The Fakir Of Venice Movie Review

Film - The Fakir of Venice

Director: Anand Surapur

Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Annu Kapoor, Kamal Sidhu, Mathieu Carriere, and Valentina Camelutti.

The Fakir Of Venice is a stunning and beautiful cinematic journey of two characters, director Anand Surapur directorial is based on a true story. Two crooked, flawed and yet lovable characters coming together and forming a friendship to carry out deception is visually stunning!

Tale of hustle, lies, and deceits, the story offers nothing new but the landscape where it is filmed, is a remarkable feast for the eyes. A hustler, who goes to incredible lengths to ensure that he gets the right exhibit for an art installation in Venice.

The exhibit is a 'fakir' - a yogi who can perform the feat of endurance by burying himself in the sand for hours - sort of an ambassador for mystic India.

Adi Contractor played by Farhan Akhtar (his debut film), is a production manager in the advertising fraternity and Annu Kapoor plays Sattar, an alcoholic with a streak of bad choices and downtrodden luck, who wants money and falls easily for Adi's tricks.

There is a lot going on with sub-text, the narrative and portrayal are skin deep, take away the superficial layers and you’ll find a deeper tale about greed, validation, survival, human psychology and much more.

The film was marked to be the debut of Farhan Akhtar's acting debut but due to production issues, the film got delayed almost a decade. One could see his struggle with character but the real trooper in the film is Annu Kapoor, he is a riot.

Sattar is like everyone else, playing a common man is the most challenging roles and Annu Kapoor has aced it, with very few dialogues and yet he delivers a capturing performance, is amazing.

The supporting cast takes the narrative forward; names like Valentina Carnelutti as Sattar's love interest Gia and Jhilmil Hazarika as Sattar's sister Hameeda, Kamal Siddhu as Adi's love interest Mandira, Mathieu Carriere as Massimo, the artist in Venice, all are memorable.

The film exploits the locales and its characters to the fullest. The cinematography, the background score, and editing are all of ace quality.

This film definitely make it to Sunday Brunches among audiences, who love slow, melting pot human stories!