Everyone remembers 2013’s Fukrey, that tried to introduce not just a new brand of comedy but a new style of storytelling to Bollywood. Many of us might not remember it from all the way back in 2013: for it was long after its theatre release that the film began to grow on its would-be fans, eventually becoming a cult hit.
Hence, Fukrey Returns understandably is made from the same elements, but has been shaped by a different mould. What in turn has resulted in the sequel is a film that relies on everything that worked in the first part, but it has been dragged out into final production that could have had the same impact – if not more – than Fukrey, had it been crisper.
Fukrey Returns starts a year after the first movie ended with Hunny (Pulkit Samrat) and Choocha (Varun Sharma) having spent the previous 12 months minting money with the help of the latter’s ‘gift’. Zafar (Ali Fazal) and Lali (Manjot Singh) are also well settled, and everything seems to be working smoothly for everyone.
Then Bholi Punjaban (Richa Chadda) manages to escape prison with the help of Rajiv Gupta (Mantree jee) to not only take revenge from the ‘fukrey’ but also recover all the losses she has endured since her drug business was busted. The neta has his own interests in simultaneously running multiple illegal and lucrative businesses, while campaigning for the upcoming elections.
Bholi captures the fukrey and lays the foundation of an investment scam that would help her win 10 times the amount through the lottery. The plan backfires – the first of many boomerangs that the script throws up, just like the original.
Fukrey Returns features Choocha with a new gift: ‘premonition’. He sees things that happen in the near future, and they come true, just like his lottery dreams. One particular ‘premonition’ shows him a treasure buried in a local zoo.
What follows is trouble followed by trouble in a script similarly layered as the original, with a similar shot at a twist ending.
As an ensemble of sequences, there are parts where Fukrey Returns works better than the original. Fukrey Returns at its funniest is more hilarious than Fukrey’s peak laughter levels. But when it comes to the juxtaposition between single compositions, with consistency and proper linkages, the sequel falls significantly short.
The film’s reliance on the original is intermittently underscored with constant throwbacks to Fukrey. And while every referral to the first lifts the movie up, it simultaneously reminds everyone of the disparity between the two films.
What Fukrey Returns doesn’t quite cope with, just like many Bollywood sequels, is preparing a follow-up script which won’t be relying on characterisation, since the cast is absolutely identical to the first. Fukrey Returns perhaps gets an even bigger hit than others, for the development of characters in Fukrey was one of the film’s strengths.
And so, while Varun Sharma remains brilliant as Choocha, Pankaj Tripathi – one of the highlights of the franchise – excels even more with increased screen time, and many one-liners are punchier than the original, the sequel still isn’t close to Fukrey.
The filmmakers’ problems with characterisation are underscored with how they completely struggle to do anything with the character of Ali Fazal, who now is actually a bigger star compared to 2013, and would have drawn quite a few of his fans to Fukrey Returns.
Perhaps the highlight of the movie, apart from what one already saw in Fukrey, is Richa Chadda. Bholi remains one of the most badass female characters in Bollywood this decade, and if Richa introduced her with a bang in the original, she develops her to new levels in a script that centres around her.
It won’t be wrong to say that Bholi is the lead in Fukrey Returns and perhaps the film’s title could have reflected that as well.
It’s great to see an unrelenting female don taking on the male leads, but if there is to be a third part, it would need to introduce new characters or build a tighter script, if it wants the cult of Fukreyto remain.
Hence, Fukrey Returns understandably is made from the same elements, but has been shaped by a different mould. What in turn has resulted in the sequel is a film that relies on everything that worked in the first part, but it has been dragged out into final production that could have had the same impact – if not more – than Fukrey, had it been crisper.
Fukrey Returns starts a year after the first movie ended with Hunny (Pulkit Samrat) and Choocha (Varun Sharma) having spent the previous 12 months minting money with the help of the latter’s ‘gift’. Zafar (Ali Fazal) and Lali (Manjot Singh) are also well settled, and everything seems to be working smoothly for everyone.
Then Bholi Punjaban (Richa Chadda) manages to escape prison with the help of Rajiv Gupta (Mantree jee) to not only take revenge from the ‘fukrey’ but also recover all the losses she has endured since her drug business was busted. The neta has his own interests in simultaneously running multiple illegal and lucrative businesses, while campaigning for the upcoming elections.
Bholi captures the fukrey and lays the foundation of an investment scam that would help her win 10 times the amount through the lottery. The plan backfires – the first of many boomerangs that the script throws up, just like the original.
Perhaps the highlight of the movie, apart from what one already saw in Fukrey, is Richa Chadda. Bholi remains one of the most badass female characters in Bollywood this decade
Fukrey Returns features Choocha with a new gift: ‘premonition’. He sees things that happen in the near future, and they come true, just like his lottery dreams. One particular ‘premonition’ shows him a treasure buried in a local zoo.
What follows is trouble followed by trouble in a script similarly layered as the original, with a similar shot at a twist ending.
As an ensemble of sequences, there are parts where Fukrey Returns works better than the original. Fukrey Returns at its funniest is more hilarious than Fukrey’s peak laughter levels. But when it comes to the juxtaposition between single compositions, with consistency and proper linkages, the sequel falls significantly short.
The film’s reliance on the original is intermittently underscored with constant throwbacks to Fukrey. And while every referral to the first lifts the movie up, it simultaneously reminds everyone of the disparity between the two films.
What Fukrey Returns doesn’t quite cope with, just like many Bollywood sequels, is preparing a follow-up script which won’t be relying on characterisation, since the cast is absolutely identical to the first. Fukrey Returns perhaps gets an even bigger hit than others, for the development of characters in Fukrey was one of the film’s strengths.
And so, while Varun Sharma remains brilliant as Choocha, Pankaj Tripathi – one of the highlights of the franchise – excels even more with increased screen time, and many one-liners are punchier than the original, the sequel still isn’t close to Fukrey.
The filmmakers’ problems with characterisation are underscored with how they completely struggle to do anything with the character of Ali Fazal, who now is actually a bigger star compared to 2013, and would have drawn quite a few of his fans to Fukrey Returns.
Perhaps the highlight of the movie, apart from what one already saw in Fukrey, is Richa Chadda. Bholi remains one of the most badass female characters in Bollywood this decade, and if Richa introduced her with a bang in the original, she develops her to new levels in a script that centres around her.
It won’t be wrong to say that Bholi is the lead in Fukrey Returns and perhaps the film’s title could have reflected that as well.
It’s great to see an unrelenting female don taking on the male leads, but if there is to be a third part, it would need to introduce new characters or build a tighter script, if it wants the cult of Fukreyto remain.