In Faadu : A love story, director Ashwini Iyer Tiwari casts a piercing gaze at those who live life dangerously. It's a clumsy and claustrophobic world where ambitions and greed collide. A story where truth stings.
Faadu follows the journey of Abhay and Manjari, played by Pavail Gulati and Saiyami Kher, from the lower strata of the society and pursuing course in Literature. Abhay is from the slums.His father drives a taxi, his mother is terminally sick and brother is a drunkard delinquent. Manjari comes from an extremely humble Marathi family, her father is a postman and mother is a housewife
Besides sharing common background and extremely high scores in exams, it is poetry which binds them together.Abhay's blunt and biting modesty touches Manjari's heartstrings. Abhay is a dreamer. His penury drives him to carve a 'rags to riches' story for himself. Being a very intelligent and smart man, he forays into the dangerous side of minting money , which involves betting and gambling. Manju , albeit not supportive of his chaotic ways, succumbs to his passion of risking everything for money.
Ashwini, whose previous projects like Bareily ki Barfi and Nil Batte Sannata had overtones of humor, takes a stab at the dark and complex side of life.The characters are extremely authentic and blend with the milieu that writer Saumya Joshi inventively envisages in her script. But Faadu gets too tedious after a couple of episodes.
The slow moving narrative sinks into monotony , but a couple of noteworthy performances linger in your mind. Pavail Gulati nails his part as Abhay.Its nice to see the actor exploring myriad facets after Thappad. In a way, Faadu rests on his shoulders.
Saiyami Kher collaborates well with Gulati and their chemistry strikes you at an emotional level. I liked the way his equation with his father is portrayed in the show.Gunjan Joshi is superb, essaying the part of sleazy film producer. RJ Abhilash who plays Abhay's brother is achingly authentic and deserves brownie points.
On the whole, Faadu despite being tedious, is an evocative drama that fodders your introspective thoughts. Rating 3/5. The 11 part series is streaming on Sony LIV.
Ahwaan Padhee, is an IT Techie/Business Consultant by profession and a film critic/cinephile by passion, is also associated with Radio Playback as well, loves writing and conducting movie quizzes.
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