Fanney Khan Review: This musical drama wastes Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anil Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao's talent

Film: Fanney Khan (Comedy-Musical)

Cast: Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Rajkummar Rao, Divya Dutta, Pihu Sand

Direction: Atul Manjrekar

Duration: 2 hours 10 minutes

Language: Hindi (U/A)

Critic’s Rating: 2.5/5

Story:

Fanney Khan aka Prashant Sharma (Anil Kapoor) nursed a dream of becoming Mohammad Rafi. But, circumstances land him in Trombay Metal Works doing a blue-collar job. When he has a daughter, Lata (Pihu Sand), he vows to make her Lata Mangeshkar. The overweight teenager is constantly body-shamed and ridiculed for her attempts to be a pop-icon. 

Though she sings like a nightingale, the only fans she has are the kids in the chawl where she resides. Fanney is not discouraged. He kidnaps soloist Baby Singh (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) with the help of his buddy, Adhir (Rajkummar Rao) and demands his daughter be heard or else he will kill Baby.

Review:

In a reality-show driven world, 'Fanney Khan' has the right plot premise. But the whole treatment is so convoluted, it makes you want to scream for help because it appears like a bunch of amateurs were behind the scenes.

So by now, all of us know that you can be born in a dirty-pond and dream of being a lotus. Reality-shows (many of which are fixed) have made it possible for commoners to become front runners. So many rags to fame stories make headlines each day that every single person in the world believes they can achieve stardom. And when directors like Atul Manjrekar hammer the point further, they are making way for the genuinely delusional to "take'' what they believe is theirs.

The treatment of this film is so stupid, you want to throw something on the screen. Honestly in a bustling city like Mumbai can a taxi-driver, really kidnap India's Beyonce and keep her in a locked-down factory premise for days on end without anyone finding them? Okay, even if something as ridiculous as this passes, should one really condone abduction as means to an end?

Who is writing this stuff? Cinematic license be damned, what were Anil, Rajkummar and Aishwarya listening to? Unless none of them were actually listening and just happy that they got a movie outing with each other. 

And, why is the singer-daughter so irritating? Why does she insult her earnest father without provocation? Bad enough, the overweight girl is not someone you are likely to root for (chill, no one is attempting to body-shame anyone), but did the girl also have to be obnoxious?

The performances are the only thing that make this film worth a dekko. Anil's sincerity comes shining through, Rajkummar has limited screen-time but is a treat to watch.  As for Aishwarya, who often laments that her beauty distracts people from noticing her performances; this time, she is absolutely correct. She looks drop-dead gorgeous but turns in a superficial act. Of course she is still miles ahead of some of the other Barbie-Dolls in Bollywood, but that is not enough.

Her "I grew up in an orphanage'' back-story fails to strike an emotional chord. You are right, her 'undone' lips and nails that stay perfect even when she has been kept in captivity for the longest time, distract us from peeping into her soul. You keep wondering--was there a hidden mirror somewhere in which the actor got to check her reflection? 

Lastly, you wish that perhaps the world's most gorgeous woman had held up the mirror to the makers of this mishmash movie, showing them the flaws in the script.

Verdict: Fanney has little to offer. But if you're the sort who doesn't complain, please be my guest.