- Platform: – Amazon Prime Video
- Cast: – Vijay Sethupathi, Shahid Kapoor, Raashi Khanna, Kay Kay Menon
- Director: – Raj and DK
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, collectively known as Raj & DK, have been making one interesting film/series after another. Their work assumed a lot more importance and garnered unprecedented popularity after the fantastic “The Family Man” debuted on Amazon Prime Videos. They followed it up with the second season of the series which became an even bigger hit.
With “The Family Man”, they set up a few basic rules for how their series proceeded and how the various story elements and character troupes were going to be used. The atmosphere and the narrative style were also dialed down to a certain reading and were mostly kept consistent throughout the two seasons of “The Family Man”.
It was funny but was serious when it needed to be. Major characters could die and that would radically change the mood of the series for a while. Indian secret service organizations were at the helm of things and they were out to destroy organized crime and terrorism.
The families of the protagonists and the antagonists involved in the story had a key role to play in the scheme of things and went a long way toward impacting how the characters behaved and reacted to certain situations. The family elements were also used to draw a comprehensive character portrait of the protagonists and the antagonists. There were innumerable twists and turns and the story would remain intriguing from start to finish owing to how radically the storytelling would change as the narrative surged forward.
If you look closely, you can see each and every one of these elements in Farzi, even though it tries to disguise itself as a peppy and smart comedy, it has the serious elements of crime and financial terrorism interweaved in its narrative. Farzi rides high on an absolutely delightful and heartfelt performance from its leading man Shahid Kapoor, who is in one of his best avatars that I have seen in a while. There are mainly three aspects to his performance.
First, the track involving him diving deep into the world of counterfeit currency and the various predicaments that he has to face as he navigates through the lanes of organized crime. Second, his frustration and evident sadness at not having all that his heart desires. This includes his parents, the girl that he thinks he loves, money, and his inability to do anything about it through the straight path. Third and most crucial — his relationship with his grandfather played by Amol Palekar. This is part of his essay that is the most heartfelt and, in the end, decides the course of action that he takes that would define his future.
Shahid does exceedingly well in all these three portions of his essay and this results in his performance feeling wholesome and ensuring that the character has the necessary weight and intrigue in it to ensure that the audiences are hooked to it for the duration of 8 episodes that are almost an hour long apiece. I was particularly impressed by the subtle comic elements that he brought to his essay. His comic timing and dialogue delivery were impeccable.
Vijay Sethupathi is a delight as always. His comic timing is better here than I have ever seen before. His dialogue delivery is so life-like and his mannerisms are so true to the nature of the character that it is hard to look at him as anyone else other than the character of Michael that he is playing. It must be noted that his character is extremely important for the series and at many junctures assumes much more importance than even the character of Sunny played by Shahid Kapoor. His stakes in the film are triggered by the arrival of Sunny but his existence is not dependent on Sunny or any other character. Michael was there before Sunny arrived at the scene and will be there long after he is gone. This feeling is dripping from every frame where Michael is featured and fills his character up with the kind of gusto and importance that was necessary to give him the kind of respect that he deserved in the narrative.
Raashi Khanna is generally criminally underused in films and series. I last saw her in the Ajay Devgn starer remake of Luther, Rudra: The Edge of Darkness. Thankfully in Farzi, her character is given enough time and material to develop into someone important and integral to the plot. Her drive and passion for her work are extremely well transitioned to the screen by Raashi through her wide-eyed wonder and childlike pursuit of what she believes in. It all felt extremely natural and contributed to making these portions work very well. Her many interactions with the character of Michael and the outcomes of these discussions are just as quirky and interesting.
It might be noted that the development of her romance with a certain character was a tad bit rushed but then I have had relations that have developed faster than this. So, I am not complaining. It must be added that her desperation to be in a meaningful relationship was built up in the background for her character through her many interactions with her mother and these interactions played out as the perfect pre-cursors for how quickly she is beguiled by a certain character without once questioning the intents of the man.
Kay Kay Menon in a short and sweet essay is one of the funniest and most endearing villains that you will ever see in an Indian web series. I am confident that his character will assume a lot more importance in the future seasons of this series.
Amol Palekar as Shahid’s grandfather shows his class and proves once again that legends like him can still pull their weight through their essays if they are utilized and directed skillfully.
The story of Farzi is extremely engaging. For a series that is 8 episodes long and each episode is about an hour long, it felt uncharacteristically breezy and engaging. This was due to the quirky dialogues, a large amount of interesting information that was unloaded on the audiences albeit in the most fascinating and intelligible manner possible, and also the constant cat-and-mouse game that ensues between the different characters throughout the length and breadth of the narrative. The characters are created with just enough seriousness to make their losses feel real and add some much-needed seriousness to the narrative. It also ensures that the thrills of the series feel genuine and effective.
One of the strengths of Farzi is how well it is directed by Raj and DK. While it feels very similar to “The Family Man” and even the sense of comedy and the quirky exchanges are a straight nod to that series, it never feels forced or like a rip-off. It may feel similar but it is its own thing and that is what makes it that much more enjoyable. Raj and DK know how to interweave action, drama, comedy, and thrills into one cohesive story and they also know how to get the best out of their actors. These are the aspects of their direction that are most noticeable in Farzi.
The only flip side of the series was, unfortunately, the family bits that, though essential, did slow down the proceedings of the series and took us out of a world that we were unwilling to abandon. The ending also felt a little rushed and could have been better envisioned. I simply couldn’t believe that the character of Kay Kay Menon would do a thing that he is shown doing when it had nothing to do with his problem or the solution to it and felt just like a ploy to forcefully drive a wedge between Menon and Shahid’s character to forward the narrative and turn the otherwise grey hero into a somewhat white knight.
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Farzi should be at the top of your watch list this week if you are into binge-watching series and like entertaining and engaging content. It will also teach you a lot about counterfeit currency and that too in the most entertaining manner possible. Well-acted, well-directed, and characterized by some wonderful situational comedy, Farzi is an immensely entertaining watch.
Rating: 3.5/5 (3.5 out of 5 Stars)
The views expressed in this article are that of the reviewer and do not reflect EastMojo’s position.
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