Fitoor movie review

Katrina Kaif’s film spares no one, not Kashmir, not Delhi

Fitoor movie review: Katrina Kaif starrer spares no one, not Kashmir, not Delhi, not London, not Kashmiris, and not even poor Pakistan, which somehow finds its way into this tale essentially about love traversing social divides.

‘Inspiration’ Charles Dickens is just the first casualty. Fitoor spares no one, not Kashmir, not Delhi, not London, not Kashmiris, and not even poor Pakistan, which somehow finds its way into this tale essentially about love traversing social divides.

Meanwhile, having decided that in a film where all of Aditya Roy Kapoor’s hair is bunched upon his head and all of Katrina’s is plunged in a Chinar-esque red, in the hope perhaps that you don’t notice their blank faces below, Tabu takes it upon herself to act for the entire film. Her overladen, overdressed, overwrought Begum has done a hop, skip and jump (should that even be possible) from Haider and Vishal Bhardwaj to Fitoor and Abhishek Kapoor. 

There is a Ms Havisham in there but you have to search for it past all this, the flowing hair again and those ornate clothes (whatever happened to the sole wedding dress of Ms Havisham?).

So, once upon a time there was a boy, here called Noor (Aditya Roy Kapoor), who lived in this innocent place called Srinagar (shot beautifully) where fierce militants with wounds (Ajay Devgn, hard to decipher, but something about Army does get mentioned) accosted children like him in the middle of the night and demanded help. Noor doesn’t think twice which, as we know from Great Expectations, sets one chapter in his life.

The other gets started when Noor and his brother-in-law get called to repair her mansion (‘Anjuman’, no less), by Begum. There Noor meets Firdaus (Katrina Kaif), who comes riding in on a horse, across snow. A sight of her red cheeks and lips, and Noor is besotted. Begum notices, and by turns encourages and snubs Noor in his growing fascination for Firdaus.

So far, Abhishek Kapoor, who gave us a quite remarkable and solidly middle-class Kai Po Che, appears to know what he is doing. The boy cast as Noor speaks with an unmistakable Kashmiri accent, his beautiful and kind sister walks with a mysterious limp that always halts Noor in his tracks, and the brother-in-law is supportive and unobtrusive. Tabu is still getting into the act. 

It’s when the sister dies, in a blast, the limp never explained, Firdaus goes away, Noor gets bigger and bulkier (Aditya Kapoor never stays in clothes, upper or lower for too long) and lands in Delhi that Fitoor enters from the epoch of belief to the epoch of incredulity (the Charles Dickens line the film is fond of repeating, though never reaching this particular part).

Financed by a mysterious benefactor, ‘the boy from Dal’ gets plonked from phiran on the lake to an artfully undone studio in midst of could-be Lodhi Garden. There is a Delhi out there where strangers open their hearts, parties, purse strings, not to mention letterheads giving their address as Sujan Singh Park, to accommodate growing artists among glowing monuments, only you never saw it. Meanwhile, an incredible number of foreigners keep flitting about. But what do we know? 

Instant success, and a by now flirty Firdaus (Katrina Kaif), with ‘a degree from London School of Design’, follow (she smokes, doesn’t she?). However, even as our Noor is following her around with a one-note expression – she reciprocates in kind — he is becoming a big artist who can’t care less for Kashmir (“Itni azaadi kaafi nahin ki mein yahaan hoon”, he tells an appreciative Delhi art crowd). There is more where that came from, directed at the Pakistani minister Firdaus is meant to marry, but he at least ignores it with the backward-look contempt it deserves.

Lara Dutta may be just an art dealer, and hence inconsequential to this story, but she gets to say what we have been dying to: “Itna aasan nahin hota yahaan tak aana. Joote ghis jaate hain.” Needless to say, don’t look down at theirs.

There’s that other quote from Charles Dickens, actually from Great Expectations: Ask me no questions, and you will be told no lies.

Director: Abhishek Kapoor
Star cast of Fitoor: Aditya Roy Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Tabu, Ajay Devgn, Aditi Rao Hydari, Lara Dutta
Stars *

Fitoor review: Aditya and Katrina in a beautiful but shallow affair

Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapur in a song from Fitoor. (YouTube grab)

Fitoor
Director: Abhishek Kapoor
Cast: Aditya Roy Kapur, Tabu, Katrina Kaif, Aditi Roy Kapur, Rhaul Bhat
Rating: 2/5

Noor (Aditya Roy Kapur) loves Firdaus (Katrina Kaif) but has never been able to quite express himself. He meets the lady after years and discovers that the intensity of his feelings have not reduced and she plays along. What would you expect a Bollywood hero to do? Confess love and deliver some high-octane dramatic dialogues? That’s not what you get in Abhishek Kapoor’s Fitoor. Our protagonist Noor, looks at his ladylove with such intensity, is nervous around her in a cute way and acts much like a teenager around his crush. Relatable much?

Except for a few scenes, Fitoor comes across as a rather superficial affair and a disappointing adaptation of Charkles Dickens’ Great Expectations. For one, there is over-dramatisation of situations. The screenplay flags and fails to engage the audience despite heart-breaking performances by Aditya and Tabu.

Aditya plays Pip’s character from the novel, an aspiring artist Noor, while Tabu plays the Indian version of Miss Havisham - Begum Hazrat. Katrina Kaif steps in as the frosty Estella, called Firdaus in the Bollywood adaptation.

Since Fitoor is set in Kashmir, the state provides a beautiful canvas on which the story can be painted. Cinematographer Anay Goswami deserves credit for capturing Kashmir’s gorgeous exquisiteness in all its details -- the white snow-covered mountains, red chinar leaves and the grey of winters. Amit Trivedi’s soulful music enamours us, surrounded as we are with so much surreal beauty. However, Fitoor falls short of fulfilling any other great expectations we had beyond showcasing the wonderful beauty of the Valley.

A scene that captures Kashmir’s beauty: Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapur in a still from Fitoor

Aditya and Tabu are undoubtedly the best bets in Fitoor. While you are likely to fall in love with Noor (Aditya), pity and hate is what Tabu’s Begum Hazrat evokes. You detest Noor for his stupidity but his haunting looks and hopeless-yet-passionate love makes your heart melt. He does not express his love for Firdaus, except for one scene where he is drunk. However, each frame involving the lead pair is laden with romance and his intense, lovelorn facial expressions lend much weight.
The romantic scenes remain so till the time the focus is on Aditya but you lose interest the moment the camera shifts to Katrina. Not just because her character is least interested in Aditya, but because her dialogues sound fake and Katrina’s one-dimensional acting fails to bring across the passion even in the most intimate of scenes.

Read: There are many sides to Katrina, says Aditya Roy Kapur

Tabu as Begum Hazrat, Fitoor’s Miss Havisham. (Facebook)

Tabu plays the eccentric and conniving Begum Hazrat, who was wronged in love and has taken upon herself to ensure the menfolk experience the exact heartbreak and pain she did. Tabu brings in dramatic energy and a sense of gravitas to Fitoor. Watch out for one of the last sequences where Noor confronts her and Tabu’s dramatic Begum gives her best.

Ajay Devgn plays Abel Magwitch and delivers an impressive performance in his short role in the film. Aditi Rao Hydari, who plays younger Begum Hazrat, is beautiful and looks pretty much a younger Tabu. However, actors like Rahul Bhat, Lara Dutta and Govind Namdev, are wasted in small roles and only add to the over-dramatic fest on display.

The ending makes for yet another dampener in the entire journey - throughout the film, Firdaus clearly has little or no feelings for Noor, the cruel Estella that she is supposed to be. In the end, she runs back to him not because she loves him but because she’s in love with the idea of love!

Melodrama and a superficial love story are some of the road blocks that hinder a beautiful cinematic journey Abhishek Kapoor wanted to take you on.