are our rescuers in an otherwise very average film.
Aditya Roy Kapur (Noor) is just alright and Katrina Kaif (Firdaus) is
very average. Their characters were enough for them to re-explore
themselves as performers and we wish they took the chance.
Somewhat, the literary adaptation doesn’t look alright. Charles
Dickens’s ‘Great Expectations’ deals just not with a tragic love-story
but with various societal detailings, which ‘Fitoor’ has overlooked.
Abhishek Kapoor’s idea of putting an uneven love story on the backdrop
of the Kashmir’s unrest was a good idea. But what surprised us was the
entire social and political hurly burly finding so little place in the
film. All these would have made the screenplay a much tighter and
intense one. A disturbing socio-political scenario indeed can
contribute to an unfulfilled relationship.
Emphasis on romance leaves ‘Fitoor’ another predictable love story.
Despite carrying enough potentials, it just remained limited to a cliche
romantic saga. Those who have read the novel know that its beauty
underlies the heart-breaks and the tragic end. After that, the film’s
happy ending looks almost forced. Bollywood probably needs to understand
that unfinished love stories are to be given a place too, for they
could be as real and intense as the complete ones.
Technically, ‘Fitoor’ is a decent one. Anay Goswami’s cinematography
is beautiful and Deepa Bhatia’s editing is clear and particular.
However, Hitesh Sonik’s background scores failed to impress us.
Overall, ‘Fitoor’ doesn’t manage to either keep you glued or throw a
strong emotional impact on you. Contrary to our expectations, it is a
film not more than average. However, you might want to watch it for the
visuals, the soul-stirring songs and a stunning Tabu.
Directed By: Abhishek Kapoor
Produced By: Abhishek Kapoor, Siddharth Roy Kapur
Cast: Aditya Roy Kapur, Katrina Kaif, Tabu
Music: Amit Trivedi
Duration: 2 Hours 10 Minutes
0 comments:
Post a Comment