Lootcase - A quirky yet simple comedy that packs in sufficient laughs!

Bharath Vijayakumar

What happens when a rather honest guy from a lower middle class family chances upon an unimaginable amount of money. He isn't greedy but is also simply unable to resist the temptation. This is what happens to the protagonist of Lootcase. It is probably too generous to term to him as the protagonist in this comedy of errors that revolves around a handful of characters with each one playing a prominent part.

For a comedy like this to work, the casting and performances need to be spot on. When you have quirky characters, you really need to buy into what the actors are upto on screen. While you know that you aren't likely to bump into such characters in your neighborhood, they shouldn't be alien to the world that is depicted on screen. Debutant director Rajesh Krishnan successfully creates a quirky world and the actors fit their parts superbly. Vijay Raaz plays a gangster who is fascinated by wildlife and keeps drawing inspiration from his daily dose of National Geographic channel (or Nat Geo as he likes to call it ). This running gag about him always referring to the zoological names of animals and pressurising his henchmen to subscribe to Nat Geo is terrific. And how this comes back to haunt him and proves fatal during the climax is some brilliant black comedy. Gajraj as the MLA who gets things done by blackmailing in a roundabout manner and Ranveer Shorey as the grim inspector are superb as well. Ranveer's characterisation kept reminding me about Inspector Bramma from Soodhu Kavvum (Tamil movie).

At the centre of all this is the young couple Nandan (Kunal Khemu) and Lata (Rasika Dugal) along with their kid. Kunal and Rasika are pretty good and they vibe well in their scenes together. Chinese cuisine being the metaphor for the intimacy they share is an enjoyable tactic that is funny and also helps to keep this film family friendly. The climax has a bit of graphic violence but is treated in comic book style.

Lootcase is enjoyable right through and is certainly one of the better comedies in recent memory. At times you might feel that nothing much happens with Nandan being content with just hiding the money but that is the whole point as well. He isn't able to tase something despite being in possession of it. You do feel a bit of a lull towards the later half but then things pick up nicely reaching a crescendo of sorts.

Bottomline

An enjoyable comedy that keeps it simple and quirky at the same time!

Rating: 3/5