Noor: Another movie that proves book adaptations never work out

The movie is quite shallow akin to the book, and trust me, it’s a book you cannot put down until you finish it.

Perhaps the notion that ‘no movie can come close to its book’ holds true for all movies and especially so for the recently released, ‘Noor’. The movie, adapted from Saba Imtiaz’s novel ‘Karachi, You’re Killing Me!’ narrates the life of Noor Roy Chaudhary (Sonakshi Sinha) who dreams of making it big in the field of journalism. Her big, round glasses may make her look nerdy but her acting is just average.


Noor has spent most of her career covering small and insignificant events but she dreams big; she aspires to cover a story so spectacular that it would transform her status as a reporter. Her work-life balance could be seen as a case study for young professionals working in demanding jobs. However, some moments in the film seem unrealistic. For one, the fact that Noor’s father understands every idea she puts forth doesn’t seem very believable – considering the fact that in an Indian society, parents are extra cautious about their children’s well-being, and even more so when it comes to their daughters.

Conversely, Noor’s overall character and the way she handles her profession as well as her life goals are relatable.

Sonakshi Sinha in Noor (2017)Photo: IMDb

Noor is a light-hearted romantic comedy with some twists and turns. Noor’s portrayal of a 28-year-old girl hits the sweet spot. The story mainly follows Noor’s life with Sinha recounting some of the events through voice-overs; this makes the movie a rather personal affair and helps the viewers really understand Noor’s life.

The dialogues are simple and believable; the credit must go to Althea Delmas-Kaushal, Shikhaa Sharma and Sunhil Sippy who as scriptwriters kept the essence of Imtiaz’s book intact. However, the movie could have done with more in-depth explanations of the events that occurred.

Despite these drawbacks, Sinha’s facial expressions make her an attractive character. Her expressions make her look like the ‘girl next door’, thus instantly drawing the viewers towards her.

Photo: Screenshot

Noor’s personal life is a mistake magnet. She experiences misadventures because of her clumsiness while her professional life is stuck in a rut. She has ideas to further expand upon her journalistic career and also possesses that determination, however, her boss (Manish Chaudhary), the complete opposite of her father, does not let her do her job with the freedom she desires.

Accompanying the story is a nice collection of songs including a cheerful song ‘Uff Yeh Noor’ by Armaan Malik, ‘Gulabi 2.0’ (which is a party version of the popular ‘Gulabi Aankhen Jo Teri Dekhi’), a romantic number ‘Jise Kehte Pyaar Hai’, and ‘Hai Zaroori’ which has a gloomy touch to it.



Also starring in the movie are Kanan Gill as Saad Sehgal, Chaudhary as Shekhar, Shibani Dandekar as Zara Patel, Purab Kohli as Ayan Banerjee, and Sunny Leone makes a cameo appearance.

Photo: Screenshot

Directed by Sippy, the movie has a higher level of believability. A girl with a character and profession akin to Noor, facing similar problems and surroundings, can be living in any part of the world, even in your city. This is shunning any idea of mediocrity from the movie.

Noor focuses on problems and issues any 28-year-old girl living in India or the subcontinent would ponder upon including career growth, finding the right life partner and losing weight. When Noor is pondering over her purpose in life, an investigative story falls on her lap thus giving her the much-needed motivation she was seeking to add some thrill to her job.

How will this investigative story change her life? Will she get into trouble? Will she ever remain the same happy and spontaneous Noor? You will be glued to your seat while she uncovers the dark truth behind this report.

Photo: Screenshot

Furthermore, the arrival of a photojournalist, Ayananka Banerjee (Purab Kohli), in Noor’s life changes her priorities while she is working on her investigative story. Will Noor also drag Ayananka into trouble? She discovers that a journalist is not merely reporting events but is on a mission to bring out the truth. And she realises that revealing the truth is not that easy.

Despite the ups and downs in Noor’s life, the story does not, in depth and in detail, explain the grim implications of what mental and emotional stress Noor endures while uncovering the case. This makes the movie quite shallow akin to the book it is adapted from, and trust me, it’s a book you cannot put down until you finish it.

My advice: Watch this movie only if you are a Sinha fan.