Lootcase

In a recent interview, actor-director Vineeth Sreenivasan was asked about the content that was available on OTT platforms during the lockdown and he mentioned a fact that most of them were dark and edgy material that in a way wasn’t looking appealing, considering the actual state of the world right now. Despite the hiccups in the second half, Lootcase directed by Rajesh Krishnan is a really hilarious comedy that we all needed at this time. The Kunal Khemu starrer has the texture of those Priyadarshan comedies and thus it easily becomes a recommendable film.

Nandan Kumar, a mechanic at a newspaper office is our central protagonist. One day when he was coming home after work, he happened to get a suitcase that had 1 Million rupees. Obviously his greed and need made him take that money. The suitcase and the content inside it were extremely important to a minister named Patil. And he decided to apply all his forces to find the suitcase. The early joy and the obvious sufferings Nandan had to face due to the arrival of this money is the plot of Lootcase.

This is not the Anees Bazmee or Prabhu Deva style eccentric comedy. Rajesh Krishnan has roped in terrific actors to play the roles and the writing gives all of them ample space to create an impression. I couldn’t control my laughter in that introduction scene of Vijay Raaz and I am pretty sure the “NatGeo Subscription” thing is going to stay with me for some time. Even though it is a rare coincidence scenario, the script is indeed addressing the practicality of things. When Nandan tells his neighbor that the house key of the neighbor went inside the toilet, the neighbor immediately asks the logical question of “why would you take my house key into your toilet?”

Directed by Rajesh Krishnan and co-written by Kapil Sawant, I think the major plus of the movie is in the way it has built the characters. Kunal Khemu is the hero and there is a larger emphasis on him. But Rajesh and Kapil are using the terrific pool of actors in the best possible way. The soft-spoken minister’s threatening, the always confused Omar, NatGeo obsessed Bala, the nagging wife Lata, and the angry Inspector Kolte are all really memorable characters. The scene where the auto-rickshaw guy talks about his drawing skills or the scene where the Bank manager talks about his father’s book etc were actually pointless moments, but because they knew how not to drag such moments in the film, all those small bits enhanced the comedy mood of the movie. Some of the songs are forcefully added to the movie for the sake of having songs, but they merged it with some events from the main narrative to make them look less isolated.

With that perfect haircut and well-maintained physique, Kunal Khemu might not look like that struggling lower-middle-class guy with a wife and a kid, but his performance was really impressive. Nandan will remind you of the helpless hero we see in Priyadarshan movies and Khemu hasn’t overdone the semi eccentric character. Rasika Duggal as Nandan’s wife Lata was effective as the complaining working woman. Gajraj Rao has done characters who talk nicely to others and this time there is a threatening layer to that niceness and the actor used it effectively to make the character unique. Ranvir Shorey as the hot-headed inspector Kolte was intimidating and funny. And Vijay Raaz as Bala is incredibly hilarious even when his expression changes in the most subtle way.

I am not saying Lootcase is a thorough entertainer. Somewhere in the middle portion after setting up the whole premise you can sense the movie struggling to get a move on. But considering the chaotic comedy mood of the movie, this is something one would easily ignore. With a fabulous set of actors doing their job neatly, Lootcase is easily that stress-buster-comedy one would definitely enjoy during this time.

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