Movie Review: The Fakir Of Venice

Producer- Anand Surapur and Punit Desai

Director- Anand Surapur

Star Cast- Farhan Akhtar, Kamal Sidhu and Annu Kapoor

Genre- Social

Rating-**1/2

A Tacky poem on celluloid!

Jyothi Venkatesh

This film written by Rajesh Devraj from a story of Homi Adajania looks quite dated rights from the word go. Adi Merchant (Farhan Akhtar), a hustler from Mumbai is hired by a Venetian artist to find a fakir for an art installation in Venice. After conning the art fraternity in vain, Adi hires a daily wage laborer Sattar (Annu Kapoor) instead and the two who zip off to Rome have the most unique time of their lives in the picturesque European city. Adi is told to arrange for a 'Fakir from India' who would become an 'object' in a Venetian artist's art installation. The film has Farhan playing a smart hustler and Annu a daily wage laborer who pull a fast one on the European art community.

Though the film, made 10-years earlier, feels dated in its treatment , its characters are relatable and fresh, thanks to Farhan and Annu both sharing an interesting chemistry that makes the viewing a pleasant affair. Though the story is decent, the execution is shoddy. A shaky camerawork draws away your attention from the story of these two characters. It’s odd is how Farhan’s character, instead of trying and understanding Annu’s Sattar, given that he a big reason the duo will make any money, since both are actually doing a con job, is downright mean to him almost until the film ends.

The Fakir of Venice was supposed to be Farhan Akhtar’s debut, though the film was canned and the actor made his debut with Rock On. Needless to mention, he is sparkling as Adi in the film and fleshes out his character with flesh and blood like a veteran. The film is lifeless without Anu Kapoor who breathes life into his character as the fakir who has a weakness for the booze and can go to any extent to get his quota. Kamal Siddhu as Adi’s girl friend hardly has any scope to perform. The highlight of the film is the breathtaking background of the picturesque Venice but the screenplay leaves a lot to be desired

To sum up, it is a tacky poem on celluloid.

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