Taapsee Pannu is running a lot these days. If it’s not her zipping past the white sands of the Rann of Kutch in Rashmi Rocket, she’s on the run from the law in Haseen Dillruba.
Movie Explain
In Aakash Bhatia’s Loop Lapeta, currently streaming on Netflix, he is on the run again and tries hard to save Tahir Raj Bhasi. Adapted from Run Lola Run, Looop Lapeta offers no surprises in terms of ending, but it is catchy. And for that we appreciate Aakash Bhatia’s quirky Indian mythological twist – some may frown, but most will shut up.
Savi (Taapsee) is an athlete, an extension of her Rashmi Rocket avatar, struggling to come to terms with the fact that if things had gone south for her, now that a freak accident destroyed her knee, she would never run again.
He thinks of committing suicide by jumping from the terrace of the hospital he was admitted to. When Satya (Tahir) bursts into her life and the terrace, struggling to smoke a damp maachis ki teeli, she flies over the earring, her life flashing before her eyes in animation – a tip of the hat to Lola Run right there. Sparks fly and both their lives change their tracks.
Loop Lapeta
But Loop Lapeta does, and it helps justify how an ordinary girl like Savi can run through the streets of Goa to save Satya. Like Maani, Satya is skinny, always in trouble and has a gambling problem. Savi makes him swear that he will never set foot in a casino again. He agrees, but the problem still finds him.
He loses a bag worth 50 lakh rupees that was supposed to be delivered to Victor (Dibyendu Bhattacharya) on a bus – as opposed to the subway in the original – and now he’s literally counting down his last minutes, 80 to be exact. he knows he will be crushed by this grave slide.
Lola Run Run doesn’t explore the characters Lola meets on the streets. Looop Lapeta does it too. Jacob is about to walk halfway down the aisle with his taxi driver’s true love, Julia, Robert. “Julia Marries Robert” heads the sign outside the church – and yes, we’ll let you laugh at that.
The jewelery store that Satya decides to rob – instead of Maani’s grocery store – introduces us to three unique characters, the jeweler Mamlesh and his two nikamma sons. The sons themselves plan to rob the store because baap ka maal hai, literally. And then the pot-bellied policeman chasing Savi stops in between, haggling for fresh fish.
While Run Lola Run presents us with the stories of these side characters in polaroid flashes, Looop Lapeta makes them part of the narrative. Was it too much? Honestly, no. Because it gives some depth to the story and gives ample room for laughs.
Savi starts again at a point where he gets another chance to save Satya. Drawing parallels with the Savitri-Satyavaan story, Looop adds another dimension to Lapeta. The fact that the main characters were already named Savi and Satya (shortened to Savina and Satyajeet respectively) was a dead giveaway, but we don’t mind.
Performances
Taapsee Pannu’s performance has little fault. He has reached the level of acting precision he rivals and wins every time. Tahir Raj Bhasin was very good in this. After a truly stellar show like Ranjish Hi Sahi, Tahir is finally getting his due with Looop Lapeta and Kaali Kaali Ankhein before him (both on Netflix).
He has been waiting on the threshold for a long time, from Mardani, that is. Shreya Dhanwanthary as Julia had a bit role but got a monologue which she delivered to perfection. Go Karthik Aaryan.
Looop The music on Lapeta does what it does on Run Lola Run – keep it all together. An unusual scenario and the play of retro and neon colors give it an additional advantage.
Towards the end, as Savi leaves the casino, Run Lola runs into another red-haired girl at the tip of the hat to Run. That’s what we like most about Looop Lapeta – it doesn’t try to copy, it just adapts to it, knowing perfectly the material that created it. Check out Looop Lapeta as a tribute to Run Lola Run, not a remake, you’ll enjoy it.
