A terrible mistake. Review on Fitoor

After the first 15 minutes of watching Fitoor, I realized what a terrible mistake I had made. Throughout the movie, all I could think of was, how big a stupid I am? The only two reasons I was excited for Fitoor were #1 It’s a Great Expectations’ adaptation and #2 Tabu. As an adaptation, Fitoor is an epic fail, but Tabu is the saving grace of the film. This might not be her best performance, but, hands down, she’s the star of the film.

Anyway, About The Film

Whatever the lead characters i.e. Noor Nizami and Firdaus Naqvi were trying to convey, failed to reach the audience. Be it their love, anger or Noor’s ardent love for Firdaus(which looked more like stalking and staring shamelessly). They’re not convincing at all. In fact, the young Noor and Firdaus were more convincing than their adult counterparts. The only character, that of Begum(played by Tabu and Aditi Rao Hydari) has managed to leave an impact. It is her story that is the centre of the plot; Noor and Firdaus are just supporting characters. There is some stillness in begum’s world, yet it is turbulent. Even after walking out of the theatre, her painful longing for lost love and her grim and secluded life is all that’ll leave you thinking. Noor and Firdaus’ love story looks forced. As if they were made to laugh, cry, kiss, make love, at a gun point.

Anyway, About The Film

Positives

Aesthetically, the movie was a treat for the eyes. Kashmir valley has been shot perfectly; the snowy valley, the very chinar-y autumn, the Dal lake- everything. Loved every frame of the movie that had Kashmir in it. For me, Kashmir is the hero of Fitoor. Katrina Kaif adds to the visual grace of the film, with her 55 lakh hair, designer dresses and mannequin like face and body. If you want to see a breathtakingly beautiful Kashmir, then probably you can dare to watch Fitoor.

Negatives

Thank god Charles Dicken’s is not alive to see what khichdi Abhishek Kapoor has made out of the classic “Great Expectations”. Also, the night scenes are so dark, that you just cannot see anything, even the silhouettes are not clear. I had to recognize Ajay Devgn by his voice. Tabu doesn’t look one bit like Katrina’s mother. Aditya Roy Kapoor could not hold the film as a hero. Katrina Kaif, as usual, total waste.

The story is very confusing, but I’d like to make an attempt explaining it

Noor is a budding artist who lives with his sister and jiju in Srinagar. Young Noor falls in love with young Firdaus. Begum Hazrat realizes Noor’s adoration for her daughter Firdaus and fosters it. She keeps reminding him that he has to do something big in life in order to win over Firdaus. Noor’s sister gets killed in a blast and Firdaus moves to London for her education. Noor gets a scholarship from an unknown benefactor for his college education in Delhi. He thinks it’s Begum who is supporting him because she wants him to marry Fidaus. But later, when he becomes a acclaimed painter, her realizes that it was not the Begum, but some militant(Ajay Devgn) whom he had fed when he was a kid. On the other hand, Katrina Kaif gets engaged to some Pakistani Minister’s son. Noor’s world shatters and he confronts Begum only to realize that she wanted to inflict the same pain she had been suffering since her lover abandoned her. She dies of trauma. After her mother’s death, Firdaus realizes her true love for Noor and breaks her engagement to finally unite with him.