Farzi Review | Leisurebyte
Director: Raj & DK
Date Created: 2023-02-10 13:30
3.5
Hindi crime web series Farzi stars Shahid Kapoor as Sunny/Artist, Vijay Sethupathi as Michael Vedanayagam, Bhuvan Arora as Firoz, Kay Kay Menon as Mansoor Dalal, Raashii Khanna as Megha, Chittaranjan Giri as Yasir, Amol Palekar as Sunny’s grandfather, along with Regina Cassandra, Chittaranjan Giri, Kubbra Said and others. Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. created and directed the Prime Video series. The story is penned by Sita Menon, Suman Kumar, Raj and DK.
There is a total of 8 episodes, of an hour at least. The music is by Sachin-Jigar and Tanishk Bagchi. The cinematography is by Tarun Achpal, Pratha Narang, Amith Surendran and Pankaj Kumar. The synopsis reads, “Farzi is a fast-paced, edgy, one-of-a-kind crime thriller, with the director duo’s trademark humour, stitched around a clever underdog street artist’s pursuit to con the system that favours the rich. What ensues is a thrilling cat-and-mouse race between him and law enforcement where losing is not an option.”
-No Spoilers-
Farzi Review
Plot Summary
In Farzi, Sunny is a struggling artist who makes a living by selling recreated paintings of famous artists. He lives with his grandfather, who runs a printing press for his newspaper ‘Kranti’, and his childhood best friend, Firoz. His grandfather’s press business suffers a loss. To help him clear the loan, Sunny and Firoz create fake Rs 500 notes using the printing machine at his grandfather’s company.
What starts as a need for an hour becomes a habit and obsession. In no time, Sunny grows bigger and more wicked. There’s another big player in the fake money-making business who is unaware of what’s happening. Task Officer Michael and RBI employee Megha are working hard to capture the ones involved in the counterfeit business. What will happen if the other big player finds out about Sunny? Will Michael and Megha get hold of him? We get our answers in the end.
When names like Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK are involved in making a show or movie, the expectations are always high. They’re a few of the best filmmakers in the country who make content that not only entertains but also enlightens us. With Farzi, my expectations were high, especially because of their other big Amazon Prime Video hit series, The Family Man. In the latest crime show, we get the classic Raj and DK content. However, there are also some flaws.
The series is a mixed bag of some outstanding and tedious episodes. Episodes 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are well-paced and intriguing. Sadly, episodes 3 and 4 feel more like a task while watching. They’re heavy on characters and information that only sometimes feels interesting.
Farzi starts on an impactful note, with the makers instantly having us invested in Sunny’s life. Sunny is a smart, talented, and a bit crooked person in the beginning who’s been tested by life. He goes rogue to help his grandfather by often calling out the unfair society and system we live in. However, he becomes the problem he often calls out in certain intense scenes.
In a crime series, if there’s a criminal, there’s also a cop who is equally passionate about doing their work. Here we have Michael, who wants to capture the people who run the business of printing fake notes. Michael’s personal life is a mess, but he would do anything to clear the mess in the country. I liked how the makers didn’t go for the standard cat-and-mouse chase while telling us the story of Sunny and Michael.
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What makes Raj & DK remarkable is how they present us with powerful supporting characters. In their latest Hindi crime series, too, the makers have created a significant effect with the presence and actions of characters like Firoz, Megha and Mansoor. They are pivotal in shaping the story for both Sunny and Michael.
In Farzi, the writers and directors have highlighted the system as unfair to common people; there’s a very good scene describing the reality of middle-class people and the struggle of artists. It feels raw and realistic and blends well with the characters’ situations. Without giving any direct spoilers – there’s a hilarious and one of my favourite scenes when the cops couldn’t chase someone in Mumbai because of the traffic. I’ve never seen such a true and alarming depiction of the city’s state due to its terrible traffic.
Shahid Kapoor’s Sunny reminded me of Breaking Bad’s Walter White. Seeing his need turn into obsession and ecstasy doing the counterfeit business reminded me of Walter’s famous lines – I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it, and I was really… I was alive.
Sunny felt closer to his artistic side while designing and creating those fake notes. Michael had some hints of Saul Goodman, who wants to do right but makes some questionable decisions.
Coming to the shortcomings, Michael’s personal life drama felt very forced. Many movies and shows have the hero cop with a troubled marriage. It doesn’t add anything to the premise because he is a very different, dedicated and serious person while doing his job. I understand that the makers wanted to give us an idea of who Michael was as a person, apart from his duty. But the troubled marriage angle is quite common and overdone. Another flaw, as I mentioned earlier, is episodes 3 and 4, which are less fun to watch. Binging them back to back feels heavy and confusing.
Performances
Farzi marks Shahid Kapoor’s OTT debut, and he has done a commendable job. Shahid is always a treat to watch with such mischievous characters. He makes you root for Sunny often, has an amazing sense of humour, and his intense dialogues will hit you hard. It is really good to see the actor play a role that brings out his best.
Vijay Sethupathi makes his OTT and Hindi web series debut with the series. He is an impeccable actor. His efforts to get the lines right in Hindi are visible. The actor is superb with straight face deadpan humour. The only complaint I have is the way Michael is written. I wish there were more depth to Michael, which didn’t include so much drama from his personal life.
Actor Raashii Khanna as Megha is a strong-headed and no-nonsense RBI employee. It’s a well-written character, and the actor is impressive. Another performance to look out for is by Kay Kay Menon. He is such an underrated gem, and I am glad he is given such a notorious part to play. He’s menacing in some scenes. Actors Bhuvan Arora, Amol Palekar, Chittaranjan Giri and others have performed exceptionally.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Farzi has Shahid Kapoor ‘breaking bad’ from a skilled artist to an infamous one. Vijay Sethupathi only makes it better with his presence and performance. Raj & DK have delivered yet another compelling series, despite some shortcomings. The last 3 episodes amp up the thrill factor to the max.
The series is now streaming on Prime Video.
Nice review, i totally agree about Vijay S and KK Menom, but i really dont like Shahid Kapoor. Life ¡s too short- Thanks Pooja again
A block buster webseries after a long time, Fantastic performance by each and every person involved in the making of such a mind blowing webseries, eagerly waiting for season 2 in continuation of this season and with same star caste.