Many films in Bollywood have been made based on classic novels. This week’s release FITOOR too falls in the same category. The film’s makers went on record to say that FITOOR is based on Charles Dickens’ ‘Great Expectations’, the very novel that showcased forbidden love, betrayal and class struggles. With a starcast that boasts of the stunning Katrina Kaif and the hunky Aditya Roy Kapur, whether FITOOR lives upto the ‘great expectations’ or will it turn out to be a let-down, let’s analyze.
FITOOR starts off with with the flashback that reflects the childhood of a young Kashmiri boy Noor Nizami and his ‘blink-and-you-miss’ tryst with a random stranger (Ajay Devgn), who turns out to be a certain Mirza Baig eventually. One of the days, when Noor accompanies his brother-in-law to Begam (Tabu)’s palace for some carpentry work, his young and innocent eyes fall on the eternally beautiful Firdaus Jaan Naqvi. Because, she takes a ‘liking’ for Noor’s (torn) shoes, he gets hired as their stable’s caretaker. Gradually, the duo start liking each other and each other’s company. One day Noor comes looking out for Firdaus at her palace when Begum informs him that she has been sent away to London for education. The film then fast forwards a few years and now a grown up Noor (Aditya Roy Kapur) leaves his hometown to move to Delhi to build his career as an artist. As luck would have it, Noor meets Firdaus (Katrina Kaif) at a party and this time round, they try to ‘complete’ their ‘incomplete’ love. That’s when Firdaus confesses to Noor that she will be soon getting married to an upcoming Pakistani politician Bilal (Rahul Bhatt). The level of obsession that Noor has for Firdaus reaches crazy heights. Will Noor let go of his childhood love Firdaus, will Firdaus have a change of heart and leave Bilal and get married to Noor or does the extremely protective Begam have a way different plan for Firdaus is what forms the rest of the film.
FITOOR’s director Abhishek Kapoor (who is best known for his films like KAI PO CHE and ROCK ON), seems extremely confused in his narrative of FITOOR. While the film does have its moments under the sun, FITOOR turns out to be such a BIG disappointment for all those who really had ‘great expectations’ (no pun intended) from the film. The film is nothing but an amalgamation of senseless, confusing and disjointed screenplay (Supratik Sen, Abhishek Kapoor) and poor direction (Abhishek Kapoor). The screenplay is sorely disappointing, thus making the film look like an arthouse cinema featuring popular stars. What adds to the downfall of the film is also the odd pairing of Aditya Roy Kapur and Katrina Kaif, who lack the much needed chemistry to ‘light up’ a movie of this genre. After a point, the film’s proceedings become way too difficult to comprehend. The makers of the film have focused on every minute detail of the visuals in the movie, however one wonders why they didn’t do the same level of detailing in the screenplay. There are many scenes in the film that do no good to the film, but only land up confusing the viewers. Testimonials to this are in the form of Ajay Devgn’s role in the film, and also the scene wherein Aditya reads a news article about a Begam spending a fortune on her heiress’ wedding, whereas, the so-called ‘wedding’ never seems to take place in the movie. Despite all the flaws and shortcomings, one has to admit that the film looks extremely appealing visually.
As for the performances, even though it’s the film’s lead pair Aditya Roy Kapur and Katrina Kaif who carry the film on their ‘able’ shoulders, the confusing and lacklustre script acts as a speed breaker in their respective performances. Both, Aditya and Katrina seem to struggle in the film with their respective characters. Even though Tabu does a decent job, the explanation for her weird behaviour throughout the film comes in too late. Ajay Devgn and Lara Dutta are totally wasted in the film. Rahul Bhatt, Aditi Rao Hydari, Akshay Oberoi, Delbar Arya and others try their level best to help the film move forward.
The film’s music (Amit Trivedi) is nothing to write about as only Fitoor title track and ‘Pashmina’ stands out. The film’s background score is average. While the film’s cinematography (Anay Goswamy) is outstanding, the film’s editing (Deepa Bhatia) is decent. A special mention to the people behind the film’s costumes. Though the film is only 2 hours and 11 minutes long, it feels like a never ending saga, due to its snail pace.
On the whole, FITOOR is a huge letdown despite its great visuals, as it fails to connect emotionally. At the Box-Office, the movie will appeal only to a minuscule set of multiplex audience.
Courtesy http://www.bollywoodhungama.com.
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