Finding Fanny: It's never too late to find love
If you want a movie which offers good content, subtle smiles and some great performances, then this is for you.
A seasoned and intellectual filmmaker needs only a few characters, a bit of detailing and some good incidents to share with his audience, to create magic. That’s what Homi Adajania proved with his latest venture Finding Fanny.
The entire movie revolves around five main characters, a grungy old Dodge and a not-so-lucky cat. Adajania’s first movie, Being Cyrus, was all about Parsi families and their intrigues, which turned out to be quite a hit since it was something a lot different than the usual masala flicks, released back in 2005. After almost nine years, he marks another movie based on a typical Goa lifestyle. And guess what? He nailed this one too!
The movie is based on the journey of an aged and forlorn postmaster, Ferdie (Naseeruddin Shah), along with four other individuals, to find his lost love. One night, Ferdie receives an undelivered letter, which he posted 40 years ago to a girl named Stephanie Fernandes, aka ‘Fanny’, intending to propose to her.
Photo: Finding Fanny Facebook pageLost in despair, he shares that with his only friend, a widow, Angie (Deepika Padukone). Angie steps forward and plans to help Ferdie in finding Fanny, the only woman he ever loved. She gets help from her childhood friend Savio (Arjun Kapoor) to let them ride his late father’s old Dodge.
Photo: Finding Fanny Facebook pageAccompanying them on their journey is Angie’s mother-in-law, Rosie (Dimple Kapadia), and Don Pedro (Pankaj Kapur), a painter who wants to paint a portrait of Rosie, being an admirer of buxom figures which Rosie has in abundance.
Photo: Finding Fanny Facebook pageBut the question being, do they find Fanny? Well, that is something for which you’ll have to watch the movie to find out!
Adajania displays the entire journey in no rush. However, the movie is hardly one and a half hour long. It’s executed as a ride and that’s the beauty of it. The audience can easily witness different shades in every character. If Don Pedro is at the peak of vulgarity and licentious ideas for Rosie, there is also Ferdie whom you may easily label as a one-woman man. All his life, he has waited for his true love to riposte.
Photo: Finding Fanny Facebook pageOn the contrary, there is Angie, who is also in search of exhilaration and love with blends of lust in it. She also has a very strong relationship with Rosie, something that can be defined as courteous and affectionate. Rosie, on the other hand, is a woman with an attitude, secrets and onion peels. And then we have Savio, a heartbroken and lousy fellow, who lost his love as she married his brother. If they are mirthful at one point, they have something to mourn about as well.
Photo: Finding Fanny Facebook pageAssembling a cast like Shah and Kapur with Kapadia is definitely not easy. They are the quintessence of unparalleled characters. With the ‘tarka’ (spiciness) of new age heartthrobs Padukone and Kapoor, Finding Fanny has the perfect blend of what one can call performers and stars.
Kudos to Adajania for bringing Shah and Kapur on the silver screen together again after a hiatus since these two were the show stealers. Shah as Ferdie is definitely a character which many heartbroken, timid and confused lovers would easily relate to since he makes it so believable.
Kapur knows no bounds; he is both disgusting as a shameless artist as well as beguilingly witty. Kapadia gives a perfect enactment of her character; her facial expressions change within seconds, while talking from one character to the other.
Photo: Finding Fanny Facebook pageBoth Padukone and Kapoor give an earnest performance. They are both developing as dependable and serious actors.
Photo: Finding Fanny Facebook pageIf you are fed up with the clichéd, unrealistic romantic tales and the dhishoom dhamaka flicks, and want to discover a movie that offers good content, a few subtle smiles and some great performances, then Finding Fanny is a must-watch for you.
I would rate it 3.5 out of 5.
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