Farrey Movie Review: Thanks to social media, the narrative surrounding the launch of a star kid, especially in a film produced and presented by their family, rarely leads to anticipation. Nepotism has become a big bad word. But is it fair to not give a talent a chance to prove their merit and worth? Perhaps not and you will realise the same if you give Farrey a chance. The film marks the launch vehicle of Alizeh Agnihotri and is co-produced by her father Atul Agnihotri’s Reel Life Production Pvt Ltd and presented by her superstar uncle Salman Khan under the banner of Salman Khan Films. Keep all your biases aside and Farrey might just become one of the freshest and most novel films of the year.
It revolves around high-school student Niyati, who lives in an orphanage. This, however, isn’t a miserable place. In fact, her warden and his wife leave no stone unturned to give Niyati and other co-habitants a good education and a bright future. Niyati is a genius student and after the completion of her tenth board exams – where she tops – gets an admission at a top-ranked and most expensive school in Delhi. Her life completely changes as she steps into this new world and befriends a rich but mediocre student named Chhavi.
Chhavi has a controlling father, whose only aim is to get her an admission at Stanford University where her brother also studies. To make her dad proud and fulfil his dream, she seeks help from Niyati. While Chhavi helps Niyati get a glimpse of the rich and high-society Delhi life, the latter is manipulated and coerced into coming up with ways to help Chhavi and her spoilt friends get good grades through novel ways of cheating. But soon Niyati finds herself in a soup as she gets trapped in one of the most terrifying cheating scandals.
Farrey is inspired from true events. It may take you a while to acclimatise to the world director Soumdendra Padhi has created but once you become a part of it, you will realise the degree of havoc money, greed and class differences can wreak. At 1 hour 54 minutes and despite a few song and dance sequences, Farrey makes for a smart and fast-paced thriller. It’s a clutter-breaker and comes as a breather at a time when actioners and murder mysteries have taken over Hindi cinema.
Though it doesn’t boast of many edge-of-the-seat moments, you will find yourself biting your nail and nervously anticipating about what happens next. And that keeps you hooked and engaged through the entire length of the film. What’s also interesting is that the makers have steered clear from casting older actors as school-going young adults. With Class and now Farrey, it’s truly refreshing to see how the focus is slowly turning towards gritty stories about teens that’s far removed from the meet-cute template featuring teenyboppers. The makers deserve credit for not digressing from the core plot with ornamental sub-tracks and romantic angles.
Farrey also gets brownie points for its cast and their performances. Despite being relatively fresh and new in the film business, the young actors prove their mettle with performances like seasoned artists. Alizeh makes a confident and the best debut this year so far and hits the right notes even in the emotionally heavier confrontational scenes. Her confidence and grace under the garb of borderline restraint as a lower-middle class orphan trying to fit into the rich, cream world is impressive. This is an unconventional debut and Alizeh deserves applause for not defying the rules in the book and following her heart.
Prasanna Bisht plays Chhavi and she also delivers a stellar act. Though the writing deserves credit, Prasanna adds a whole new layer and makes her not-so-likeable character human with her earnestness. Sahil Mehta also grabs attention for his portrayal of Aakash, a victim of penury who eventually sets on the path of vices to get what he deserves from his affluent classmates. Zeyn Shaw who made heads turn in Class doesn’t have much to contribute here. Juhi Babbar and Ronit Roy, especially, are stupendous.
Give Farrey a chance for its unconventional and fresh storytelling. It doesn’t make lofty promises but manages to evoke a myriad of emotions. It is raw and riveting with razor-sharp storytelling.
