Movie Review - Firangi - Boring

Rating: 2/5 stars

There is a saying in the film industry - 'You can make a good film, you can make a bad film, you can make a film which is oh-so-bad-that-it-is-good. However, it is criminal to make a boring film'.

Unfortunately, Firangi falls under the last category!

Not that this is surprising. The promo pretty much conveyed the message loud and clear that this one would well turn out to be a boring affair. When you couldn't even smile during those two crisp minutes of some of the (presumably) best moments of a film, hopes truly diminish around expecting two hours to be entertaining. In this case it is all the more difficult since the duration is extending by around 30 odd minutes more.

All in all, you do step into a theater quite apprehensive around what would be in the offering.

The stage and setting is done reasonably well though as you get to see pre-independence India. Yes, stereotypes are all around but then you don't quite complain because Firangi is meant to be a massy affair and hence all British have to be evil, simpletons needs to invoke sympathy and then 'raja log' of the era gone by are supposed to be selfish.

So far so okay, however beyond the core premise, what one looks forward to is entertainment. This is what goes missing in Firangi as you are just not involved in the proceedings. Okay, so Kapil is not really playing a funny man here. That's cool too since why should a performer continue to get trapped in his image all the time? He has tried to move beyond his stand-up comedy act and though he had a good success in the form of Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon a couple of years back, if he tries to get into the dramatic zone in Firangi then that's fair as well.

However, what is needed is one basic thing, entertainment. Sadly, that is really sporadic in this period drama that has a love story at the core of it and a mini revolution of sort as the narrative. You don't really get attached to either of the two even as the leading ladies play out their mandatory acts while the villains of the piece keep scheming to get their share of the booty. Special mention to Edward who recently came with a compelling act as the key British officer out to nail Subhash Chandra Bose in web series Bose: Dead/Alive. He is good again.

Same is the case with Mr. Reliable Rajesh Sharma too who seems to be on the right foot in every outing of his. As a matter of fact one can't complain much about the acting part of most of the performers and this is where Kapil Sharma should get good credit as a producer to have put together the right team of people in front of the camera.

Alas, had that been the case with people behind the camera too, what with a better plot and writing on paper, with a competent team handling all the departments (production design is hardly pleasing to the eyes) then Firangi may just have turned out to be a relatively better affair.