SFKTNP, presumably made on a modest budget, with a female Khan (Farah Khan) in the lead, for a change, is a cross between the offbeat and the mainstream movies of Hindi cinema. I say offbeat cinema, because very rarely does Bollywood celebrate middle age romances, in full length feature films, with forty-plus characters, in the September of their lives, without its conventional male and female leads, and in the process, showcase a whole community : here the Parsis, in their customs, their food, their wisecracks, and their ethnic and social concerns . (Other Hindi films with a Parsi backdrop, include Khatta-Meetha (1978), Pestonjee (1988), and Ferrari Ki Sawari (2012), though the comparisons end here). I also say mainstream , because the storyline is as old as the hills :the hero meets the heroine; they fall in love ; there are the usual impediments; the plot, in the interim, ambles along with romance, songs , dances, comedy ;and the final denouement, happy or otherwise.
The story revolves around two families, the family of Farhad Pastakia (Boman Irani), his widowed mother, Nargis (Daisy Irani)and his grandmother (Shammi).The other family is that of Shirin Fuggawala(Farah Khan), her aunt ( Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal) and her father.
Farhad is all of 45, and still unmarried .A salesman in a lingerie shop, Tem Tem Bra and Panty Store, he takes professional pride in his vocation, and will not lie about his calling, even if his mother would, to find an eligible girl, so much so, that his mother has to warn him, that at this rate, he would perforce have only divorcees, or widows remaining, in their community to choose his wife from.
One day, Shirin, also on the wrong side of 40, and who works as a secretary in a Parsee Trust walks into his store for some shopping. They start chatting, and before long, love and life blossom, and it is roses in September for them. So far so good.
But things are not easy for Farhad as he gets caught in the emotional crossfire, between his mother and Shirin. How the issues sort themselves out is what the film is about.
Bela Sehgal, debuts as a director for this film, scripted by her brother, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and another. A somewhat flawed plot is saved by the direction, dialogues and performances of the cast. Full marks for the way she infuses comedy, romance, and emotional nuances, into an otherwise hackneyed plot. Watch for example, the meetings between Shirin, and Farhad’s mother, in the presence of a discomfited Farhad, and how understanding belatedly dawns on both of them that they are each other’s bete noires. Their adversarial scenes are handled with a comic touch, without high decibel drama.
The scenes between Farhad and his grandmother, with whom he shares confidences, are easy on the eye. The off and on outbursts of the Indira Gandhi smitten character, who thinks that he is the real Feroze Gandhi, the scene featuring Farhad and Shirin on their ’date’, and subsequently at the clinic, and the free-for-all at the annual trust meetings, are all handled with wit and aplomb.
Boman Irani, after his high octane roles in films like Munnabhai M.B.B.S, Main Hoon Na, 3 Idiots, Don and Don2 gets to play the role of a sober romantic. Caught on the one hand, between his loved ones, who dote on him, and on the other , his love interest, who indulges and mollycoddles him, trying out his ‘fluorescent bras’, or teaching him to ‘hug’, his is a stellar , but restrained performance, underplayed to convey maximum effect.
The jury is still out on Farah’s acting skills, some expressing reservations, and others commending her performance. Though she is credible as Shirin, her frequent appearances on television may have, in my view, taken their toll. There were moments in the movie, when my mind switched off association with the ‘reel’ life Shirin, and switched on to the ’real life’ Farah Khan , prompted by a sense of déjà vu of the ‘reality television’ Farah Khan , seen offering her comments in ‘Indian Idol’ and ‘Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega’ . This could be the main reason, why mainstream movie stars zealously take care, not to be seen in too large a measure, on the small screen , to keep their larger than life screen persona intact, without subjecting it to viewer exhaustion, by coming into our drawing rooms.
Daisy Irani, (last seen in Housefull) as Farhad’s mother, delivers an admirable performance.Whether it is in the matter of joking with Farhad whether it is ‘dosti or dostana’, that he has with his friend, or ventilating her frustrations, on her late husband, about Farhad’s choice of Shirin, she is utterly credible. The supporting cast, including Shammi, too have given creditable performances.
The music by Jeet Ganguly has freshness, and is a break from the generally stereotyped assembly line music churned out in recent times (with occasional exceptions).The song ‘Ishq Me Tere Bina’has a soulful feel. However, in my view, there is a surfeit of songs, and this, I felt, sometimes seemed to distract the narrative, and slow down its pace.
The film has real life Parsis, for the most part, articulating the sensibilities of the Parsi characters, lending the film, a rare authenticity.To that extent , it is a pleasant change from the way mainstream Hindi films generally caricature Parsis, or for that matter, Sindhis, South Indians, or other communities, with affected intonations and accents. More than anything, the film portrays the Parsis, as they really are: warm, gregarious, garrulous, witty, with their penchant for gastronomic delicacies like Sali Boti and Dhansak, and beverages like mangola and tea, and their occasional pet peeves.
More importantly, this movie, in a sense, marks the beginning of of mainstream Hindi cinema coming of age, given the novelty of its theme of middle age romance , on the one hand , and its steering clear of mainstream stars, and pitching instead, for an assemblage of character actors, on the other hand.
SFKTNP, with its simplicity and wit, is for discerning viewers.It may not set the cash registers ringing, nor will it, in line with the latest fad of measuring the success of a movie, enter the Rs 100 crores club, in terms of box office collections.
However, if one is ready to trundle along to the theatres, and pay the price of single screen or multiplex tickets, there is feel good entertainment in store for one. For the ’prefer to view at home’ viewer, the film is always worth a watch on the small screen, as and when it is aired.
Happy viewing !!!