‘Lootera’ Movie Review: What Critics Have to Say

Lootera seems to be winning the hearts of our critics (a rarity). While some have been quite vocal about how impressed they are with the movie, there are few who have labelled Vikramaditya Motwane’s second venture an absolute masterpiece. Here is the verdict for the movie:

Raja Sen, Rediff

Rating *****

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. Those are four magic words, four words that promise us the world, adventure and romance and fantasy and drama. The starter’s pistol to any fairytale, they offer up immediate escape: “a time” is never now, you see, and we’re instantly whisked away from the humdrum of our everyday.

Our imagination, like a suddenly alert hound, perks up its ears and begins to underscore even ordinary narratives with flourishes the narrator never spells out. With those four words in place, anything can follow. Vikramaditya Motwane understands this well, which is why his masterful adaptation of a classic O Henry story, nearly a hundred years old, begins with a father caressing a daughter with far older folklore.

Meena Iyer, The Times of India

Rating ****

n his second outing, post-the critically acclaimed Udaan(2010), Motwane definitely shows an upward graph. He transports you to the ’50s effortlessly with his vintage cars, opulent havelis, authentic costumes and terrific performances from his lead cast. Every frame is a picture postcard. Sonakshi,Barun Chanda and Ranveer need special mention. However, be suitably warned; the old-world aura and the languid pace are not for the young and restless.

Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV

Rating ****

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. 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. Lootera eschews overt melodrama and settles for an approach that embraces as the complexities of human nature as the simplicity of myth.

Vikramaditya Motwane, who earned his spurs with the critically acclaimed Udaan in 2010, works here with a completely different cinematic easel. What he has carved out of the raw material at his disposal can only bolster his reputation as a filmmaker who knows exactly how not to be run of the mill. He fills the Lootera frame with fable, history, art, literature, poetry, occasional nods to classic Hindi cinema and music, and loads of passion, beauty and magic.

Taran Adarsh, BollywoodHungama

Rating ****

LOOTERA is a captivating tale that reverberates with emotions and passion and encapsulates the highs and lows of a stormy relationship magnificently. Penned with utmost sensitivity and crafted delicately and thoughtfully, the film is akin to a beautiful painting on celluloid! LOOTERA bears the look of a classic. The visuals, the shade palette, the objet d’art, the milieu, the apparel… even the way the characters communicate at an unhurried, easygoing pace and share emotions takes you back to the bygone era. 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!