Watch TrailerFukrey 3 Movie Review: About an hour into Fukrey 3, Laali, one of the three fukras, asks ‘Ye chal kya raha hai.’ I felt for a change instead of Choocha, Laali had a deja chu and could read the mind of the audience and predict the future of the film. Because Fukrey 3 is literally full of toilet humour. The boys (who in 10 years haven’t grown into men) drift aimlessly from one gag to another where some are funny but most aren’t.
Ten years after Fukrey left us rolling in the aisles and six years after Fukrey Returns, comes that film’s third part featuring Richa Chadha, Varun Sharma, Pulkit Samrat, Manojt Singh, and Pankaj Tripathi — the same leads from the original except Ali Fazal.
The actors – we mean all the actors, including the tertiary ones – seem to be having a blast in Fukrey 3, but the movie ultimately ends up being a squandered opportunity despite early promise. This Mrighdeep Singh Lamba directorial comic caper starts on an encouragingly firm footing, stays on course for about an hour or so before losing momentum, and careens off into an uneven, unexciting lane from where there is no escape.
The third outing starts from where the last one ended. Hunny (Pulkit Samrat), Choocha (Varun Sharma), Lali (Manjot Singh), and Pandit (Pankaj Tripathi) team up once again to battle Bholi Punjaban (Richa Chadha). Choocha emerges as an unusual competitor to Bholi in the approaching election for the Delhi legislative assembly. Additionally, a diamond from a South African mine needs to be retrieved and there is also a subtle socio-political commentary about water scarcity in the capital city of India. For a film that wowed with the authenticity of its Delhi-set characters and their carefree world, there’s now plot contrivance that makes the sequel ring hollow.
Now, in my opinion, comedy is a tricky genre. After all, humour is different things to different people. You might enjoy the roll-out of laughter kind of slapstick comedy, and I might enjoy those clever, well-written lines. And both are funny, both are entertaining. Most importantly, both kinds of comedies need to coexist. But I notice that increasingly we’re making only childish slapstick comedies. Most laughs here come from the fact that the characters and situations are supremely giddy and the film wears its silliness right there on the sleeve. Fukrey 3 is packed with some downright foolish action, over-the-top acting, and many a stupid cat-and-mouse chase but the fun doesn’t last long. It all ends up in total slapstick in a water park that also has a crocodile (Read tiger at a zoo in Fukrey Returns). At 150 minutes the film feels dragged and the humour runs thin and becomes repetitive.
Eliminate Choocha from Fukrey Returns and there’s little going for the film. Varun Sharma as the fumbling-bumbling Choocha is once again on his toes and pretty much holding the picture together. He is invested with the responsibility of carrying the story forward. Richa Chadha, Pulkit Samrat and Manojt Singh also deliver a decent performance. Pankaj Tripathi as usual is excellent. His wit and comic timing are on point as he manages to make you giggle even when you find yourself disappointed by the plot.
The characters and setting from the original are still present in this new outing, but the spontaneity is missing. The humor in the film is inconsistent; however, there are a few fantastic lines that will make you laugh out loud. The film has its moments but it’s nowhere as entertaining as the original film. If you loved the Fukrey series as much as I did, I’m guessing you’ll go watch this one anyway and sure, please do that. But you might end up being disappointed, just like I did.
