“Looop Lapeta” is a truly unique attempt at story-telling and the changing face of Indian cinema in the era of the rise of OTT platforms. But as you sit through the 2 hours of this movie, you realize that it was almost 45 minutes too long.
What is ‘Looop Lapeta’ about?
The movie is about a couple, Savi and Satya, who are stuck in a time loop, one that only Savi is aware of, and it is up to her to save the life of Satya by arranging for Rs. 50,00,000 to salvage the situation.
In “Looop Lapeta,” Savi, played by Taapsee Pannu, is an ex-athlete who has “settled” down with Satya, played by Tahir Raj Bhasin, a small-time gambler with a knack for getting into trouble, which he does when he loses a huge sum of money and calls up Savi, with his life on the line, asking her to help find a solution. Every time Savi comes close to solving it all, a tragedy occurs, and somehow, time resets itself to the beginning, giving her another chance to solve it. Her attempts at doing so are presented in the form of a crossover between a situational comedy and a comedy of errors. While Indian movies like “Super Deluxe” and “Kaalakandi” have done this very well, “Looop Lapeta” doesn’t do it at all. It doesn’t even come close.
The Good
Looop Lapeta is a remake of the 1998 German film “Run Lola Run.” While most can’t claim to have seen the original, the concept of “Looop Lapeta” makes you think of another show from recent times called “Russian Doll.” For the Indian audience, this was truly a new concept, and the simplicity of the plot coupled with the brilliant screenplay guaranteed a great film, but sadly, it was not to be.
Before we answer the question, why “Looop Lapeta” disappoints, let’s elaborate on the acknowledged screenplay of the film, which has been thoroughly used for the humor quotient, and it would have worked if the script had been tighter. Currently, it just acts as a filler for the lack of substance of the movie, and we cannot stress enough how sad that is considering it is actually great work, the kind that even cinema amateurs would recognize.
The Bad
One of the major problems with “Looop Lapeta” is that the writers have tried to make literally every single frame funny, and that is exactly what has ended up stretching the film out while diluting the whole attempt. The real art of humor is in letting it remain effortless, and the film is very obviously blind to this fact. It is in one of the initial scenes, the one where Satya is being given instructions by his boss about the money, that we first feel how tedious it is. The conversations between Appu and Gappu, the sons of the jewelry shop owner, are, to put it simply, quite boring. And the running gag of repeating the amount multiple times each time Rs 50,00,000 is mentioned becomes extremely irritating very quickly. The dialogue is unfunny, plain and simple. Bollywood needs to realize that speaking in metaphors just for the sake of it does not add humor or drama to any situation; it only adds cringe.
Should You Watch It?
Only if it becomes a topic of discussion on social media. It’s worth staying in the “loop” of things to avoid FOMO. Otherwise, it really is a skip. Taapsee Pannu and Tahir Raj Bhasin are brilliant actors but completely wasted in this film due to their one-dimensional characters. The latter is seen just messing things up and then panicking throughout, and it makes us wonder why Savi is with him to begin with if she just wanted to ‘slow down’. Savi, on the other hand, is just seen running throughout the film, and the fact that the injury on her leg is covered by pink tape is painfully obvious. Normally, we would have given that detail a skip, but considering that the movie’s only salvaging point is its details, we had to mention that.
“Looop Lapeta” feels like a frame-by-frame adaptation of a manga, with no sensitivity or nuance to the story’s medium of communication. But while discussing the negatives of the movie, it would be unfair not to mention a part of the film that we actually enjoyed: the story arc of the taxi driver and the bride. The bride’s monologue was something that gave us a respite from the surrounding scenes, and the few moments of screen space taken up by Sameer Kevin Roy delivered the intended effect of his role.
Perhaps watch the film to gain a better understanding of how such good actors, such a wonderful and detail-oriented screenplay, and such a unique concept can all come together and still be a let-down, because everything but the script was given attention. To repeat what we said before, shortening the movie by at least 30 minutes would have made it a much better watch.
In Conclusion
Despite our disappointment with the movie, it has managed to prove the capability of Indian cinema and how it just needs that one chance. “Looop Lapeta” was a let-down, but it established the cerebral capabilities of the existing talent, which makes sure that we look beyond mainstream Bollywood. Taapsee continues her reign as the queen of experimental and off-beat cinema, and Tahir Raj Bhasin deserves to be a busier actor. That said, here’s to looking forward to a future where mainstream cinema fare becomes something to brag about on international platforms. We are taking steps in that direction. All we need to do is to keep going.
Read More: ‘Looop Lapeta’ Ending, Explained: Is Savi Able To Help Satya?
“Looop Lapeta” is a 2022 Indian Drama film directed by Aakash Bhatia.
