Last year’s debacle Shaandaar proved that even films that seem like for-sure great entertainers can turn out to be damp squibs. Fitoor gets added to this list. It’s a film that had everything going in its favour – great star cast, a successful director, a superb production house, soulful music, stunning locations and adapted from a classic novel. Alas, despite so many strengths, Fitoor fails to entice and entertain!

The story of the movie: Noor (Aditya Roy Kapur) is a fine painter based in Srinagar. He gets a chance to work in Delhi and showcase his paintings. In the capital city, he meets Firdaus (Katrina Kaif), whom he used to love a lot as a kid. Firdaus too had feelings for him and it gets reignited. However, their love story is not going to be easy, chiefly because of Firdaus’s mysterious mother, Begum Hazrat (Tabu).

Fitoor has a fine beginning and does have some engaging moments in the first hour. However, it’s nothing extraordinary and once Noor-Firdaus get intimate, the film starts falling. The conflicts in their love story never seem big enough and hence very unconvincing. Also, the chemistry between the lead pair is lacking. Begum is a great character but at places, it doesn’t make the desired impact. Also, her sequences in the end could have been better executed. There are moments in the second half where the film does catch one’s attention but again, the following sequence takes the film back into the unexciting phase.



Fitoor rests on fine performances but none of them would list in ‘one of the best performances of the year’ category. Aditya Roy Kapur does a fine job and it’s great that he’s playing different kind of characters. His body in the film is enviable and he ensures he gets to flaunt it regularly throughout the narrative. Katrina Kaif as always looks extremely stunning. She gives her best shot and it’s sad that despite featuring in a film that gives her an author backed role, it won’t add much to her career since the film itself is not memorable enough. She has a superb screen presence and deserves better films and better performances. Tabu plays a complicated character and tries her best to do justice. Ajay Devgn (Muazzam) in fact is the best performer in the film. Although he just has a special appearance, his scenes take the film to another level. Rahul Bhat (Bilal) is strictly okay. Aditi Rao Hydari (young Begum) and Akshay Oberoi (Mufti) do a fine job. Master Mohammed Abrar Sheikh (little Noor) and baby Tunisha Sharma (little Firdaus) deliver great performances and dominate the first 20 minutes of the film quite well. Lara Dutta (Leena) is fine and looks quite pretty. Kunaal Khyaan (Aarif) makes his presence felt. Others are okay.

Amit Trivedi’s music is soulful but sadly, most of the songs are not allowed to make an impact. Ranga Re is an awesome track (superb instrumentals) but is wasted in the film. Same goes for Haminastu. Viewers will be disappointed to know that the video of Aditya-Katrina dancing in the Pashmina song is missing in the film. But Pashmina’s audio and title song thankfully are neatly incorporated. Hitesh Sonik’s background score is exhilarating. Anay Goswamy’s cinematography is very stunning. The locales are beautifully captured. Supratik Sen and Abhishek Kapoor’s screenplay is not engaging enough. Supratik Sen’s dialogues however are layered, sharp and make a lot of sense. Abhishek Kapoor’s direction doesn’t quite work, which is shocking since he rocked with Kai Po Che. But then the script itself isn’t exciting and hence he couldn’t do much in the direction department. He just couldn’t involve the audiences in the drama which seems scattered and very unconvincing. He surely has the ability and hope he gets back to his form with his next film!

On the whole, Fitoor is a disappointing and dull fare. It has so many plusses going on in its favour but the unexciting script and direction ruin the show. Avoid!

My rating - ** out of 5!