At first glance, Looop Lapeta (2022) might look like your average movie about a woman stuck in a time loop as she desperately runs through the streets, trying to raise a small fortune in order to save the life of her hopeless boyfriend. It look s that way on a second glance, too. The third glance is when things start getting weird.
Savi (Taapsee Pannu) is a former track star whose career was ended due to a bad fall during a race. She's tempted to end it all, but her life is saved by Satya (Tahir Raj Bhasin), and the pair quickly fall into a relationship. The good news is that Satya has all the enthusiasm, charm, and loyalty of a big floofy puppy. Unfortunaterly, he also has all of the brains and common sense of the same big floofy puppy; Satya is a slacker and compulsive gambler who works for violent restaurateur and drug kingpin Victor (Dibyendu Bhattacharya). Satya is really, really into the relationship with Savi, while she's just tired of running and ready to settle down.
It's Savi's birthday, so Satya asks Victor for an advance on his salary so that he can buy her a nice present. Victor isntead offers to let him work for it; all Satya has top do is deliver a package to a particular address, then bring a bag of money back within eighty minutes, which is just long enough for Victor's turkey to cook. (Honestly, the eighty minute turkey is the most unbelievable thing about the movie.) Satya is, as mentioned, a compulsive gambler who is not very smart, so he decides to gamble with the money, return the original amount to Victor, and keep the profits for himself. Within eighty minutes. Shockingly, it does not go well.
Savi is trying to wrap her mind around a positive pregnancy test when she gets a panicked phone call from Satya. He explains the situation, and she vows to find the money to save him. First she tries to get the money from her estranged father and former coach Atul (KC Shankar), but there's too much bitterness there, especially since she has never accepted Yash (Varun Pande), the man her father started dating after her mother died.
Savi keeps trying, in the process crossing paths with Jacob (Sameer Kevin Roy), a cabdriver who is heartbroken that his beloved Julia (Shreya Dhanwanthary) is marrying another man. Meanwhile, Satya decides to rob the jewelry store owned by Malesh (Rajendra Chawla), only to be interrupted by Malesh's incompetent sons, who are also trying to rob the place. In the confusion, Satya is shot and killed in front of Savi.
Savi remembers Satya telling the story of Savitri, who matched wits with the death god Yama in order to bring back her husband Satyavan. (And yes, our leads are named Savi and Satya. Subtle allusions are for cowards.)
And then the day starts again, because this is a remake of Run, Lola, Run, giving Savi another chance to get it right. All she manages to do is get Satya killed by a different person. She remembers more of the story, and then she's back at the beginning of the loop, ready to try again and this time try to make all the right choices.
A good remake, Bollywood or otherwise, should bring something new to the story. Otherwise, why bother? Looop Lapeta shifts the cultural context of the original film, but it also shifts the genre; it's not just a thriller, it's also a quirky romantic comedy with gangsters and time loops. It's shiny and fun and manages to feel new, even when telling a story that I've heard before.
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