Drop whatever else you’re doing, and soak in this love saga.

It has left me with some indelible scenes which are sheer poetry, but this is one of those films that I wanted to like much more than I did.

‘Lootera’ looks splendid, and despite the languorous tempo, you’re steadily drawn into a world where it was still feasible to fall in love at first sight. All the pros and cons considered, here’s a commendable labour of love, enhanced by Amit Trivedi’s music score. And once again, the director extracts impressive performances. Barun Chanda as the zamindar is believable. Ranveer Singh, using a subdued manner of dialogue pitch, is kept on a tight leash, leading to a correctly restrained performance. Sonakshi Sinha exudes sincerity and is convincing, especially when she dispenses with make-up and any traces of glamour.

A film, then, about life, love and leaves. And in the end it comes down to the sort of snow-surrounded tree that you can draw even if you’ve always had trouble drawing leaves. Magnificent.

There are films that leave such an impact on you that one wonders whether he/she should even write a review for it. Vikramaditya Motwane’s ‘Lootera’ is one such film. Calling it a film would probably be a deep injustice to it – it is nothing short of poetry on celluloid. ‘Lootera’ puts a dagger through the heart, makes it bleed profusely and then smears the elixir called love all over it.

Inspired from American author O. Henry’s short story The Last Leaf, Lootera is a beautifully narrated, well-crafted love story that will make you fall in love with it again and again.

Flaws notwithstanding, Lootera is of a standard that’s inarguably higher than the Bollywood average. Here’s a director to watch out for. Behrman’s masterpiece came in The Last Leaf. Motwane’s is yet to come.

Motwane’s Lootera (a very fine follow-up to his outstanding Udaan) is lovely film, a blessing for fans of Bollywood who seek real, relatable characters, a meaningful story, a narrative that takes them on a romantic journey, filled with a lot of joy and balanced with some much needed sense of heartache.

Now the big question: will a film like Lootera work at the box office? The question is irrelevant. It wouldn’t matter, at least from the critical point of view, even if it were to fail to get its point across to an audience weaned on Dabangg, Rowdy Rathore, Son of Sardar and suchlike. It would still be a magnificent film.

Every frame is a picture postcard. Sonakshi, Barun Chanda and Ranveer need special mention. However, be suitably warned; the old-world aura and the languid pace are not for the young and restless.

Lootera stands apart from every Hindi film in the last decade at least. You wouldn’t want to miss such a unique cinematic experience.

Lootera is one film that will overwhelm you. Vikramaditya Motwane has given a seraphic piece that glorifies cinema itself. The narrative is framed on a devastative tapestry and the film’s climax knots up calamitously that will keep one absorbed. Sonakshi Sinha’s smashing performance is first rate and the film’s tone and timber is scrumptious! I am going with 4/5 for Lootera! Films like these have the milieu of a classic that shall soar its way to glories!

The good thing about Bollywood’s GenNow top lot is most of them are trying to make a difference, beyond the obvious stardom circus. Lootera underlines why the standard Bollywood romance need not be about a crazed loverboy chasing the girl. Love stories, the film reminds you, can have layers too.

Both Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha are in for intense roles in Lootera who explore each other’s feelings beautifully. The music of the film is breezy and touching. A well-crafted film by Motwane, definitely a must watch.

On the whole, LOOTERA is an intrinsically earnest and profoundly heartwarming story that stays in your heart. An absolute must for those who love romantic films or are romantic at heart. This one’s a cinematic gem!

‘Lootera’ oozes with the allure of an old-world charm and Sonakshi befittingly plays the heroine of this epic drama. Vikramaditya Motwane’s subtle love story has an inherent appeal but is weighed down by a labored pace.

Lootera is a must watch. It’s cinematic art. We should make more movies like this.

…for me the real hero of the film is Mahendra Shetty. Every scene is a picture, painstakingly painted. If the makers want to have an exhibition of LOOTERA, they will have hundreds of visuals and I dare say it will be a full house. Such is the intensity… each visual has its own narrative. LOOTERA could have been Bollywood’s Gone With The Wind. But like the last leaf that is tied to the tree, the second half hinges on a plot that takes a nose dive after a breathtaking first half.

Vikramaditya Motwane has painted this film in West Bengal and Dalhousie and set it in the ’50s era. Yes, I used the word painted because this film is more than just a film. It is more like one of those beautiful paintings that you get mesmerised by when you come across them in old palaces or museums.

It’s remarkable how one-film-old Motwane manages to create such an exquisite masterpiece without ever trying too hard.

Truly worth a standing ovation.

On the whole, Lootera is a beautifully made, brilliantly shot and wonderfully enacted love story which will be loved by the classes and evolved audience only. It is a painting on celluloid which will win a lot of critical acclaim and awards. It will not find favour with the masses and single-screen cinema audience which may even reject the film, mainly because it is excruciatingly slow.

His first film Udaan (2010) was both a commercial success and an entry at Cannes. It’s the kind of reception Bollywood films would get back in the 1950s (Awaara, Do Bhiga Zameen ….). Those films exuded a certain self-assured thehraav, and a love for language, words, even quieter emotions. As does this film.

As much as I’d like to reward Lootera for it’s craft I firmly believe that films can only win you over with the ability to tell a story. And this is where Lootera falters. It allows you to drift away. And this is why Udaan, despite struggling on the technical front with its 16 mm camera and stark walls, will always be an exceptional and better film.