Shillong, September 28: Creating comedy is arguably one of the most challenging tasks in filmmaking. We’ve all enjoyed hilarious films that had us laughing uncontrollably or at least chuckling. Classics like Kishore Kumar’s ‘Half Ticket’ and ‘Padosan,’ or Mahmood’s comic capers, are tough acts to follow.
As per IANS, while Priyadarshan’s recent films have brought us moments of laughter, a full-fledged comedy remains a rarity.
Following the success of ‘Fukrey’ in 2013 and ‘Fukrey Returns’ in 2017, writer Vipul Vig and director Mrighdeep Singh Lamba may have believed they could strike gold again.
Dreams are fine, but didn’t they realize they needed a solid script to let talented actors shine?
‘Fukrey 3′ boasts nearly the same cast as the previous installments but falls short in delivering eccentric characters in funny situations with side-splitting lines. Instead, it merely utilizes the actors’ skills in lackluster scenarios, with limited success.
The premise of four friends navigating hilariously disastrous situations together is promising. After cashing in with the first two films, it should have been easy to replicate the formula.
However, ‘Fukrey 3’ lacks a coherent storyline. It relies solely on familiar characters – Choocha (Varun Sharma), Lali (Manjot Singh), Hunny (Pulkit Samrat), and Pandit (Pankaj Tripathi) – who return as a team to settle scores with Bholi Punjaban (Richa Chadha).
Bholi remains as ambitious as ever, now contesting the upcoming Delhi Legislative Assembly election. Unexpectedly, Choocha emerges as an independent challenger to Bholi.
The plot also involves a sizable diamond, leading the group to travel to a South African mine. Life seems good for the four friends, as they can enjoy a foreign excursion along with their mission.
Choocha, the group’s jester, is a character everyone loves to hate or hates to love. However, his jokes have grown stale over time. Nevertheless, he plays a crucial role in helping the quartet make money.
The film places a heavy focus on Choocha, granting him more screen time and jokes. Unfortunately, many of these wisecracks are directed at him.
The script revolves around the core four characters but frequently veers into absurd twists, including subplots involving Bholi’s bodyguard Bobby (Olanokiotan Gbolabo Lucas) and Dhingra (Amit Dhawan), a villain with ulterior motives involving Bholi.
The first half of the film is chaotic, featuring bizarre and meaningless plot turns. Once in South Africa, where the group searches for the diamond, there is some semblance of plot development, but it is repeatedly disrupted by puerile jokes centered on bodily functions.
If you’re cringing, imagine the plight of those in theaters enduring inconsequential dialogues that lead nowhere.
Back home, the film introduces water issues for politicians to address, seemingly to add a touch of relevance to the story.
Among the cast, Varun Sharma as Choocha stands out as the central joker, while Richa Chadha appears disengaged in her role. Pankaj Tripathi, a great actor, does his best to make the nonsensical seem believable and garners applause from the audience in many scenes.
The film’s highlights include Sona Mahapatra’s rendition of ‘Ambarsariya’ from the first installment and ‘Ve Fukrey,’ featuring Asis Kaur’s standout vocals. Cinematographer Amalendu Chaudhary’s work fails to leave a lasting impression.
In summary, “Fukrey 3” struggles to generate laughter due to its weak script, despite a talented cast and the success of its predecessors.