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Star cast: Deepika Padukone, Neil Nitin Mukesh.
Plot: Neil knocks down friend Deepika while driving a car rashly and becomes the cause of her blindness. To make amends, he becomes her dancing partner and participates in a television dance reality show.
What’s Good: The skate-dancing by Deepika, her acting.
What’s Bad: The lack of emotions; screenplay of convenience; absence of super-hit music in a film about dancing.
Verdict: Lafangey Parindey fails to touch the heart. Loser.
Loo break: The boxing bouts which are repetitive.
Yash Raj Films’ Lafangey Parindey (UA) is the story of One Shot Nandu (Neil Nitn Mukesh) and Pinky Palkar (Deepika Padukone). They live in the backstreets of Mumbai city and are friends. While Pinky dreams of winning a reality dance show on television some day, Nandu whiles away his time with friends nicknamed Chaddi, Diesel and Gulkand. When he is not playing carrom with his friends, he is in the boxing ring. His mentor is Usmanbhai (Piyush Mishra) who is into criminal activities.
One day, Nandu and sharpshooter Anna (Kay Kay Menon) are escaping in a car when Nandu accidentally knocks down Pinky who loses her eyesight in the accident. With Anna dying soon thereafter, nobody except Nandu is aware that he is the cause of his friend Pinky’s blindness. Soon, Nandu ends up becoming her dancing partner. He learns dancing on skates at which Pinky is adept, just so that he can be instrumental in the realisation of Pinky’s dreams. But just before the final round, the two part ways. What happens thereafter is revealed in the climax.
Gopi Puthran’s story had the germs of a hit but his screenplay leaves a lot to be desired. For one, a film in which the main protagonist is blind had to be high on emotions, but Pinky seems to be so confident and unperturbed even after she loses her eyesight that the audience doesn’t feel enough sympathy for her. A basic question is neither answered nor addressed: why doesn’t Nandu confess to Pinky that it was he who had knocked her down? After all, it was an accident! Even if he feared retaliation, the audience should’ve been shown his dilemma. Although the film is about Pinky’s dream of winning the reality show, the climax veers from the reality TV show to Nandu-Pinky’s love story.
All in all, the film is low on sentiments, doesn’t strike a chord in the audience’s hearts and leaves them unaffected for the most part.
Deepika does a fine job and makes the otherwise dull movie watchable at least. Her skate-dances (choreographed by Bosco Caesar and Sandro Guerra) are excellent. Neil looks good with his muscular physique and does a fair job. Two departments in which he needs to improve are voice modulation and dancing. Of the three friends, Namit Das (Chaddi) is the best. The other two – Viraj Adhav (Diesel) and Vinay Sharma (Gulkand) – make decent acting debuts. Piyush Mishra and Kay Kay Menon are good. Manish Chaudhary, as police inspector Keki Sethna, leaves a mark. Sandesh Yadav is effective as his deputy.
Pradeep Sarkar’s direction is not as sensitive as was the need. A film about a dancer can’t but have super-hit music. However, R. Anandh’s compositions are nice, not excellent. Swanand Kirkire’s lyrics are far better.
On the whole, Lafangey Parindey doesn’t connect too well with the viewer. Great music and strong emotions could’ve done the trick. As it is, it will prove to be a loser in spite of a moderate budget.
