When a novel as renowned as Charles Dickens' Great Expectations is adapted for cinema, there's not much that can go wrong with the plot, right? After all, the original piece of work received worldwide critical acclaim, and is revered as a classic.
Abhishek Kapoor's Fitoor begs to differ. This is a pointless film, meandering along in no particular direction, stopping and starting until finally it stumbles to a rather boring halt.
For the uninitiated, Fitoor tells the story of a poor orphan boy and his childhood love for a girl who is from a rich elite family. How their social status comes in the way of their romance forms the rest of the story. Oh, and somewhere there's a disjointed flashback as well.
Aditya Roy Kapoor plays Noor (Pip) to Katrina Kaif's Firdaus (Estelle). Kapoor looks alright for the role, but his character is obsessive to the point of creepiness. It's hard to sympathize with Noor when he does the most stupid and desperate things in the name of love, shredding every bit of his self-respect.
Kaif does what she does best: look pretty and not act.
Abhishek Kapoor casts Tabu as Firdaus' mother, Begum Hazrat (Miss Havisham) and despite being burdened with a role where she hardly gets scenes to shine, she's a treat to watch. Her Urdu diction is impeccable and there's a striking resemblance to her portrayal of Ghazala from Haider. She rightfully gets top billing in the opening credits as well.
If there's one thing Abhishek Kapoor did right, it was to make Kashmir the setting of this movie. The place is majestic, as evidenced by the beautiful shots cinematographer Anay Goswami has captured.
Amit Trivedi's music stands out once again, like it always has, in a movie that doesn't deserve it. Pashmina is a gorgeously mounted song, setting the tone for the rest of the movie, only to amount to nothing.
A lot was expected from Abhishek Kapoor after his refreshing Rock On!! and the fact that he made Chetan Bhagat's worst novel into a passably good film in Kai Po Che, but here he definitely falls short of the mark.
Fitoor is a pointless adaptation, and a disjointed film. Not only does it add nothing to the original source material, but it can't even manage to do justice to Dickens' vision.
As to whether you should watch Fitoor, ask no questions and you will be told no lies!
