Watch: Bollywood actress Taapsee Pannu plays the saviour in ‘Looop Lapeta’

Pannu, who plays the plucky protagonist Savi, is literally on the run to save her hapless boyfriend Satya (Tahir Raj Bhasin) who loses his mobster boss’ Rs50 million (Dh2.4 million) loot and desperately calls his girlfriend to save his skin.

From the word go, Savi’s in charge and she’s hurtling against time.

“It’s time to share that load, ladies,” said Bhasin cheekily in a group Zoom interview with the cast and director of ‘Looop Lapeta’.

Directed by Aakash Bhatia, ‘Looop Lapeta’ — out on Netflix on February 4 — is the Hindi-language adaptation of Tom Tykwer’s seminal 1998 German film ‘Run Lola Run’.

While the original saw a desperate red-haired woman running around the streets of Berlin to save her lover from the clutches of an evil mobster, the Bollywood equivalent sees a sassy Savi sprinting around the narrow alleys of Goa.

She’s passionate, frantic and exudes the restless energy of a child high on sugar.

The outlandish time loop comedy explores three disparate endings to the same messy situation and is fuelled by quirky characters along with bizarre turns including an ill-conceived, impromptu jewellery heist, short-fused cab driver and a reluctant bride. Each episode plays out three scenarios of what happens when Savi tries to help her lover.

“When I heard the story from the two writers Ketan [Pedgaonkar] and Vinay [Chhahwal], it was an instant yes because I have never heard this kind of concept or writing style before. Not many comedy films come my way. They are not funny and often make me the object of the jokes which I didn’t want to do. It’s just so beautifully layered and will always be remembered for the style,” said Pannu. This self-made star is one of Bollywood’s most versatile actresses who is always game to experiment with cinema and roles.

If ‘Manmarziyaan’ saw her play a feisty, selfish woman who marries someone else to spite her commitment-phobic lover, then ‘Haseen Dillruba’ saw her in a wicked role of a cheating spouse. ‘Looop Lapeta’ is also likely to tap into her craziness as an artist and won’t skip to the regular beats of a Bollywood comedy.

Unlike traditional comic capers, the narrative of ‘Looop Lapeta’ is non-linear and the characters are collectively zany.

And that’s a point that did not escape actor Bhasin, who plays a goofy hero who isn’t always on top of his game. Gambling is his biggest weakness, and he makes questionable calls in a casino. But his character is more sure-footed when it comes to his love for Savi. He wants to put a ring on her, but she’s the skittish one.

“In one scene, he’s a diehard romantic and in the other scene, he’s this goofy, paranoid and erratic person. I just love those variations in his character,” said Bhasin. Apparently in real life, these two actors aren’t like their characters, but that dichotomy made their roles more appealing.

While the film is an official adaptation of the cult classic, it isn’t a scene-by-scene remake in the traditional sense, warns director Bhatia. Great effort was taken to transplant the iconic film into an Indian context. Everything might appear spontaneous, but this comedy was no flash in the pan.

“It was a very technical film in terms of execution and the idea behind planning is that once we are on set, the only thing we improvise is with the performances of actors and nothing else. We knew the shot, the angle, the lens, the light … We knew everything,” said Bhatia.

The director, who helmed some of the episodes of hit series ‘Inside Edge’, believes his film is a telling portrait of a modern Indian couple.

“Savi and Satya are a contemporary couple… Their equation is not just about constantly loving each other. They like each other’s company … Maybe one says ‘I love you a lot more than the other’. But that’s their awareness of their relationship,” said Bhatia.

As soon as the director made the remark, actor Bhasin jumps in. The ‘Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen’ star has a bone to pick with a few Bollywood movies that are peddled under the garb of epic romances.

“When I watched an Indian romantic drama, I always wanted to know why are those two people in love? Yes, I realise they are two very good-looking people whose eyes met in some corridor, and everything becomes in slow motion. But beyond that, why do they love each other?” pointed out Bhasin.

But ‘Looop Lapeta’ won’t shy away from going deep, promises the actor. He explains how his character calls his girlfriend first for help when he’s facing ‘the biggest catastrophe in his life’. That’s a telling sign of the depth and dynamics of their relationship.

Satya and Savi are like chalk and cheese, points out Pannu. But they do find a middle ground at some point.

“They are so opposite of each other that they are good together. We tried to exploit their contradictions … We played off each other well,” said Pannu.

The film also tackles complex themes such as discrimination against sexual orientation, strained father-daughter relationships and everyday issues like the difficulty in getting a cab in an idyllic coastal paradise like Goa.

“But the movie is not cast in stone. I really hope people take what they want to take from the film …This is one of those films that allows you to discover … if some people have taken to the humour part of the film, some have taken to the evolution of Savi, or some have just taken to Savi and Satya’s love story … Everyone who watches this film will have a different take on this film and that’s the beauty of it all,” said Pannu.

In an ideal world, the entire team of ‘Looop Lapeta’ is hoping that their film will trigger a conversation around it.

“I want to see a person who saw the film talking to the other and discuss what they have made of it. I want the YouTube comment section seeing people discussing it in the open,” said director Bhatia.

Don’t miss it!

‘Looop Lapeta’ is out on Netflix on February 4.