The Fakir of Venice

The Fakir of Venice
Directed byAnand Surapur
Screenplay byRajesh Devraj
Story byHomi Adajania
Produced byPunit Desai
Anand Surapur
StarringFarhan Akhtar
Annu Kapoor
Kamal Sidhu
CinematographyDeepti Gupta
Preetha Jayaraman
Bakul Sharma
Edited byBunty Nagi
Music byA. R. Rahman
Production
companies
October Films
Phat Phish Motion Pictures
Distributed byPhat Phish Motion Pictures
Release dates
  • April 2009 (2009-04) (Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles)
  • 8 February 2019 (2019-02-08)
Running time
98 mins[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Box officeest. ₹0.20 crore[2]

The Fakir of Venice is a 2009 Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Anand Surapur. The film stars Farhan Akhtar, Annu Kapoor and Kamal Sidhu in the lead roles and is written by Rajesh Devraj with a story from Homi Adajania. It was presented as Opening Night Film in April 2009 at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.

It was released on 8 February 2019, 10 years after its premiere.[3] The film's release was halted for ten years due to production related issues and was Akhtar's first acting role.[4] The music is composed by A. R. Rahman.[5]

Cast

Music

Songs and the background score for the film were composed by A. R. Rahman.[6]

The Fakir of Venice
Soundtrack album by
A. R. Rahman
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LanguageHindi
LabelOctober Films
ProducerA. R. Rahman
Tracklist
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Wako Naam Fakir"Sant KabirA. R. Rahman, Arjun Chandy & Abhay Jodhpurkar03:28
2."Fakir"Sant KabirShreya Ghoshal04:01

Marketing and release

The official trailer of the film was launched on 2 January 2019.[7]

Release

The film was initially scheduled to be released on 1 February 2019. The film was released on 8 February 2019.

Reception

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews. Isha Arora of TIMC giving seven stars out of ten to the film said, "Surapur's directorial is a well-thought and shot movie and the brilliant performances by the two lead actors will win everyone's heart. We wish that The Fakir of Venice could have been released on the silver screen, much sooner but it's definitely worth a watch."[8] Reza Noorani of The Times of India rates the film two and half out of five stars and writes "While the first half meanders and stretches on, it is in the second half when the film finds its groove. At 1 hour and 38 minutes, the film still feels a bit long. Had the makers worked on the screenplay and made it a tad more complex, it would have been a great film on how, people from different classes, connect with each other and posed bigger questions on mortality and the nature of death. But it falls short of that and ends up being a weak, sideshow at some European art fair."[9]

References

  1. ^ "The Fakir of Venice lacks the thrill of a con job done right". The Hindu. 8 February 2019. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Alita Battle Angel, Amavas & The Fakir of Venice 1st Day Box Office Collection from India". Box Office collection. 9 February 2019. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  3. ^ "The Fakir of Venice trailer: Only Farhan Akhtar, Annu Kapoor can make a con story this hilarious – watch video". Zoom TV. 3 January 2018. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  4. ^ "'The Fakir of Venice' trailer: Farhan Akhtar and Annu Kapoor team up to con the art world". Scroll.in. 4 January 2019. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  5. ^ Basu, Nilanjana (4 January 2019). "The Fakir Of Venice Trailer: Farhan Akhtar, Annu Kapoor's Hilarious 'Con'coction Has A Twist". NDTV. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  6. ^ "A R Rahman: I feel the desire to give back". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  7. ^ "The Fakir Of Venice - Official Trailer". Times of India. 2 January 2019. Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  8. ^ "The Fakir of Venice Movie Review: Not your typical Bollywood flick!". The India Movie Channel. Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  9. ^ "THE FAKIR OF VENICE MOVIE REVIEW | TIMES OF INDIA". Times of India. 7 February 2019. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.