Looop Lapeta movie review: Taapsee Pannu starrer takes much too long to warm up

On Feb 5, 2022

Because he’s the kind of guy who does these things effortlessly, Satya (Tahir Raj Bhasin) manages to lose a bag full of cash. And because Savi (Taapsee Pannu) is his gal, she needs to conjure up the money and reach it to him in record time to save his life, cutting across the streets of Goa, full of zig-zag traffic, runaway brides, enthusiastic cops, and two loopy fellows trying to loot a store. Does she succeed?

‘Looop Lapeta’ is an official remake of the German film ‘Run Lola Run’, where Lola, played by the electric, carrot-haired Franka Potente, has to do the exact same thing to save her boyfriend’s skin, except she has to do that in Berlin, swinging by a bank where her father works. I remember catching my breath at the sheer effrontery of the way that spry girl in those crazy boots manages to race across Berlin, while laughing my head off.

A film whose premise is as slender needs to be fast and furious. ‘Looop Lapeta’ takes much too long to warm up, and gets into its stride only after the interval. Its USP, the looping back of time upon itself, where certain things will happen differently depending upon how it all starts, starts to creak too soon, despite all its stylistic flourishes and cool psychedelic lighting. The film makes you wait for it to get into its stride, and that’s never a good thing.

Quirk needs to be done with flair to have impact. ‘Looop Lapeta’ attempts in that direction do not come off as intended. Dibyendu Bhattacharya’s menacing restaurant owner repeats his favourite line once too many times, if you know what I mean. The squabbling between Appu and Gappu, two no-account siblings over how to steal from their father, is more lame than hilarious.

The segment between runaway bride named Julia (Shreya Dhanwantry who lights up the screen in her small part) and her hapless groom Robert (yes, we got the reference) is better. So is the one in which the big secret behind Savi’s unhappiness with her gym-owner dad (K C Shankar) is revealed. But neither Savi’s exertions nor Satya’s exhortations can save this one from being a slog up until the half way time, when things start to shake, rattle and roll. Finally, it sparks, and the fun that’s been missing comes up to the surface.

Those who have seen the original breakout German film, will recall how the dash across a city parallels a radical shift in the pop-culture narrative that Berlin was experiencing at the time. Lola and Manni were characters which exemplified that shift. Even if Satya and Savi are not burdened with anything as heavy, you do want to know what’s underneath: where do they come from, who are they? The film doesn’t tell us.

In the way it ends, it looks as if there may be a Looop Lapeta part 2. And why not? Because time is circular, and what comes up, goes around. This time, hopefully, for the better?

Looop Lapeta movie cast: Taapsee Pannu, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Shreya Dhanwantry, Rajendra Chawla
Looop Lapeta movie director: Aakash Bhatia
Looop Lapeta movie rating: 2 stars