Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013
Bollywood often relies on star aura and known heroes’ charisma to pull a film together. Going by that, the team behind the comedy Fukrey (loosely translated as losers or nobodies) are in serious trouble.
Collectively, actors Richa Chadda, Pulkit Samrat, Varun Sharma, Manjot Singh and Ali Fazal have as much personality as discarded pieces of furniture. The lads are no dream boats, the girl isn’t beautiful in the traditional sense and together they aren’t charming or witty enough to make an informal press conference especially riveting. But what makes them endearing is that they are playing that setback to their advantage. After all, they form the backbone of a film about four losers with dreams of making quick money.
“I proud to be Fukrey in India,” declared actor Ali Fazal in broken English at a press conference for the film in Dubai last Sunday. It’s a line from his comedy Fukrey, releasing in the UAE this Thursday. As if on cue, the others chant: “we are all proud to be fukrey”. It isn’t just their grammar that needs correction. The tale of four under-achievers draws heavily upon their ability to be slackers born to working parents. In the film, Choocha, played by Sharma, has a tendency to dream about weird stuff. Hunny, played by Samrat, interprets those dreams the next day and comes up with numbers for lottery betting. The two meet another pair when their betting gets out of hand.
“I wanted faces with no baggage attached to them to make it believable” said director Mrighdeep Singh Lamba. Bollywood blockbusters are often dictated by a star persona, but directors often lament that Bollywood’s beefy heroes — Salman Khan or the divine-looking Hrithik Roshan — can’t look poor or unclean beyond a point. Their omnipresent image overrides the characters they play on screen. But with a clutch of unknowns, it’s easier to mould them, claims Lamba.
“I don’t believe in acting workshops. We knew they were talented and could act before we signed them on. But what I did was throw them all together in one room for a day. I expected a blood bath and some action, but I found them eating chicken and discussing chicks when I unlocked the door. From then on, I knew it was all going to be fine on the chemistry and on-screen camaraderie front,” said Lamba.
Another person who has immense faith in this clutch of unknowns is producer-actor Farhan Akhtar. His company Excel Entertainment, in partnership with his Don co-producer Ritesh Sidhwani, is credited with making star-driven blockbusters such as Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Dil Chahta Hai. They are renowned for making feel-good friendship sagas filled with sophisticated people and chic interiors.
If you are an optimist, Fukrey can be seen as the poor cousin of some of their iconic kinship ventures. However the makers are confident that even without big stars such as Roshan or Aamir Khan leading the contingent, the spirit of male bonding will elevate Fukrey to a watchable guy-meets-guy film.
“Every story has its own set of demands. We have tried our best to hunt for the best possible option for the characters in this film. We care about the quality of work. In our experience, the established stars and the relatively young talents take their work very seriously. So it’s all about the narrative,” said Akhtar. The college comedy also has a surprise element. According to actor Pulkrit Samrat, Bollywood will get the taste of its first outlandish vamp in the form of Bholi, played by Richa Chadda.
“Mark my words. Richa will be Bollywood’s female Mogambo [the iconic evil character played by Amrish Purish in blockbuster of the same name] or Sholay’s Gabbar Singh,” said Samrat.
Bholi is described in the film’s promotional material as the “uncrowned queen of the Delhi mafia whose house is a hot bed of all sorts of illegal activity. From smuggling drugs to fixing matches, Bholi has it all under control”.
“When it comes to villains among women in Bollywood we have the evil mother-in-law asking for dowry or some cabaret dancer with evil intentions. We don’t have anybody as loud and fearless as Bholi. She’s a source of threats and boys fear her. I loved it,” said Chadda. She pointed to the row of female journalists sitting in front of her and declared: “Bholi would never sit like that or speak like you all. I had to train myself to be that loud and crass,” said Chadda, who is known for her bold act in Gangs Of Wasseypur and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!. The actors’ total work experience may not go beyond ten films, but they are confident that they can pull this off.
“You will relate to every scene, every character, every jugaad [quick-fix solution] and prank they pull off. What’s not to love about a slice-of-life film?” said director Lamba.
By Manjusha ?Radhakrishnan Senior Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
