Movie Review: Finding Fanny

You must have enjoyed Director Homi Adajania’s debut ‘Being Cyrus’ only if you have a whacky sense of humour. The 90-minute film about a dysfunctional Parsi family visited by a stranger to them instantly made me a fan of Adajania’s story-telling ability. It was clever, unconventional and thoroughly enjoyable; a welcome change for me because there are very few directors who go the off-beat way and yet not intellectualize it. Critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful after which he came up with a mainstream Hindi film- ‘Cocktail’. Very average but with excellent music, it worked for Adajania as it made money. Quite surprisingly then but brave indeed that he returns to making his kind of cinema in his third outing when he could easily do something more appealing to audiences. ‘Finding Fanny’ is quirky but simple and so much fun if you are in the mood for it.

Set in a quaint little Goan Village Pokolim which doesn’t even figure anywhere in the map, we are quickly introduced to the five characters by Angie (Deepika Padukone; also the narrator). She is a widow whose husband (Ranveer Singh in a short-lived appearance as they put it) chokes to death on the wedding day itself. Living with her ever dominating mother-in-law Rosie (Dimple Kapadia), Angie’s best friend is the timid postmaster Ferdie (Naseeruddin Shah). One night, Ferdie comes to know that a love-letter he had written to Stephanie Fernandez proposing her 46 years back never reached her. He never married as he never again fell in love and now wants to find his Fanny. Angie convinces her frustrated friend Savio (Arjun Kapoor) in driving them to find Ferdie’s lost love; that also includes a perverted artist Don Pedro (Pankaj Kapoor) who finds his muse in Rosie and a cat who is killed untimely. What follows is a road trip in Savio’s rusted old car and dollops of humour.

‘Finding Fanny’ isn’t everyone’s idea of entertainment and the language has its limitations too when it comes to catering to all. Sure, it is dubbed in Hindi too but the same dialogues are never going to sound that funny. The Director sticks to simple story-telling and though it all boils down to finding love, he doesn’t intend to keep it profound. Instead, he conceives five whimsical characters and takes them in an unusual road trip making them say and do stuff that are hilarious at most occasions. While the first half is slow, the humour builds up slowly and you are kept engaged throughout those 102 odd minutes. The climax when Ferdie actually finds Fanny is nicely and wittily done as well. Shot beautifully in Goa not explored this way in any movie yet, cinematography is top-notch. Music (not disturbing the narrative) and background score are both good and charmingly lazy, keeping true to the mood of the film. ‘Shake Your Bootiya’ is quite a chartbuster.

Deepika Padukone looks like a million bucks and gives an effortless and credible performance. Arjun Kapoor looks comfortable in the midst of such great actors and that in itself means a lot. He is exploring roles and how! Dimple Kapadia does go over-the-top but the role must have demanded it. Pankaj Kapoor gets the funniest lines and makes the best use of it and not surprisingly, is brilliant. But it is Naseeruddin Shah who steals the show and easily at that making you feel for a character so lost in life that you would probably chuckle if you met him. An institution for acting himself, there is so much actors of his age, younger or even elder can learn from him.

Watch it or not: Not for them who prefer loud slapstick comedy or even those who love to stick to the regular movies. You will enjoy every minute if you are crazily zany yourself!

At the Box-Office: This one is for a niche audience; yet it should do well keeping in mind the low budget and the presence of mainstream stars Deepika Padukone and Arjun Kapoor. There will be absolutely no competition from the other release of the week- ‘Creature- 3D’ but ‘Mary Kom’ will still go strong.

• About the Author

About Abhirup Dhar

I don't watch movies... I live them! Let me introduce myself. Abhirup Dhar was born in Kolkata and is still being brought up in India. A banker by profession, he is filmy to the core and is passionate about reviewing movies and writing. He likes to live on his own… he likes to be blunt, sarcastic, famous, infamous, confident, over-confident, moody at times… he likes to be himself. He is imperfect because perfection is boring. His love for movies dates back to his childhood days when he studied in a boarding school. A three-month Winter Vacation every year… and he made sure he watched as many movies then. Parents thought it was a phase... he knew it was Passion and he knew it back then itself. The craziness to watch movies on the Big Screen began during the last two years of school when he literally bunked to town so that he could catch up with the new Hindi Movie releases. Some thought he was plain crazy. He confirmed it was Passion... yet again. The hard fact is that not always can you walk a path you are passionate about. You have expectations to fulfill and Life to be made. But Life gives you chances and you have to grab them. So... here is he... your friendly critic who will be giving you his Verdict every week so that you can decide which release is worth your moolah and which is not! See you at the Movies! Stay connected at Facebook and Twitter!