''Fitoor'' (''Madness, Obsession, Passion'') is a 2016 Indian
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
-language
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
romantic drama
Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...
directed by
Abhishek Kapoor, produced by
Siddharth Roy Kapur, and written by Kapoor and Supratik Sen based on
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
' 1861 novel ''
Great Expectations
''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by English author Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. The novel is a bildungsroman and depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens' second novel, after ''Dav ...
''.
[Aditya Royn Kapur, Katrina Kaif to pair up for 'Fitoor'](_blank)
. Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 23 October 2013. The film features
Tabu,
Katrina Kaif, and
Aditya Roy Kapur in lead roles. Filming began in
Kashmir
Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
in November 2014 and concluded in October 2015.
''Fitoor'' was released on 12 February 2016, coinciding with the
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...
weekend, and proved to be an underwhelming success at the box-office. Upon release, the film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with high praise for its soundtrack, cinematography, costumes, and performances of the cast, with Tabu's performance receiving widespread critical acclaim; however, its screenplay and pacing received criticism.
[Tabu replaces Rekha as Miss Havisham in 'Fitoor'](_blank)
. Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
Plot
Noor Nizami, a 13-year-old Kashmiri schoolboy from a lower-middle-class family, works as a part-time errand boy in order to earn some pocket money. His employer is Begum Hazrat Jahaan, a rich widow who lives in perpetual mourning and never leaves her sprawling but run-down mansion. She therefore needs an errand boy to do the shopping, go to the post office, the bank and so forth, and for this she employs the Noor, the son of a respectable but poor family. Noor becomes infatuated with Hazrat's daughter, Firdaus, who is the same age as him. Hazrat notices this, and disapproves of her daughter being so friendly with an errand boy. Nevertheless, Noor and Firdaus grow closer until Hazrat sends her abroad to a posh boarding school, insulting and taunting Noor as she breaks the news. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Hazrat had been left heartbroken in her youth by her lover, presumably Firdaus's father.
Ten years later, Noor is a grown-up young man with artistic talent. He wants to go to a prestigious art school in Delhi but lacks money. He suddenly receives a scholarship to attend the same art school, sponsored by an anonymous benefactor who has seen his work at a patrons' symposium organized by the school. He moves to Delhi, where he encounters Firdaus and Hazrat. Due to several coincidences, Noor begins to believe that it is Hazrat who is paying for him to go to art school. By this time, Firdaus is engaged to Bilal, a Pakistani diplomat. However, there is an immediate rapport between her and Noor even after so many years. Hazrat habitually treats Noor like an underling or errand boy, and after she observes the rapport, she makes her behavior towards him even more peremptory and insulting. This is acceptable to Noor, who thinks that beneath her tough exterior, she is actually his patroness. Noor's feelings for Firdaus have not changed, and they begin a friendship, which evolves into a relationship. Hazrat sees that Noor is now a successful artist who moves in posh circles, and she slowly begins to realise her mistake, but she is still adamant that Firdaus should marry Bilal. A flashback of Hazrat and her lover, Mufti, who left her pregnant and ran away with all her jewels, indicates why she is so adamant that her daughter should treat Noor with maximal wariness and marry Bilal, the conventional, safe choice.
Noor travels for an art show in London, where he finds out that his art scholarship was actually sponsored by Moazzam, a Kashmiri terrorist who he had saved when he was young, and not by Hazrat. Noor is deeply alarmed to distress on realizing that he is merely a pawn in Moazzam's scheme, but is even more shocked and upset as it dawns on him how Hazrat has been playing him all along. Noor confronts her; she denies manipulating him and bursts into a fit of rage, where she rants about her former lover Mufti. Noor realizes that she has been seeking redemption by transposing her desire for vengeance against Mufti towards him by tormenting him and plotting to destroy him; she cannot bear to see other young people happy, not even her own daughter. Noor goes back to the gallery and burns his artwork, which was related to the memory of Firdaus. Another flashback shows that in fact, she lost her baby and Firdaus is her adopted daughter. She wakes up from that semi-dream distraught at what Noor has said about her bitter and diseased inner self and she then commits suicide.
At her funeral, a grieving Firdaus (who remains engaged to Bilal, and still intends to marry him, as per Hazrat's ardent desire) opens the pendant which Hazrat always wore around her neck. She is astonished to find inside it a picture of a happy young couple: Mufti and Hazrat. She realizes that Hazrat has never been able to get over her love for Mufti, despite the fact that he was a horrendous fraudster. Firdaus suddenly realizes that she herself will never be able to get over her love for Noor, who genuinely loves her and is an honest and good man. With this realization, Firdaus decides to break her engagement with Bilal and spend her life with Noor.
Cast
Production
Development
In October 2013,
Disney UTV announced its upcoming production ''Fitoor'', a
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
adaptation of
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
' novel ''
Great Expectations
''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by English author Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. The novel is a bildungsroman and depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens' second novel, after ''Dav ...
'' to be directed by
Abhishek Kapoor with
Katrina Kaif and
Aditya Roy Kapur signed as the lead pair.
Rekha was confirmed for the role of Begum Hazrat in January 2014 but later opted out and was replaced by
Tabu.
The film also stars
Aditi Rao Hydari
Aditi Rao Hydari (born 28 October 1986) is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi cinema, Hindi, Tamil cinema, Tamil, and Telugu cinema, Telugu films. Born into the Tyabji family, Tyabji–Hydari family, she made her acting debut with the Mal ...
,
Rahul Bhat,
Akshay Oberoi,
Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta Bhupathi ( Dutta; born 16 April 1978) is an Indian actress. She won the Miss Universe 2000, and has since predominantly worked in Hindi films and series. Dutta is a recipient of a Filmfare Awards, Filmfare Award and established hers ...
,
Suchitra Pillai and Andy Von Eich in supporting roles. The script was written in a span of over one year with the British writer and Katrina Kaif's then rumored boyfriend Ritwik Wrights leading the production unit.
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began in
Srinagar
Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...
,
Kashmir
Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
in November 2014 and continued at
Nishat Bagh on the banks of the
Dal Lake in Srinagar in January 2015. The film was also shot at
Humayun's Tomb in
Nizamuddin East,
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
in March 2015. The remaining portion of the film was shot in
Mehboob Studio
Mehboob Studio is an Indian film studio and recording studio in Bandra (W), Mumbai, founded in 1954 by director and producer Mehboob Khan, who previously owned Mehboob Productions (founded 1942), and is most known for films such as '' Mother I ...
s,
Filmistan Studios and
Film City,
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
from April to September 2015. In September 2015, the cast and crew flew off to
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
to shoot the last leg of the film at the Goetz Palace,
Brzesko and
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
's traditional and contemporary
art galleries
An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...
. The shooting of the film was wrapped in October 2015.
Soundtrack
The songs of ''Fitoor'' were composed by
Amit Trivedi, while the lyrics were penned by
Swanand Kirkire. Hitesh Sonik composed the film's
score. The first song "Yeh Fitoor Mera" sung by
Arijit Singh was released on 7 January 2016.
The second song "Pashmina" was released on 14 January 2016.
The official soundtrack of the film was released on 18 January 2016 by
Zee Music Company
Zee Music Co. (ZMC) is an Indian music company, a subsidiary of Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It carries its business activities mainly from New Delhi. The company has captured a major chunk of market share in Music of Bollywood, Bollywood m ...
.
Reception
''Fitoor'' received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics upon release, with high praise for its soundtrack, cinematography, costumes and performances of the cast, with Tabu's performance receiving widespread critical acclaim; however, its screenplay and pacing received criticism.
Rachit Gupta from ''
Filmfare'' gave the film a positive review and remarked "The casting of the film is brilliantly done. Kapur looks his part; with his chiseled physique and restrained intensity, he plays Noor with good effect. Kaif and her red hair seduce you and make you submit to untamed beauty. Not just that, her performance is really good. However, Tabu, like always, is the highlight of the film. In the first half, her character lurks in the shadows, but in the latter part, when her story assumes a larger role, the actress hits top gear. Even supporting performances from Aditi Rao Hydari, Lara Dutta and Rahul Bhat are fantastic." However, he expressed mixed views about the film's screenplay saying "The source material, the classic novel by Charles Dickens lends good matter to the story, but a lot is lost in adaptation." Anil Sinanan from
''TimeOut'' rated the film 3 stars out of 5 and remarked, "Director Abhishek Kapoor stays true to the complex plot and the novel’s themes of social alienation and moral redemption. Sadly, he is let down by his two attractive leads who fail to bring the depth required to these tortured souls." He, however, highly praised Tabu stating "she, in the Miss Havisham role, brings emotional complexity and dignity to the proceedings" and concluded his review writing, "Worth seeing, but go with low expectations."
In a mixed-to-positive review, Sweta Kaushal from ''
Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...
'' praised the film's cinematography and soundtrack and opined, "Cinematographer Anay Goswami deserves credit for capturing Kashmir’s gorgeous exquisiteness in all its details -- the white snow-covered mountains, red chinar leaves and the grey of winters. Amit Trivedi’s soulful music enamours us, surrounded as we are with so much surreal beauty." She also praised Tabu and Kapur's performances, saying, "Tabu and Kapur are undoubtedly the best bets in ''Fitoor'', with the former bringing in dramatic energy and a sense of gravitas to the film, while the latter's haunting looks and intense, lovelorn facial expressions lending much weight to the proceedings." He, however, criticised Kaif's performance, saying, "her dialogues sound fake and her one-dimensional acting fails to bring across the passion even in the most intimate of scenes." She concluded her review, saying that "Melodrama and a superficial love story are some of the road blocks that hinder a beautiful cinematic journey Abhishek Kapoor wanted to take you on." Anna MM Vetticad from ''
Firstpost
Firstpost is an Indian news website owned by Network18 Group, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. It has posted misinformation on multiple occasions.
The Network 18 group was originally owned by Raghav Bahl. In January 2012, the gro ...
'' opined about the cast performances, saying "This might have been forgiveable if it weren’t for the casting of Firdaus. Kaif is woefully inadequate, trying to convey Firdaus’ sorrow and confusion with expressionlessness. To make matters worse, her screen companion through much of the film is an actress who has the ability to eke out feelings from a log of wood. This is not Tabu’s best, but in a role that could have been easily over-played and caricatured, she elicits some degree of empathy even for her decidedly unlikeable character. Aditya as Noor is efficient, but that’s about it." She concluded her review saying "''Fitoor''’s primary problem is that it fails to conjure up the sort of passion that it should have and could have with less literalness and better central casting."
Srijana Mitra Das from ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' rated the film 3 stars out of 5 and opined, "''Fitoor''
's acting pleases in parts. While Tabu shines through moments of malevolent manipulation, and Kapur occasionally conveys well a bewildered lover lost in a whimsical world, Kaif however looks gorgeous but mostly stays placid." She concluded her review saying, "The film looks gorgeous, but opulence takes over substance – chinars, minars and lace dominating grip, passion and pace. For a love story, ''Fitoor'' lacks heat – you wish there was less hair-styling and more hair-pulling, more rupture and less cheesecake-like smoothness." Namrata Joshi from ''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' remarked that the film's "proceedings flummox, the happenstance baffles and each of the leading characters' motivations remain utterly unconvincing." However, she praised Tabu's performance saying, "Tabu holds the viewer in her grasp".
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitoor
2016 films
2010s Hindi-language films
2010s Indian films
2016 romantic drama films
Indian romantic drama films
Films set in Jammu and Kashmir
Films set in Delhi
Films set in India
Films based on Great Expectations
Films shot in India
Films shot in Jammu and Kashmir
Films shot in Delhi
Films shot in Warsaw
Films shot in Poland
UTV Motion Pictures films
Films scored by Amit Trivedi
Films directed by Abhishek Kapoor
Films about artists
Films about fictional painters