| Showrunner | Hansal Mehta |
| Director | Jai Mehta |
| Producer | Shailesh R Singh |
| Cast | Rajat Kapoor, Vivek Gomber, Amruta Khanvilkar, Aamir Ali, Abhishekh Khan |
| Episodes | 8 |
| Genre | Action |
– No Spoilers –
When a ship containing precious cargo is taken hostage by a bunch of Somali pirates, the crew is left to fend for themselves while the owner of the cargo rushes against time to get his hands on it. Will the crew be able to save themselves from this sticky situation?
Hansal Mehta’s latest venture is a tense thriller taking place on a ship, with a bunch of unpredictable pirates and a ship full of vulnerable people who have no idea how to handle themselves in such a situation. In spite of knowing the premise, one will be tempted to feel at the start of the runtime that the possibility of pirates attacking in this day and age is slim. However, when that exact thing happens, you’d at least wish that the crew would be prepared to save themselves.
As the situation gets more and more tense for everyone involved, however, viewers will realise that none of these people are ready to fight and neither do they have good ideas to tackle this frightening situation. Filled with bad decisions, the crew are both annoyingly stupid and surprisingly easy to feel sympathetic for, probably because they are horribly stupid. Every decision they make is just one bad thing after another, just constantly.
Maybe that’s why you feel a bit protective of these people. Unfortunately, problems don’t just crop up on the ship, they also crop up on Vikrant’s end from different directions, no less. Juggling to free the crew, a presidency position that he might just lose out on and the threat of his entire family dying has him racing against time to stop the fires before it engulfs him and everything around him as well. It’s interesting to watch him trying to douse the fires and although you don’t feel any sympathy for him, it is quite thrilling to watch him suffer either way.
Vikrant’s character, obviously, takes centre stage and watching a selfish man trying to get his way in a horrible situation makes for a rather fiery watch. As he tries to fulfil his own selfish goals throughout the runtime you are glued to the screen because you know it simply can’t end well for anyone. Rajat Kapoor is the only voice of reason and also the only way you feel at ease in this terrible situation because he (mostly) doesn’t make too many bad decisions and understands early on that taking a middle ground is probably the best bet.
The storyline slowly escalates and follows different points that go through an arc and the way the story progresses makes you take notice because lives are on the line. Since you care about what happens to these people but there’s an inherent hatred for Vikrant as well, the feelings are quite bittersweet. Negotiations and problems arise manifolds as the dominos fall quickly, leaving us reeling for a better part of the runtime.
Even with all of these feelings, though, I must say that the storyline is quite cliched. You know exactly where every new twist will take us because it truly doesn’t do anything too shocking. Of course, the execution is done well and the characters make you root for the story even more. It does take the thrill out of it somewhat but you do remain invested in the storyline because of the people and the terrible circumstances.
Another interesting thing about the series is the depiction of Somalia and its people. The pirates, even though dangerous, are given a reason for the way they act that feels relatable. These aren’t savages, although there are some among them, but are driven by the circumstances of their lives and the apathy of the government to help in any way. The series highlights several times that you can’t trust anyone in Somalia and this isn’t just a random saying – this is proved many times over and over again.
Vivek Gomber is excellent as Vikrant and makes you root for him and hate him all at once. Let’s not forget that he is a horribly selfish man who does nothing but think for himself but he has moments of clarity and selflessness that shine through sometimes. Also, let’s not forget that he might be the only man who can save these people – what a mess!
Lootere Review: Final Thoughts
In the end, in spite of its thrilling premise and some emotional moments, Lootere leaves you a little annoyed because of its rather stupid characters who, for some reason, do not understand the concept of consequences for your actions. There are many questions we are left with throughout its runtime and will keep you asking why Vikrant and Avi’s communication is so poor that it results in his entire family coming in harm’s way… among other things. Either way, I rooted for Rajat Kapoor and his crew who had nothing to do with this mess in the first place. The politics shown is pretty good, the acting is great and I also loved the opening credits and the score which encapsulate this high-octane action series well.
Lootere is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. New episodes will release weekly on Wednesday at midnight.