March Issue 2016

The serene beauty of Srinagar, Kashmir, and a beautiful girl galloping in on a horse against a snowy backdrop, make for a perfect setting to fall in love.

As Noor (Aditya Kapoor), a poor orphan boy, sees Firdous (Katrina Kaif), the adopted daughter of a rich Begum Hazrat (Tabu) for the first time, he is instantly besotted by her — for life.

A loose adaptation of Charles Dickens’ ‘Great Expectations,’ Fitoor is shot in the picturesque locations of the Dal Lake in Kashmir and Humayun’s Tomb in Nizamuddin East, Delhi. The last portion of the film was shot at the Goetz Palace, Brzesko and Warsaw’s traditional and contemporary art galleries, where Noor displays his work as an artist.

He paints, makes sculptures and sees Firdaus as his muse. Aditya Roy does a reasonably good job playing a heartbroken artist. Katrina looks her usual self — an ethereal beauty who lacks expression. Her twangy Hindi accent gels with the character, who leaves for London at an early stage to study and returns after many years.

Tabu, who plays the Indian equivalent of Mrs. Havisham in the original book, is detached and seductive. The character was exploited and betrayed in her youth and grew to be a hardened soul, something that Tabu reflects really well in her impeccable acting. She is aware of Noor’s fondness for Firdaus and warns him to refrain from dreaming about her. When Noor receives a mysterious fully-funded opportunity to move to Delhi, he assumes that Begum Hazrat is behind this.

Once in Delhi, he meets Lara Dutta, appearing in a cameo as an art dealer. Noor’s heartbreak doesn’t go away in all these years and he seems undeterred by the prospect of making a name for himself. In Delhi, he comes across Firdaus, who has just returned after getting a degree from the London School of Design. By this time, she is engaged to be married to a Pakistani minister. Firdaus comes across as slightly unfeeling and appears mechanical, rather than passionate, about love. Slowly and steadily, she develops affection for Noor but remains engaged to the minister. But then comes a time, when she has to make a choice.

The music, composed by Amit Trivedi with lyrics penned by Komail Shayan and Swanand Kirkire, are disappointing and easily forgotten. “Yeh Fitoor Mera” sung by Arijit Singh is pleasant to hear but doesn’t reverberate the emotions of pain and love. The cinematography by Anay Goswami, however, is a treat to watch with the red chinar leaves, snowy mountains and Kashmir’s exquisiteness captured beautifully.

This romantic drama by Abhishek Kapoor received a lukewarm response both from critics and at the box office. It could only manage to earn Rs. 3.50 crore on its first day.

This review was originally published in Newsline’s March 2016 issue.