Movie Review : Finding Fanny (2014)

Rating : Poor (0/5)
Genre : Drama
Year : 2014
Running time : 1 hour 54 minutes
Director : Homi Adajania
Cast : Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia, Arjun Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Pankaj Kapoor

So, Being Cyrus was OK. Not spectacular – just watchable. And then one hopes that after Cocktail, director Adajania would have honed his skill. Yeah, well, he hasn’t.

Adajani comes back to familiar territory and his Parsi/Goan roots. And pulls a cast of his favorites together: Naseeruddin Shah & Dimple Kapadia. Arjun Kapoor and Deepika are new to this setup, as is Pankaj Kapoor. The story is kinda simple and about a bunch of lost strangers who find their way, metaphorically of course. It is supposed (emphasis on “supposed”) to awaken in us an appreciation for life and lost chances (i.e.; there aren’t any lost chances).

In the small, sleepy Goan village of Pocolim lives young widow Angie (dimpled Padukone), her mom-in-law Rosie (a well-padded Kapadia), aging post-master Ferdie (Shah), and recently-returned-from-the-big-city Savio (Arjun Kapoor). When a letter arrives unopened after 46 years, it causes Ferdie grievous heartbreak, a situation Angie needs to correct. So she cobbles together a road-trip with 5 unlikely passengers. And off they go.

This is one of those whimsical films which one would imagine, would have us getting all soppy and emotional, and frolicking in the milk of human kindness etc. You know, when one dabs a tear from one’s eyes while smiling mistily, resolving to get out and build a better world. Well, that balmy illusion slowly dies as the film progresses.

I didn’t think that this film would rocket through. I knew that it would take it’s time delivering it’s semi-serious messages. What I was not prepared for was the glacial pace. Grass grows faster. I was bored out of my mind. The characters are as dull as ditchwater. They might have been more interesting had they been detailed out more. As it were, we catch a few glimpses of their real selves here and there but it doesn’t come together to form a clear picture.

Quirk is attempted in the form of artist Don Pedro (Pankaj Kapoor) who’s in search of his muse. Shambling Kapoor gives us an almost exact rendition of glazed-eyed Harry in Matru ki Bijlee ka Mandola, minus the accent – something I’m getting quite tired off, by the way. The forced eccentricities in “Finding Fanny” remind me of the pink buffalo sightings in that film – unnecessary and irksome. Kapadia is a bad fit for her role, and hams it up quite a bit. Shah is immaculate and it isn’t his fault that this film is such a stinker. Arjun Kapoor actually does quite well. But truly, only Deepika shines here, as much as any actor could shine in a film as tedious as this.

There is some humor here. And some witty dialog-baazi – I loved the moments where Angie and Savio finally get to have their say; would’t mind seeing a film on their love story. But the moments are sparse and short, and then the film continues on relentlessly. The film’s poster says “If you’re looking for love . . . get lost!”. Well, lost I am, just not in the way I thought I would be.

If you adore heartwarming stories about ordinary people, there are better films out there. If you don’t, you wouldn’t chance this anyway. Either way, keep away from this mind-numbing crap.

Kidwise : This film is almost clean. A couple of lip locks with implied love-making. There is one scene where Deepika strips off her shirt, but she is wearing way more than women wear nowadays in most commercial film dance numbers – so there will be no need to gouge out your eyes.