To be
honest, the cinematographer does his job remarkably well. The dreaminess that
ran through Great Expectations has been captured as is on the camera, almost
fairy-tale like but alas it happens to be the only thing that has been kept
consistent in lines with Dickens’s work.
Given the
fact that Great expectations in itself was melodramatic enough (has been an
unnamed source, for its theme, for umpteen number of Bollywood films), the film
sulks considerably at creating that mood.
There has
been an evident try to make the subject hold to its pretext of being
melodramatic and almost theatrical by trying to infuse Urdu in dialogues which
come at various impact places in the film, entirely forgetting the fact that
Urdu is best enjoyed blended and not as a garnish.
The
characters age rather obscurely in the drama that unfolds in a manner that
leaves little scope for any layers to develop. There was a clear requirement to
tell out the age of the characters for the dialogues they mouthed and the
manner of their reactions surely contradicted their apparent age as portrayed
on screen
The
fluency of Firdaus’s accent goes haywire as with age “Noor” becomes “Knorr” for
her (Oh Katrina). Noor grows up to be a chiselled piece of art himself; probably
doing lifts with the heavy paint brushes! Dimensions of characters are as
loosely defined as Ajay Devgn’s special appearance. Tabu’s intent is unclear
since inception and with the progress of story it converts into a rather
constipated mix of sub-plots converging entirely at her behest and asking out
for the reasons for their very existence in the main plot.
Dickens’s
simplistic idea of the societal barriers and falsely lived childhoods has been
overcooked here to an extent that makes it unbearable. Fitoor tries to be a
clever take on Kashmir’s polity by masking Haider on its head and bask in the
glory of soulful slowly brimming romance by trying to ape Lootera and it fails
miserably at both of them.
For
Haider and Lootera, despite based on watertight narratives and excellent
screenplays separated themselves from the rest on the basis of performances
alone. Lootera for a matter of fact showcased more “fitoor” in its portrayal of
romance than Fitoor itself.
What
somehow manages to keep the attention intact is Amit Trivedi’s music. Again it
is not something out of the box from Trivedi and quite a predictable soundtrack
for someone who’d have followed Trivedi’s discography. Though the lyrics by
Swanand Kirkire are thoughtful, the tracks somehow do not add the desired depth
to the narrative.
Katrina
Kaif, well, tanks enormously in her portrayal of Firdaus. The accent is
haywire, the body language and voice tone suggest two different intentions and
the emotions, well, are absent.
Aditya Roy
Kapoor tries hard to match Katrina as he portrays a rather dimwit Noor Nizami,
a natural talent leading a life based on lies. For a character that had so much
to offer, the performance largely remains unilateral.
And how often
would you see Tabu deliver an inconsistent performance? And the inconsistency
graph here ranges from the axis of rubbish to the axis of salute! While she
mouths laughable dialogues in front of the still young Noor and Firdaus, to the
masterful act in the pre climax scene, Tabu disappoints.
The
narrative by Abhishek Kapoor moves along languidly and that isn’t a problem
till the time the screenplay has moments to offer or the story has substance to
hold on to. Sadly the director lacks the presence of both those elements and it
almost seems like an eternity before intermission strikes. Also, digging deeper
into the plot itself, there seems to be no justifications for any of the
character to behave in the portrayed manner.
In one of
the most laughable scenes of the film, our artist hops on to ride with a
complete stranger on the promise on being fed on the tastiest Kahwa in the
city! Who is who and why is hardly given importance to! There is an apparent
lack of flow in the narrative and is barred at places with unnecessary plot
convolutions and excessive characters.
Abhishek
Kapoor tries to hard to make Fitoor look like one of the classiest films ever
made, with abundant randomness scattered throughout in the name of art and
logics bypassed in the name of romance. What the director forgot that Haider
and Lootera, both being adaptations, tried hard to tell the story rather than
sell out as a classic. This is where Fitoor falls, and falls flat.
Fitoor is
what happens when grandeur lacks artistry, story lacks substance and romance
lacks soul.
**1.5
STARS**
