Fitoor, the cinematic adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” is like a beautiful woman who cannot communicate in a language you understand. The film tries to say so much through its long silent pauses amidst heavy scenes and yet I as a viewer hardly felt the intensity.
The first half is smooth and engaging especially the entire childhood portion which nicely establishes the room for further love story to blossom. There is enough substance in first hour because the writing is fresh and completely surrendered to the leading pair’s slow but growing chemistry.
But things go haywire post intermission when things get serious. The film loses its mark to unnecessary infusion of sub plots that make little sense. Tabu’s young character shown in flashback doesn’t add much up-to the character. However few scenes in second half are simply stellar – the one where Aditya’s character mouths the “doodh maangoge toh keer denge” dialogue. The entire build up before that scene is fantastic.
Fitoor’s biggest strength is Trivedi’s soulful songs. “Pashmina” and “yeh Fitoor Mera” are terrific songs and aides the proceedings in first half. The cinematography is remarkable. Kashmir is not an unknown quantity for Bollywood films but “Fitoor” is one of the best shot films. The last scene of the film amidst the snow is just amazing. The dialogues also are first rate.
Aditya Roy kapoor has easy presence but he never really convinces us in the tough emotional scenes. Katrina Kaif has never looked as elegant and beauteous as she looks here. Her character however is a half-baked part which Katrina does try to elevate but there’s only so much an actress can do when the writing is substandard. Its Tabu yet again who steals the film and she gives the film some of its best scenes barring the climax. She is wonderful as a scheming, heartbroken mother.
Without overlooking the inconsistent narration, I feel Fitoor is a very watchable film for its ace music, alluring cinematography, Tabu’s another very good performance. How I wish the film hadn’t fizzled out post intermission after a very engaging first half!
Rating : 2.5/5
Tags: Aditya Roy Kapur Ajay Devgn Fitoor Katrina Kaif Lara Dutta Member Reviews Reviews Tabu
Good review Sanket.
I too thought the first half was very good and the 2nd half was bad.
Yeah. The film would have been so much better if at least climax was better let alone the entire second half.