FINDING FANNY Reviews & Box-Office thread - Page 11

Rating: 4/5 Star (Four stars)

Star Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia, Pankaj Kapur

Director: Homi Adajania

What's Good: Performances, Cinematography and the novelistic approach of the narrative.

What's Bad: It's a loopy plot that invests too little on its story. But does that perturb? Not one bit.

Loo break: None

Watch or Not?: It is not often that I can recommend a film with this confidence. Finding Fanny was an exhilarating film that is consistently enjoyable. From the first scene to the last, my smile stayed. Full of unexpected moments, filled with cheeky delight and a bold approach, this isn't the kind of film you'll get very frequently. Everyone will certainly have something to take back from this film. For some, it is hassle free breezy entertainment and for me, it was a lesson in what Homi's muse Gabriel Garcia Marquez puts well, "There is always something left to love."

User Rating:

Set in the village of Pocouli, that the map doesn't mention either, the way of life and it's pace is as you wish for. Angie, a young widow lives with her mother in law Rosie who is often referred to as the first lady of the village. Angie's best friend Freddie is the local post master who gets the undelivered letter he had once posted to hos lady love, Stephanie Fernandez proposing marriage to her. The letter never reached her and is back in his hands 46 years later. Angie convinces him to go meet her and find out what she would have said had she received it.Angie, and a bunch of oddballs set out on a journey to find Fanny for him and end up discovering their own selves, their desires and their love!

Finding Fanny Review: Script Analysis

The script isn't a work of genius I admit and so are the caricaturish characters in the film. But they are unpredictable and plotted to care and love. That's what works. More than anyone it is Don Pedro who has a certain affinity towards large women who work as his muse. A self proclaimed lover of the body, he isn't exactly what a pervert stands for. The scene where he is finished with painting Dimple is what explains the character of the man with such honesty.

The best thing about the script is its simplicity. It is a layered film and one will prefer to understand it from their own perspective. I particularly felt a certain empathy with Deepika; I did get her. When in the film, she tells Arjun that if she could smoke and roll away into slumber after sex, she would be the one doing that. And in another when exasperated with Don, she curses him aloud. It is at no level a comedy at all. Despite its light moments, the film has a heavy story to tell if you are willing to look beyond and notice it's subtleties. It's never on the face but you journey towards it as the story progresses.

The broken English dialogues rather kept me more entertained. Don't scream you will scare the robber away' exclaims Dimple in a scene or in the amusing words of Don Pedro when he blurts out, It's difficult to overcome the fear of the Dark especially in the day. To much light my dear!' The lines have their own unconventional charm to keep you engaged. And as for the story, it says more when it tries to little. That is the beauty of it.

Finding Fanny Review: Star Performances

Deepika Padukone is so brilliant in her role as Angie. She is probably the one with whom I bonded instantly. Her fluidity with her craft is memorable. It definitely enables her to create an instant liking for her charcater and she brings Angie to life like no one else could have.

Arjun Kapoor matches up the caliber of his team with his own unique enthusiasm. He is fascinating to watch and the metaphorical use of the kid who shows him the middle finger everytime he passes by, helps get a better view of his role. Kapoor is pitch perfect with his angst and innocence and both in equal measures.

Nasseruddin Shah is an institution of brilliance. And yet again, he proves that he knows how to mould himself as per his films. Known as the Romeo of Pocouli, he is endearing and does so with perfection.

Pankaj Kapur with enthrall you with his brilliance. He gives Don Pedro, his own eccentricities probably. How else will explain the ease in his shades of playing him. It's marvellous to watch him always and I can safely say Pedro would have lost meaning without.

Dimple Kapadia is exemplary. Kapadia plays Rosie with her stern demeanor and yet in the pre climax scene where she vents out at Arjun, after being used by Pedro, she delves a real flair to it. She knows how to make her roles crackle and Rosie is just another example of her versatile caliber.

Finding Fanny Review: Direction, Editing and Screenplay

And afterall, it is how Homi treats his story. It is smooth, Heady, subtle, sublime, all rolled in one package. Shot brilliantly, the trick of the film is in its engrossing storytelling. At no point will you get bored, at no point will your smile vanish. Though I had my own issues with the climax, I had my share of laugh when Nasseruddin Shah finally gets a glimpse of his lost Fanny. The anti climax and the monologue are all Adajania props, I don't quite enjoy but hell, when the man gives us a film this heartfelt, it's hard to complain. As told earlier it isn't a plot derived film, but when Adajania juxtaposes a lecherous Don with the simplicity of Fernando, he says a lot without wasting many words on it.

Technically the film is very sound. It is well shot, and we'll executed with a pleasant Goan background score and smooth music to give the audience company.

Finding Fanny Review: The Last Word

Finding Fanny isn't much about quirk as much as it is about discoveries and revelations. Despite the ending being on the disappointing side and the threadbare plot, it is the magnificent Performances that creates a certain kinship with its audiences. It doesn't play on the stereotype and is neither some path breaking film but I came out with a good experiences, a few well intended laughs and some wonderful Performances. Don't miss this. If you have the patience to unravel a treasure, Finding Fanny has one in hold for you. I am going with 4 stars.

Movie Review: Finding Fanny

Director: Homi Adajania

Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Deepika Padukone and Arjun Kapoor



Your heart aches to watch a Hindi film where the location matters, where the stars stay within the parameters of their characters, where the humour comes through everyday situations, where the dialogue feels real and so do the emotions. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's a cause for celebration. Finding Fanny is one such film. It's a simple film with a threadbare plot line - a group of misfits travel together in search of los love. But thanks to some superlative acting, you forget how thin the plot is and immerse yourself in the lives of the characters.



Naseeruddin Shah plays Ferdie, a child-like postmaster of a quaint sleepy backwater of Goa called Pocolim. He receives back a letter he had posted 46 years to the love of his life Stefanie Fanny' Fernandes (Anjali Patil). His best friend Angie (Deepika Padukone), a 26 year old widow, who lives with her widowed mother-in-law Rosalina Rosie' Eucharistica (Dimple Kapadia), advises him to seek out his long-lost love. A painter in search of a muse, Don Pedro Cleto Colaco (Pankaj Kapur) and Angie's childhood love Savio Da Gama (Arjun Kapur) join this motley bandwagon. What follows is a road trip that makes the characters relearn some harsh truths and also acquaints them with changing dynamics of their relationships with each other at the same time.



Naseer and Pankaj are seasoned veterans and expectedly feed off each other. One of best lines in the films is when Don Pedro flourishingly describes Freddie as the Casanova Of Konkan. While Naseer brings out all the quirks of a shy, introvert lover, Pankaj is a hoot as the over-the-top painter. His dismissal of his muse' Dimple after he finishes her painting is poignant and cunningly illustrates the heart of a painter at the same time. Dimple shows what a fine actor she is - her blustering Goan aunty act, where her tough exterior hides an insecure persona is one of her best screen renditions so far. The youngsters, Ajun and Deepika are the real surprise. Arjun plays Savio, the driver, mechanic and ardent love with the bluster his character deserves and is seldom out of pace with the veterans. Deepika oozes confidence in every frame. She holds her own against everyone and shows how good an actor she can be in the hands of a capable director. It's her film more than anyone else's.



After Being Cyrus and Cocktail, director Homi Adajania has seemingly hit his stride. The cinematography by Anil Mehta is world-class and so is the music by Mathias Duplessy and Sachin-Jigar. Go watch the film for its wealth of quirky characters dealing with everyday crisis and emerging richer in the process. It will surely put a smile to your face, if nothing else...