Fukrey
Year 2013
Director: Mrighdeep Singh Lamba
Cast: Pulkit Samrat, Varun Sharma, Manjot Singh, Ali Fazal, Pankaj Trivedi), Richa Chadda

To understand the meaning of the title, I first checked it on the net. It told me that ‘Fukrey’ is a Punjabi colloquial term for guys who have nothing to show except empty boasts! So does this ‘boastful’ comedy have enough substance to wow? Let’s find out.

What’s the plot?

In the by-lanes of Delhi, we come across four youngsters, four ‘outsiders’ who keep dreaming about getting into the mainstream. There are two bosom friends from childhood- a tall-talking dominant guy (Pulkit Samrat) and his hare-brained follower (Varun Sharma) - both chronic backbenchers who repeatedly keep failing to clear their 12^th exam. The third guy is a correspondence college student (Manjot Singh), who works part-time at his father’s dhaba.

These three guys share a common dream – to get admission in a prestigious Delhi college, not for any other reason but to get hot girl-friends! Their quest to enter the college brings them in contact with the college’s influential watchman (Pankaj Trivedi) and the fourth youngster (Ali Fazal), an ex-student, who is trying to make his mark as a musician.

Coming together, they realize that to move ahead in their life-story, they all need money and to get their hands on that, they would have to literally sell dreams to the most dreaded female gangster of the region (Richa Chadda)! Will they succeed in their madcap mission?

What’s hot?

·         Mrighdeep Singh Lamba makes a fine first impression as a director after playing assistant directorial roles in films such as Yuvvraj and Don 2.

·         While the plot is not too novel, still it has enough interesting characters and incidents to keep you interested right till the end.

·         Youthful, contemporary and believable characterization with some fantasy-based comic touches makes the film a watchable one.

·         Richa Chadda’s gangster Bholi Punjaban is brilliant; the two main ‘Fukrey’ Pulkit Samrat and Varun Sharma are endearing and the others too perfectly fit into their roles.

What’s not?

·         Occasionally the film loses pace and comic punch.

·         The comic material varies from superb to ordinary.

·         The romantic angles do not work that well.

Verdict

Despite its shortcomings, its first-time director and relatively little-known cast, Fukrey proves to be an enjoyable film with smiles (not laughs!) galore. Certainly worth watching if you want to see some light-hearted, well-acted entertainer!