Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is a timeless classic and the remake of such a well known and beloved story had to be a gargantuan undertaking, with well, very great expectations indeed. Did the film meet those expectations? Alas apart from the stark, frozen landscape of Kashmir beautifully captured in the film and the cinematography that as received universal praise, there are many reasons that the film simply did not deliver all that it promised:
Toplessness is not a substitute for a poorly etched character
Aditya Roy Kapoor has perfectly chiseled abs, a head full of luxuriant hair and the stubble just so, but Pip he is not. The Dickensian character demanded singular, tortured passion, an aching vulnerability and a very nuanced performance. As such his Noor was unconvincing; just not enough Fitoor (obsessive passion) there. For instance his shouting Doodh mango kheer denge, Kashmir mango cheer denge was not just incongruous and utterly misplaced, it was cringe worthy and almost comical. Mohammed Abrar as the young Pip was more believable and elicited far more sympathy.
Whither the impervious, icy Estella?
Katrina Kaif does little except look lovely and luminous. The conflict of being brought up as the cold and icy charge of the rather unbalanced Miss Havisham was utterly absent in the movie. Kaif’s Firdaus glided about in exceedingly fashionable clothing with little to explain the choices her character makes.
Begum Hazrat is not Miss Havisham
Miss Havisham’s character was that of an eccentric, slightly unhinged and malevolent woman who was jilted at the altar on her wedding day; who proceeded to live the rest of her life in her wedding dress. Tabu’s Begum Hazrat may have been the most interestingly done character in Fitoor, but as Miss Havisham, was unconvincing with the makeup the overly ornate get-ups and all the languorous lassitude of her character.
Great Expectations was NOT a Mills & Boon romance
The posters and publicity material hinted at some historical bodice ripper meets modern Mills and Boon romance type of story. From these it was difficult to imagine that we were to expect the adaptation of a great and timeless classic.
Too many plot glitches, too much cinematic license
Why does the sister have a limp? How does a militant (Ajay Devgn who plays the Abel Magwitch’s character in the film) suddenly have the money to sponsor an impoverished boy and to buy very expensive art works? How did the poor Kashmiri boy suddenly get transported into Delhi’s high society, a wealthy home and friend circle on the basis of a mere scholarship? How did Firdaus run all the way from her home to Noor’s home in the snow and on treacherous roads in the end? The movie’s disjointedness required too much suspension of disbelief and all this detracted from the story sought to be told.
The expectations were too great
With previous offerings such as the iconic Rock On and Kai Po Che we had high expectations of Abhishek Kapoor who as written, produced and directed the film. Maybe it was the choice of the story which truly is an amazing experience or the cast which included Tabu and raised our expectations. Everything said, our great expectations from Fitoor were dashed. What about you?
Author – Reena Daruwalla
