Rating: C+
Dir: Rajaram Rajendran
Star: Tannishtha Chatterjee, Abid Anwar, Danny Sura, Alexx O’Nell
I am beginning to wonder whether Run Lola Run was really popular in India. We already covered the official Bollywood remake, Looop Lapeta. Now there’s this, an indie Indian film – as it were – which definitely seems to owe a significant debt to Lola. Before we get to that, let me just say again, how much I love Tubi, for giving me access to a film with a whopping seventeen votes on the IMDb at the time of writing. OK. This takes place in a disused rural factory, where a group of scientists are testing their time machine. The largely unwitting subject is Rani (Chatterjee), the facility caretaker, who doesn’t know what she’s getting into for her three lakhs pay, or about $3,400. Not bad.
She figures it out when she is sent back in time, and sees herself approaching the factory. But when Rani returns to her husband, he is dead in suspicious circumstances. She goes to the team and demands to be sent back again, so she can save him. And again, as necessary. Until she gets it right. The similarities to Lola should be obvious, with a woman recycling her life in order to save the (largely useless) man she loves. This is considerably more laid-back, in particular taking its time to set things up, instead of hitting the ground (literally) running. There’s more effort at an explanation too, though the machine is little more than a means to the end needed for the movie.
Rani is, of course, nowhere near as good. It’s hampered by the language barrier, which sees the heroine speaking Hindi, a language barely understood by only one of the scientists. I suspect this may be part of the point, illustrating the sharp divide locally between rural/urban, and educated/not so much. But at least one of the scientists’ English isn’t up to much either, and the concept hampers things more than it helps. Given the situation, it all feels quite low-energy, with Rani never getting above a saunter, as she seeks to prevent her husband’s demise. I guess her sari is a factor, yet you’re left to wonder: if she doesn’t seem too bothered, why should the viewer be? Sometimes, I wanted to yell, “Hello! DEAD HUSBAND!” at the screen.
On the positive side, I liked Chatterjee, and she is the glue which holds the movie together, driven by her strength of purpose. The boffins may think they are exploiting Rani (when not scheming among themselves), but end up taking orders from her. The element of multiple copies operating simultaneously, is an intriguing one, and well-handled. It leads to some striking imagery too, where Rani v2.0 is watching an oblivious Rani 1.0 (top). There is actual structure present, and rules of operation, gradually becoming clear. You need to stick with this: I almost bailed in the early going. Yet I’m glad I didn’t, because once things round into shape, it is not a waste of time. Pun very much intended. No clue about the relevance of the poster though. The space-suit shows up at the beginning and is never mentioned thereafter