Lootcase

Lootcase
Image source: Google

Ratings: 2.5/5

Duration: 2 Hrs 10 Mins

Director: Rajesh Krishnan

Genre: Comedy

Release Date: 31st July 2020 (India)

Streaming On: Disney+ Hotstar

Star Cast: Kunal Khemu, Rasika Dugal, Ranvir Shorey, Gajraj Rao, Vijay Raaz, Aakash Dabhade, Aryan Prajapati

Plot: Nandan Kumar, the character played by Kunal Kemmu is a printing press employee with a nagging wife Lata (Rasika Dugal) at home and a demanding kid (Aryan Prajapati).Life takes an unexpected turn, when he stumbles upon a red briefcase filled with cash.

Since being one among the many million faces drowning in the burden of middle-class life, he finds this opportunity good enough to improve his livelihood, hence takes home the briefcase without knowing anything about how it got there on a dingy street, to whom it belongs to, and from where it’s came from.

Soon enough, he finds himself being chased by a notorious gangster (Vijay Raaz), an honest cop (Ranvir Shorey) and a minister (Gajraj Rao). Will this suitcase rather a ‘lootcase’ be the end of his woes or the beginning of new sorrows forms the rest of the story.

Review: Rajesh Krishnan’s ‘Lootcase’ reminded me of the Netflix release, Choked: Paisa Bolta Hai, directed by Anurag Kashyap which was about a middle-class housewife who finds bundles of cash floating up out of the drain below her kitchen sink.

Still, Lootcase offers hope that it might have something new ‘fresh-from-the-oven’ to say - with the blend of laughter, suspense and menace. But the overall theme, as well as the parallel stories and all the chaos and commotion are rendered in a fashion that turns all too predictable and too stretched.

However, it’s the performances that make up for the damage. Kunal Khemu is known for his comic timing and pulls off his ‘oh-so-Aam-Aadmi’ character well. Rasika Duggal as Kunal’s wife lends good support. 

The gangsta Vijay Raaz, obsessed with National Geographic and borrowing life lessons from the wild, has done a good job. Gajraj Rao  as a corrupt politician who issues sugar-coated threats that he insists are not threats, doesn’t disappoint either. The corrupt cop Ranvir Shorey who requests a cup of tea from the wives of men he is about to kill is good too. Even the child actor Aryan Prajapati shines in his brief role, who plays Nandan and Lata’s son. The comic timings of all the actors are impeccable and brimming with potential.

When it comes to the technical aspects of the film, the screenplay by Kapil Sawant and Rajesh Krishnan could have been better. Dialogues by Kapil Sawant, could have been more humorous. But are funny at places, for instance, “Bol tu kaunse gang ka aadmi hai?  To which, Kemmu replies, “Main toh Lata ka aadmi hun.”

Cinematography by Sanu John Varghese is average, whereas the editing by Anand Subaya could have been better too. As with crisp editing the film could have been cut short to a one-and-a-half-hour film rather than two hours plus.

As far as the music is concerned - the music by Rohan-Vinayak & Amar Mangrulkar is just about okay, below average. Other than ‘Muft Ka Chandan’ nothing would pop right on top. Also, the background score by Sameer Uddin is passable.

Overall, Lootcase is well begun but half done and predictable though makes for a fun one-time watch. A movie to catch, if you are on the search for something light-hearted with good performances!