When old bachelor Ferdie (Naseeruddin Shah) receives a letter he had sent to his lady love, Stephanie aka ‘Fanny’, 46 years ago asking for her hand in marriage, his good friend Angie (Deepika Padukone) decides to help him trace out Fanny to see if they still have a chance.
Quirky characters – Check.
Charming sleepy town setting – Check.
Color palette – Check.
Engaging storyline – Che…
This is the primary issue with an otherwise fairly funny, Finding Fanny. It’s a road trip that finally ends up nowhere and that would still have been alright if only the journey been more fun. There are moments, which remind you of various other such ‘bunch of dysfunctional characters on a road trip find the meaning in their lives’ movies and there are even quite a few genuine laughs but they are scattered all over the place.
It’s quite apparent that Homi Adajania is back in his comfort zone after the Cocktail debacle where he seemed totally out of his element that we saw earlier in Being Cyrus. He paces the story nicely and full credit to him for getting a motley cast together and not making a mess out of it. But more often than not, you realise that the extra spark between the actors, which is a requirement in this case, is missing. And then there are quite a few subplots which are tackled shabbily.
Anil Mehta has captured small town Goa in all it’s resplendence. The movie is extremely lovely to look at, it’s just that there isn’t much to engage you. It’s like a really good looking recipe with a nice picture from a cook-book but when you try making it, it’s just not that good.
Naseeruddin Shah plays Ferdie in a lovely, endearing manner and it’s a pleasure to watch him. His performance remains one of the few memorable things about the movie. Pankaj Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia are in their element and there could have been a much better movie had their characters been given more to do. Deepika looks the part and plays it well. Her character holds the pieces together and keeps the band from falling apart and she does the job admirably. Arjun Kapoor is ok enough in scenes where he does not have to talk. Otherwise, his skills are clearly found wanting among the talented cast.
Anil Mehta has captured small town Goa in all it’s resplendence. The movie is extremely lovely to look at, it’s just that there isn’t much to engage you. The music by Mathias Duplessy sets the tone just right. The film has one of the better background scores I’ve heard in an Indian film in a long time.
Eventually however, like the quest itself, Finding Fanny remains a vehicle with all the right parts but short on fuel. The recipe and the ingredients were all there, maybe it all just needed better cooking.
English, Comedy, Drama, Color