‘Fitoor’ Movie Review- Bollywood Bubble

Directed by: Abhishek Kapoor
Produced by: Abhishek Kapoor, Siddharth Roy Kapur
Cast: Aditya Roy Kapur, Katrina Kaif, Tabu
Duration: 2 hours 10 minute
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 2/5

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.

Ranjini Maitra

Journalist. Writer. Reader. Enthu cutlet. Mood-swing machine. Day dreamer. Sandwiched between ‘live life fully’ and ‘lose some weight’. Mantra of life: Love and love more.