Director: Mrighdeep Singh Lamba
Rating: * 1/2
Four Fukreys which loosely translates as good-for-nothing waste fellows are let loose in the gallis of Dilli in order to a) save their skins b) earn some ill-gotten moolah c) run miles away from a foul-mouthed female goon. All of which comes down to the first point namely a) save their skins. This may be a new film, but it is certainly not madly novel. Delhi Belly had the same idea with the addition of some excrement and expletives, minus one fukra. Also minus the fun, because this combo of Dilli slackers-using very Dilli slang-doing very Dilli things already feels like a template.
Honey, Choocha and Lalli (Pulkit, Varun, Manjot respectively) are penniless, but that doesn't stop them from rolling the dice to see what's on the other side. Quite literally, as far as the first two go: the well-named Honey and Choocha (these names are very Dilli, very Punjabi) use betting as a sure-shot way to get past their 'phokat jeb' (no money in pocket status). These two are joined by two more. Zafar (Ali), who is the only one amongst the foursome that has a specific talent (he is a struggling musician), and Lalli, who has to get into the college of his choice to 'impress' a girl.
That last bit of information would have felt like a spoiler in a more deftly executed film, even if it had a familiar storyline. But given that Fukrey feels so blah most of the time, it really doesn't matter. Each of these guys has a love interest, and some time and effort have gone into establishing their romantic tracks, but it mostly comes off as much too familiar. Manjot Singh, the young boy in Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, has a few nice moments. So does Varun Sharma (Choocha is a great moniker). But the rest are plain inert, including the female goon played by Richa Chadda. Her lingo is as colourful and crude as befits her occupation, but how many times can you see someone sneer and mention the rear end of the male body as the part that she will tenderly minister to, if her money is not returned? Chadda is as faux as her part.
There are momentary diversions in the shape of the girls (Anand, Singh), but they don't add much to the proceedings. And how many times can we see fumbling fellows with cops hot on their heels running down the narrow alleyways of Old Delhi?
Watch ‘Fukrey’ if you crave for generous dollops of laughter to colour your weekend up… Go cheap! Three and a half stars for Mrighdeep Singh Lamba’s handiwork!