Casts: Arjun Kapoor, Deepika
Padukone, Pankaj Kapur, Dimple Kapadia , Naseeruddin Shah
Banner: Maddock Films
Director: Homi
Adajania
Producer: Dinesh Vijan
Writers: Homi
Adajania and Kersi Khambatta
Music: Mathias Duplessy and
Sachin-Jigar
Release Date: 12th
September 2014
Story line: Finding
Fanny revolves around five rather dysfunctional characters that live in the
quaint sleepy village of Pocolim, nestled deep in the interiors of Goa, India.
Pocolim is a village where pointless conversations are a way of life. Nothing
ever really happens here and the people of Pocolim, well, they just exist. One
night, the old postman Ferdie (Naseeruddin Shah), receives a letter that is
slipped under his door.
He realizes that it is the letter he
had written 46 years ago to the love of his life, Stefanie Fernandes (Anjali
Patil), asking for her hand in marriage. To his utter shock, he discovers that
it had never been delivered. All these years Ferdie has lived a life of
melancholy and regret, believing that Stefanie had rejected him. He decides to
find his beloved Fanny (as he fondly called her) and tell her the truth. Where
would she be after 46 years? Dead? Happily married? Would she even remember
him? Or is Stefanie Fernandes merely a figment of Ferdie’s imagination?
Four colorful characters from the
village join the trip under random pretexts, though in actuality everyone wants
a distraction from their mundane lives. A young virgin widow (Deepika
Padukone), a bitter mechanic (Arjun Kapoor), a belligerent artist (Pankaj
Kapur) and an obnoxious self-appointed “Lady” of Pocolim (Dimple Kapadia) join
Ferdie as they experience various hilarious and moving events that change their
lives forever.
Know more about the captain of the Ship, the
director:
Homi Adajania entered the film industry
directing and co-writing the English-language psychological drama Being Cyrus
(2006) starring noted Bollywood actors like Saif Ali Khan, Naseeruddin Shah,
Dimple Kapadia, and Boman Irani. The film earned critical acclaim, despite
being commercially unsuccessful. Film critic Rajeev Masand called it "a
stylish thriller that's told in an immensely engaging style."
Adajania's second directorial venture
was the Hindi-language romantic comedy Cocktail (2012). The film was written by
filmmaker Imtiaz Ali and produced by Saif Ali Khan and Dinesh Vijan under their
banner Illuminati Films. The lead roles were played by Saif Ali Khan, Deepika
Padukone, and debutante actress Diana Penty, while Dimple Kapadia and Boman
Irani featured in supporting roles. After its three-week run, Box Office India
declared the film a hit in India and abroad. It earned mixed to positive
reviews from critics.
Facts And Figures:
It has also been selected to be screened at
Busan International Film Festival in October, 2014. The flim has been cleared
with a U/A certificate.
Homi Adajania wrote the first draft of the
screenplay during his month long stay at village Salvador do Mundo in Goa.
During this period he also studied local Goan Catholics, and added some
dysfunctional characters into what he called, "hybrid Marquezian Indian
village", which became the fictional village of Pocolim. To get local
nuances and cultural research right, he took the help of Goan writer, Cecil
Pinto. Adajania didn't intend to write the film as a road film, instead he
placed it in the genre of As Good as It Gets. This was his second collaboration
with Kersi Khambatta, who also wrote the dialogues for his debut film, Being
Cyrus. Khambatta wrote the scenes, chapter by chapter, like a novel, which
aided in the development of the script.The screenplay of Finding Fanny was
adapted from a novel by Kersi Khambatta. The 200-page novel is expected to his
shelves later in 2015.
He had finished writing the script of
Finding Fanny by 2009, 4 years after his first directorial venture Being Cyrus
released. However, casting for the film became an issue as it was an
offbeat film—Imran Khan and Sonam Kapoor were initially offered roles in the
films, though they turned their respective parts down. Dinesh Vijan had
suggested against making the film, advising Adajania that "you are going
to make a Hinglish film which only 10 people will see." Hence, Adajania
postponed the film and went on to direct Cocktail instead. During the shooting
of Cocktail, his narration of the story to lead actress Deepika Padukone had
impressed her, and she expressed her desire to be a part of the film.
In May 2013, Padukone and Arjun Kapoor
were signed on for leading roles, the latter being assigned the part of "a
mechanic, who’s in denial about being a loser. "Reportedly, Padukone has
reduced her usual fee for the film and has also signed a profit-sharing deal
with the producers.By August 2013, Naseeruddin Shah and Dimple Kapadia, who
earlier featured in Being Cyrus, were signed on for the film; Pankaj Kapur
joined the cast the following month. Whilst the film was earlier reported to be
a short film, Padukone confirmed in an interview that this was untrue. The film
will be showcased in English and Hindi versions to cater for the audience in
India and abroad.
Before the filming could commence,
sessions and workshops were organized with the actors. Later, a month prior to
it, Adajania and Naseeruddin Shah figured out where to place the latter's
character emotionally and his body language, through story arc from vulnerable,
even "borderline idiotic" to coming into his strength later in the
film. Shah decided to use a mid-range voice, instead of his natural baritone.
Arjun Kapoor was convinced to use a restraint acting style, compared his usual
dramatic style, and appeared "effortlessness of just being
My Gut Feel and comments:
Although our Bollywood audience is getting
mature with every passing year however a HINGLISH film is still a risk as it
restrict the reachability of film to classes and not the masses which seems to
be the case with Finding Fanny. Star cast is impressive, story line appeals to
be interesting however holding attention of audience throughout the film is a
challenge especially in second half of movies like this. Director Homi
Adajania’s previous work Being cyrus was experimental in nature and same seems
to be the case with Finding Fanny.
I would give Finding Fanny 3 stars out of 5
stars, five days before the release and expecting it to be one time watch.