#Fitoor, its all about Great Expectations

It's very normal to have great expectations of a Charles Dickens classic, and Great Expectations tells a curious tale memoir style about an insecure peasant youngster who is taken in by a wealthy aristocrat and afforded the opportunity to achieve great things - only for him to be prepared to forsake it all for love. 

Those great expectations are heightened when one considers that this classic is in the hands of an exciting director like Abhishek Kapoor who previously crafted a little gem in Kai Po Che, which with its heady mix of cricket, communal tensions and politics is a modern day artwork.

Art is central to Fitoor because as the youngster matures he discovers his niche and becomes a renowned artist. 
His paintings and sculptures are sought after items selling out instantaneously, and those artworks reflect all his inner angst but as visually striking as Fitoor is - and it is lush, moody and gorgeous - set in lush, moody and gorgeous Kashmir; that is all there is to it; the proceedings are laborious, it lacks soul, desire is shown but not felt and any attempt to connect with its disengaged lead characters is just plain taxing.

Aesthetically everything is spot on, from the setting, to the artworks, to the main leads Aditya Roy Kapoor and Katrina Kaif who are eye candy but Dickens didn't design his classic to exist on looks alone. It was designed to connect with the trials and tribulations of its characters, and the most frustrating thing about this movie is that even its most accomplished actor Tabu fails to make an impact. 
And when Tabu is average, few other things can be right.

Tabu at least has her moments, but to try and muster a similar comment for the lead pair is near impossible.

Aditya Roy Kapoor has a terrific physique, and is all bulging muscles. Those biceps, triceps and six packs would not be out of place in any issue of Mens Health and are afforded a fair whack of screen time. 

If that is sufficient to rock your boat, it may be enough, but my expectations went deeper and I often asked myself whether there is a beating heart under those throbbing muscles…

In keeping with the artistic theme I’m now more convinced than ever that Katrina Kaif is Bollywood’s answer to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, her expressions are best described as enigmatic. It is virtually impossible to decipher whether Katrina is happy, sad or just plain bemused and that monotone voice and anglicized Hindi doesn't help. Katrina wears a single expression in a variety of ways and irrespective of the situation she finds herself in, that expression barely alters and unlike the painting I'd be hard pressed to say I was fascinated by what she represents. 

Their performances are the crux behind Abhishek Kapoor’s inability to scale any great heights.

Word going around is that Katrina's red hair cost a fortune, I’m told a reasonable copy of the Mona Lisa would too but never mind how much we may try to convince ourselves, neither the hair nor the copy are real, because real things are priceless.

Amit Trivedi's emotion filled soundtrack is the one redeeming feature of Fitoor, had the movie replicated some of those emotions then perhaps those great expectations, may have been met. 

Love is not easy goes the caption accompanying Fitoor, and here those involved in it have realized that bringing it alive on celluloid is equally difficult.

        My verdict: