Finding Fanny

Finding Fanny is a simple anatomy of love. Ending with the finding that true love is a false epiphany. And along the way reflects on ego, the short life of lust, the razzle-dazzle of courtship, the pleasure of love in its barest forms.

Very nice watch all along the way. Very good images, good aesthetics, authenticity of the location and Goan culture have been maintained. Music is good.The characters are all well developed and the actors, some of the best to come from India have portrayed them well. Except for the end where it rushes to an end, and leaves much less impact than it carries through the journey.

FINDING FANNY (English): 7.5/10

Finding Fanny revolves around five rather dysfunctional characters on a road trip to find "Fanny"- the love of the life of one of them. As the amusing plot unfolds, the characters are shown in vibrant shades and a rather refreshing climax wraps it up in a very nice way. All in all, a good movie worth watching at least once.

A brave attempt to recreate the magic of the old time comedies lost after Hrishikesh Mukherjee and his school of film making. Its a feel good comic-drama backed by some decent performances.

The actors brought alive the characters, which, must I say, were rather well built. While Pankaj Kapoor was the best in the lot and Naseeruddin Shah was just about as outstanding as ever, it was Dimple Kapadia, who did that bit of extra-effort to fit into the canvas with an air of grace. I have had my reservation on the selection of Arjun Kapoor, who seemed to be edgy at times; all credit must go to the director who was able to judiciously moderate the character to hide Arjun's monotonous limitations rather colourfully within the frame. Deepika Padukone for a change performed surprisingly well, and dare I say beyond expectations. Worth mentioning: she looked stunning in her rather simple get-up for the film. However, making her the primary narrator, well, was apt, but not judicious. An out and out off-beat feel good movie, without much of melodrama, grandeur and unnecessary colours, Finding Fanny is a tale right out of a book of great Indian short stories and stands as a one off instance of a movie that has been narrated and directed well from behind the camera. The script was seamlessly flowing, and the story was well woven, the camera man, requires a word of praise for making Indian locations look as beautiful and appealing. To sum it up, its rare to find that feel good brew, which has been ever so elusive from Hindi films for some time now.

The dead cat didn't smell for a real long time, almost through out the trip, apart from that continuity was well managed.

Agree or disagree, this movie is not great at all. I didn't watch it with great expectations but thought it would turn out to be a decent one as I've really liked the Director's previous 'Being Cyrus'. Casting is the only plus point I see in this movie. The plot doesn't have the grip to glue the viewer to the movie. Story is about searching for a person and the events are very flat and dull. Very boring I must say. Not complaining about not having the regular Bollywood ingredients but this movie could've been better. Narration style was not interesting. Felt like the mood of the movie was going off at places.

Personally didn't like this movie at all.

Homi Adajania is back after his commercial mainstream outing in "Cocktail" to what he does best, tell another quirky tale of dysfunctional individuals which he convincingly told with his debut "Being Cyrus".

"Finding Fanny" let me warn is not your run of the mill movie, it is abstract in its narration but the soul is at the right place.

Homi Adajania adapts Kersi Khambata's story again after "Being Cyrus". "Finding Fanny" primarily tells the story of five individuals Angie (Deepika Padukone), her mother-in-law Rosie (Dimple Kapadia), her naïve affable friend Ferdie (Naseeruddin Shah), her mother-in-law's admirer Don Pedro (Pankaj Kapur) and her brooding secret lover Savio Da Gama (Arjun Kapoor). Based in a small village of Goa Pocolim, the story unfolds when these five principle characters take a road trip to find Ferdie's love, whom he confessed love 46 years back Stefanie Fernandes a.k.a "Fanny" (Anjali Patil). How each character comes to his own and discovers themselves is what the story is all about.

The story premise by Kersi Khambata is wafer thin but it is the screenplay which accentuates the narration. It is the situations that make the story funny; each character is defined well with their set of eccentricities and insecurities. Kersi has done a brilliant job in defining the characters well. But I felt the proceeding goes from quirky to awry as the movie comes to an end. The climax could have been written better. But overall the pace never dips and at the end you have a smile. Well as I said earlier this is not your conventional film so do not expect the obvious.

The Dialogues written by Kersi and Homi is the highlight of the movie which complements the narration and lifts the scenes. They are brilliantly written with subtle humor but the impact is hilarious.

It is the performances by the ensemble cast which is a major highlight and the reason why the movie is a delight to watch. Homi undoubtedly had an enviable cast. Naseeruddin Shah as Ferdie, the emotional affable post master is brilliant. Naseer underplays his character,he has modulated his voice and his body language to portray Ferdie and the outcome is just mind-blowing. Pankaj Kapur who plays the eccentric lusty painter Don Pedro, he again proves his brilliance with this portrayal. Although amongst the five characters, Don Pedro's character is wafer thin as far as the writing goes but Pankaj Kapur with his portrayal takes the character to the zenith. It was delight to watch both the thespians in one frame. Dimple Kapadia as Rosie is brilliant and gives one of her best performances; she captures the nuances of Rosie's character well. Deepika Padukone again gives a good performance with Angie, Homi extracts another cracker performance after her Veronica act in "Cocktail". Arjun Kapoor as Savio, the brooding loser and lover shows his range as an actor.

Anil Mehta's cinematography is so breathtaking that after watching the movie you want to take a trip to Goa. He captures the old Goa so well, something which has not been highlighted well after "Trikaal". Goa's beauty lies beyond the beaches as well and Anil has captured it brilliantly.

Costumes by Anaita Shroff Adajania are so well done that it actually blends with the narration and does not look out of place. Production Design by Manisha Khandelwal is another highlight, every detail is painstakingly executed. The last highlight being the Music by Mathias Duplessy especially the backgrounds score, it just transports you to another world.

Homi Adajania breaks the conventional norms of film making and tries to create an Indian "Little Miss Sunshine"; well he partially succeeds as well. The movie's unconventional take makes it for niche audience and it may not find takers in the masses.

The one unique feature about this film is that though it is shot in English and Goan, the English that is spoke is Indian-Indian-English. People speak this kind of English in Mumbai, Goa and neighboring places so I was pleased to see them play attention to the distinct language accent that various parts of India employs. I laud the director for that.

I thought all the actors did a good job. The reason I saw this film was because it had come highly recommended and secondly I wanted to see what Deepika would do with a film where she has to speak in English. I came in with expectations but I enjoyed the film. It is very unique, some scenes are funny, the film has its own gripe with the character subtleties.

The film is quite unpredictable except for the end. Yes, it is humorous but don't expect the best film of the year. It is far from it. It's a good film that doesn't take itself too seriously. Neither is it indulgent at all. This stands in its best favor.

Dimple Ji was outstanding I thought. Arjun Kapoor who I actually dislike a lot was also tolerable so the director has done something right.

Watch at the theaters, please don't be a cheap-skate and go with 7/10 expectations. Bye now.