If Tom Tykwer’s Run Lola Run is a laser-centric electronic dance music with a breath-taking rhythm, then Aakash Bhatia’s Hindi remake of Looop Lapeta is a whimsical, colorful funk song with a rhythm The frequent changes evoke an improvisational quality. If Run Lola Run is about free will and determinism, then Looop Lapeta is about the power of love.
Looop Lapeta was apparently made with audiences in mind of the classic 1998 German time-loop thriller. Bhatia made a bold visual reference to the original red-haired heroine, complete with a little hat: a taxi company called Lola.
Tykwer’s film about a woman who has 3 chances to save her indebted boyfriend. Every time her boyfriend is shot, a new cycle begins, and the heroine, played by Franka Potente, gets a new chance to right the wrongs of the previous time cycle. The dynamic style of the 80-minute film is in perfect sync with the video game-like plot.
When I read that Run Lola Run was doing a Hindi remake, I thought it was a bad idea. First, the biggest selling point of the film is the concept itself. After 24 years, why would anyone want to see the same concept brought to India? Second, if they remake Run Lola Run here, will the makers replicate the style of the original? If not, what might be the right tone for a remake?
Despite my zero-to-low expectations, Bhatia and his team made an ambitious and competent film. At least 50 minutes longer than Run Lola Run, Loop Lapeta has some extra subplots that some might find unnecessary, but I really like them.
First things first: Taapsee Pannu runs a lot in the movies, but I’ve never enjoyed seeing her run so much. She plays Savina, an athlete who quit sports after a knee injury, cut ties with her father, and moved in with her slack boyfriend Satyajit (Tahir Raj Bhasin), who is addicted to gambling in Goa.
Their names immediately indicate what Bhatia and his co-authors Puneet Chadha, Vinay Chhawal, Arnav Nanduri and Ketan Pedgaonkar think of Run Lola Run. While Tykwer’s film is based on TS Eliot’s poem Little Gidding, Looop Lapeta is based on the Hindu myth of Savitri and Satyaban, in which Savitri must bring Satyaban back from the dead.
Satya is in trouble when he loses a bag of money that he has to bring to his boss Victor (Dibyendu Bhattacharya). Victor, who runs a restaurant while holding a marinated turkey in his fist, has the slogan “If you know what I mean”, implying what would happen to Satya if he didn’t get his money back on time deal with. Then it’s up to Savina to decide to race against time to get her irresponsible boyfriend out of this mess.
Complete News Source : Hindustan Times
