‘Fanney Khan’ Movie Review: A good message wasted due to bad execution

Directed By: Atul Manjrekar
Produced By: T-Series Films, Rakesh Omprakash Mehta Pictures and Anil Kapoor Films & Communication Network
Cast: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, Divya Dutta, Pihu Sand, Satish Kaushik
Duration: 2 hours 9 mins
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 2.5 stars

Plot

Fanney Khan is a story of a common man Prashant Sharma, a father who wishes his daughter to achieve things he wasn’t able to, due to circumstances. Thankfully his daughter Lata (Pihu Sand) harbours the same dream but her approach to fulfilling their dream is different.

Lata is bogged down by conventions of the society, who fails to see her talent beyond her physical appearance. Lata, if not great then at least, is a good singer but is mocked for being overweight and hence is never given a chance to showcase her talent. Her father who has even lost his job, in a desperate attempt to rise above his situation and help Lata make her own album, ends up kidnapping hit singer Baby Singh (Aishwarya Rai). But does he succeed? Well, lets find out…

Performances

Anil Kapoor as Prashant Sharma and Rajkummar Rao as his sidekick Adhir do a good job as expected. But Rajkummar doesn’t get a chance to showcase his prowess thanks to his stunted characterisation. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, styled by Manish Malhotra is a treat for sore eyes in every single frame but unfortunately, that’s all her character contributes. Divya Dutta as Lata’s mother and Anil’s wife does full justice to her role as a supporting wife and a caring mother. Debutante Pihu Sand who plays Lata, though fits for the role perfectly, but on the acting front, fails to evoke any sympathy.

Direction and Cinematography

Debutant director, Atul Manjrekar had a dream cast for his very first film but unfortunately, his vision fails to translate on the screen. Weak script and below average direction make the story fail to deliver what it wanted to convey. Atul Manjrekar, Hussain Dalal and Abbas Dalal have written the screenplay and we wonder despite three people working on a script how can they lose the film’s vision while finishing the film.

Music

It’s great to watch Aishwarya lip sync to Sunidhi Chauhan’s voice. The singer is truly at her best with songs like ‘Halka Halka’’ and ‘Mohabbat’. While Sonu Nigam, well what can we say about him. He is simply perfect in ‘Badan pe sitare’ as no one except for him could have done justice to this iconic song. Film’s music composer Amit Trivedi has rendered his voice for ‘Achche din’ song which is penned by Irshad Kamil. The song is hard-hitting and showcases the struggles of the common man in an apt way. But considering the fact that the film is a musical comedy, composer Amit Trivedi, who has given us some great albums like ‘Lootera’ and ‘Fitoor’ is unsuccessful in delivering what is expected as none of the songs except for the tune of ‘Tere Jaisa Tu Hai’ stays with you after you leave the theatre.

What’s Good

The film’s intentions are good and even the message that it is trying to highlight. Anil Kapoor and Rajkummar’s performance is decent and honest. And few comic scenes manage to evoke laughter. Sequences of Rajkummar and Aishwarya too are funny and sweet.

What’s Bad

The execution of the entire film – weak plot and the poor screenplay is where the film falter badly. A good story is executed in such a way that by the end of the climax everything begins to appear logic-less and unconvincing.

Final Verdict

Now the message of the film is good and something that has not been addressed so much in Hindi films before, but the execution of the story idea is where the film fails despite having some power-house performers as its star cast. The film is a one time watch.

Watch the trailer here: