Lootera

Storyline

Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and inspired by O. Henry's 1907 classic short story The Last Leaf, Lootera (2013) is revered by critics and cinephiles as one of the most poetic, visually sublime, and heartbreaking romantic period dramas ever produced in Hindi cinema. Set in 1953 in the aristocratic rural town of Manikpur, West Bengal, against the backdrop of the Zamindari Abolition Act, Pakhi Roy Chowdhury (Sonakshi Sinha in a career-best, melancholic performance), the pampered, sheltered daughter of a wealthy Bengali zamindar, suffers from chronic asthma. Her quiet existence is ignited when charismatic visiting archaeologist Varun Shrivastav (Ranveer Singh in a deeply nuanced, understated performance) arrives to excavate ancient temple ruins on their estate. As an intense romance blossoms and an engagement is finalized, Varun's dark secret as a professional con man and antique thief surfaces on the wedding day, leaving Pakhi betrayed, heartbroken, and ruined. A year later, in the snowy, isolated hills of Dalhousie, a terminally ill Pakhi waits to die as autumn leaves fall from her lone tree, while a fugitive Varun returns seeking redemption. With Amit Trivedi's masterpiece soundtrack and Mahendra Shetty's painterly 35mm cinematography, Lootera is an achingly beautiful, timeless ode to sacrifice and art.