LOOT-Review

Prashant Rasaily (director of Acharya) once dreamt of a film called 'CROSSROAD' which had a plot revolving around a guy who is jobless and hopes to make it a big one day . Prashant was then walking through the alleys of Bhaktapur and the-narrow-escape- alleys in ASON, he was all ready to shoot the never seen before chase sequences on those dusty locations. For some reason he missed it and shelved the project. Today when i am writing this, i'm hoping he'll catch LOOT someday and will go back to his unfulfilled desire. Yes PRASHANT u planted it, watered it and left it to grow aside & now, now the other guys have come up with the very vision u have had many years back. Though the plot is slightly different this time.


Murray Kerr - a united Kingdom resident, came into Kathmandu and gave his piece about this SICK CITY. In his story , he narrates about an ambitious guy who has a wife and a son to look for. His wife dismisses his idea of living on short cuts, but he wants to cure his poverty with a jackpot that's running in his mind for a while now. Sick City started it and this guy took it far in the form of another tale in LOOT.

Now reviewing Loot-

Five different young lad has the knowledge that they can never lead straight lives -- comes one final, desperate plan made by Haku Kale (saugat Malla). Pull off one gigantic heist, they think, make a pot of money, and use it to re-script the rest of their lives.

They identify the target -- the busy Bank in Kathmandu.

So they plan and carry out the heist -- and without warning, the wheels come off their plot. Guys here's a gang where no trust game is being played, & their tragedy is that they don't realize they can be dumped by the very man (Saugat Malla) they work for.

The film has quite a few things going for it. 

Firstly, precedent: It is unabashedly inspired by Reservoir Dogs, the edgy 1992 underworld thriller with which Quentin Tarantino made his bones for both script and direction. But being inspired is not a crime. Tarantino himself was inspired by a film out of, and about, Hong Kong.

Secondly, technical excellence: Casting (Pravin Khatiwada) is just perfect, but at times Pratikraj Neaupane and Sushil Pandey look tiring - may be because they will grow later .Dialogues (Saugat Malla/Dayahang Rai/Nischal Basnet) are considerably sparser than is the norm for Nepali films, and occasionally, it sparkles with wit. Take, for instance, the scene where SAUGAT is talking the gang through the intricacies of the plan. At one point, he warns rather fool mamber Dayahang to use brain rather than physical power.

P.S:Sugat Malla and Dayahang Rai have written their dialouges own.

They both have given a towering performance, Take a bow Guys! Karma Sakya does a decent job. Sushma Karki in an item song, looks plastic. Reecha Sharma is just ok.

The cinematography (PURUSHOTTAM PRADHAN) and visual action-chase sequence (Yogendra Shrestha) have bragging moments. Purushottam Pradhan has despite a tendency to go a touch over the top, manage to carry out the frames amazingly.

And finally, the five stars themselves -- each has a character etched for him by the script and director, and all 5 of them stay within those parameters. It is also a plus that the director has the temptation to let Saugat Malla hog a substantial number of the frames -- a rather uncommon malaise in films featuring him, that only proves better for the film. Nischal, as a writer /Director knows his job well, but one wishes more taut script, a little less of indulgence in directing, a tad more ruthlessness in editing, and this film could have pulled off a badly needed box office heist. In the event, all that LOOT does is fly the balloon of hope that we cling to each time with a new comer.Here's a hope guys.

At the BOX OFFICE:

The film tries to be different from run of the mill kollywood kitsch, its own inherent 'Nepali-ness' will work wonder at the multiplexes , but a few glaring flaws will ultimately drag it down in small centers. In fact the continuous back and forth narration will work a hitch to these center's business. So it's a big multiplex where it will cut the harvest big. This one is highly entertaining.Go watch u won't regret your money and time.

4.5/5 stars

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JAICINEMA