New Review: Looop Lapeta Misses the Mark, Echoing Run Lola Runs Brilliance But Lacking Its Edge

Looop Lapeta — the latest film from Netflix featuring Taapsee Pannu and Tahir Raj Bhasin — illustrates that Bollywood struggles to produce a concise, high-concept B-movie. Instead of diving right into the action and maintaining a focused narrative, this Hindi adaptation of Tom Tykwer’s acclaimed 1998 German thriller Run Lola Run overcomplicates the plot with numerous storylines and character backstories. It even includes a musical number that further delays the pacing of Looop Lapeta. In contrast to the original’s brisk 89 minutes, this remake extends to 130 minutes.

The additional 40 minutes are packed with diversions involving various secondary characters, which detract from the intended suspense of the film. Consequently, Looop Lapeta loses its gripping tension each time it veers off course. This is crucial for a thriller, particularly one that is essentially anchored in a brief timeframe (the protagonist has only 50 minutes to secure Rs. 50 lakh).

Tykwer recognized the significance of pacing in Run Lola Run, which thrived on its high-energy narrative. The director of Looop Lapeta, Aakash Bhatia — making his feature film debut after previously directing the second season of Amazon Prime Video’s melodramatic Inside Edge — clearly admires the original film by choosing to remake it. (There’s even a noticeable Easter egg featuring a red-haired character reminiscent of Lola entering a casino.) However, Bhatia fails to grasp what made Run Lola Run a beloved classic and why it resonated so profoundly with audiences.

This misguided approach could stem from a lack of experience, too many conflicting ideas from various contributors, or perhaps a combination of both. Looop Lapeta has four credited writers: Dr. Vinay Chhawal, Ketan Pedgaonkar, Arnav Vepa Nanduri, and director Bhatia. Three of these writers lack significant film-writing experience, with Chhawal being the only one who has previously contributed to the poorly received film Angrezi Medium. However, it’s worth noting that Looop Lapeta improves as it progresses, especially in the third cycle — a concept familiar to those who have seen the original — which is more intricate and engaging. Nevertheless, it too often lacks the vital focus and energy that this genre demands.

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Alternatively, this misstep could be due to pressures from producers. Looop Lapeta marks the second Indian remake of a high-concept international thriller appearing on Netflix in recent months. The previous adaptation was the Kartik Aaryan-starring Dhamaka, where writer-director Ram Madhvani encountered a similar issue at the outset (before facing additional challenges). The distractions in Dhamaka were shorter yet more melodramatic. This raises a larger industry question: why can’t B-movies in India simply embrace their B-movie nature? Why can’t films be as concise as they should be? Bollywood has a well-documented tendency to stretch films, and Looop Lapeta feels like the latest victim of this troubling trend.

The central storyline remains unchanged: after Satyajeet (Tahir Raj Bhasin, from Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein) loses a gangster’s money, his girlfriend Savina Borkar (Taapsee Pannu) comes to his aid. She must gather Rs. 50 lakh in 50 minutes, or else Satya faces a dire fate. However, Looop Lapeta alters the lead-up to this predicament. It’s Savina’s birthday, and she has just learned of her pregnancy. Unlike Lola in Run Lola Run, who was supposed to pick up her boyfriend, Savina is not directly involved in Satya’s exploits. This is an interesting choice; despite Satya’s faults, Savi doesn’t harbor guilt, making her decision to assist him a pure act of love.

This is where Looop Lapeta’s background story becomes relevant. In Run Lola Run, Lola was rescuing her ungrateful boyfriend (of whom we learned little). Here, Savina is repaying Satya in a sense. With narration by Pannu and an animated title sequence, Looop Lapeta unveils Savi’s backstory: once a renowned track athlete, she suffered a catastrophic injury, leading her to consider suicide, but Satya managed to save her. (At the start, Savi humorously acknowledges that the audience doesn’t need her backstory — which contradicts how the film then presents it. The script lacks self-awareness.) Trapped in a stagnant life and now pregnant, Savi is in a state of purgatory. It’s apt that she finds herself in a (narrative) cycle.

For those unfamiliar with Run Lola Run, the premise is succinctly encapsulated in two words: time loop. Each time Savi fails to save Satya, she resets.

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Taapsee Pannu as Savi, Tahir Raj Bhasin as Satya in Looop Lapeta
Photo Credit: Manpreet Singh Virk/Netflix

There’s potential in this reimagined narrative, portraying a woman caught in a rut with a chance at redemption, as the events of Looop Lapeta serve as a surreal challenge. It feels as though the universe is urging Savi to awaken from her stupor and take charge of her life. Run Lola Run never delved into Lola’s character development in such a way — all that we learned about her came from the film itself, not from her direct narration, and was either revealed in fragments throughout her numerous runs or during the connecting interludes.

While the film disregards the former entirely, Bhatia’s team holds onto the latter — shifting the aspect ratio from 16:9 to a more square format during these moments — as it intertwines into a narrative inspired by the Mahabharata. Observant viewers might note that the lead characters share names with the clever and devoted princess Savitri and her beloved Satyavan, whose death was foretold. Similarly, Savitri found a way to save Satyavan, and Looop Lapeta’s Savi is thrust into a comparable situation. The mythology-infused segments provide insight into Savi’s motivations, yet they lack the deep philosophical inquiries present in Run Lola Run.

As for the elaborated backstory, the drawback is that Looop Lapeta spends too much time establishing this foundation. It needed to explore Savi’s character during the action sequences, akin to how Run Lola Run approached its narrative. The film doesn’t truly “begin” until 28 minutes in. This delay affects the film’s flow when it finally adopts techniques seen in Run Lola Run — like presenting glimpses of the lives of random street characters Savi runs past — it feels out of place. Since this style wasn’t utilized for the initial 28 minutes, its sudden introduction raises questions. Looop Lapeta also includes elements from the original without properly establishing them, most notably Lola’s iconic scream, which appears unexpectedly during a later scene.

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Taapsee Pannu as Savi in Looop Lapeta
Photo Credit: Manpreet Singh Virk/Netflix

On top of this, there are several minor yet bothersome issues. At a pivotal moment, Looop Lapeta resorts to an implausible coincidence to advance its plot. The film also tends to condescend to audiences, offering simplistic lessons at its conclusion. Additionally, there are glaring product placements for a pregnancy test brand and a smartphone maker. Ironically, though this is produced by Sony Pictures, the featured phone isn’t a Sony model, likely due to the company’s withdrawal from the Indian smartphone market.

This might seem petty, but does Pannu really not look convincing while running? This marks her second consecutive film where she’s supposed to be running extensively. Yet, the editing in both Rashmi Rocket and Looop Lapeta avoids showing her running. Furthermore, Looop Lapeta frequently finds excuses to transport Savi away from running, placing her into cars or buses.

The fundamental flaw of Looop Lapeta lies in its non-acceptance of its origins. In some ways, Run Lola Run resembled a video game, marked by its save-file-like structure, animated components, and vibrant primary colors. Conversely, Looop Lapeta emerges as a Bollywood drama.

It’s also significantly less urgent. Time pressure was a critical factor in Run Lola Run — everything from the rapid soundtrack to the camera work constantly checking the clock reinforced this urgency. This is also reflected in the differing runtimes and the time constraints placed on Lola. While Savi has 50 minutes to acquire the funds, Lola had merely 20 minutes. The increase in cycle length indicates that Looop Lapeta’s writers felt the need to pad the story.

If this is the representation of Indian adaptations, perhaps this niche genre is better left untouched.

Looop Lapeta was released on Friday, February 4 at 1:30 PM IST / 12 AM PT on Netflix.