The story idea of LEELA – that a young guy getting attracted to a woman older than him – bears a striking semblance to the Hollywood flick SUMMER OF ’42 and has been witnessed on the Indian screen as well – in MERA NAAM JOKER (Simi Grewal-Rishi Kapoor), DOOSRA AADMI (Raakhee-Rishi Kapoor) and more recently, in DIL CHAHTA HAI (Dimple Kapadia-Akshaye Khanna) and EK CHHOTISI LOVE STORY (Manisha Koirala-Aditya Seal).
Of course, LEELA doesn’t have titillating scenes to lure the audience, but the focus is on presenting a situation that’s realistic and life-like.
LEELA depicts the story of a woman wanting her space far more effectively than those that lace a sensitive story with sex in order to woo the box-office. In that respect, LEELA comes across as a sincere attempt.