Lafangey Parindey: Watchable stuff

Rating: 3 out of 5*

Starring: Neil Nitin Mukesh, Deepika Padukone, Manish Chaudhary and Piyush Mishra

Director: Pradeep Sarkar

August 20, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Pradeep Sarkar after delivering a critical and box office success with his debut feature Parineeta had faltered in his next one, Laga Chunari Mein Daag but with Lafangey Parindey he has managed to get back in form and has succeeded in giving masala entertainer. The only thing that goes against it are the predictable plot points and the slow pace. But despite its few flaws LP is still worth a watch for its unusual lead pair Neil and Deepika and good direction aided by nice music.

Nandan Kamthekar aka One Shot Nandu (Neil) works for Usmaan bhai (Piyush Mishra) as a fighter for his betting games. In the Tilakwadi basti that he lives in Mumbai, also stays Pinky Palkar (Deepika) an ace skating dancer who aspires to win a TV reality show contest and break out of the lower middle class life. A botched up job for Usmaan bhai along with his mentor Anna (Kay Kay Menon) leads to a big mess for Nandu. Pinky’s life changes over night too as all her dreams get crashed with her accident that leaves her blind. Circumstances lead to Nandu helping out Pinky and teaming with her to participate in the talent hunt show which she always dreamt of winning. How it changes all equations for Nandu and the people connected to him forms the rest of the plot!

Pradeep Sarkar should be commended for opting for a completely different genre to the female oriented subjects he has been adept at. However, Sarkar has ensured his female lead’s character is pretty strong enough. The Mumbai chawl setting appears authentic and so do the characters inhabiting it. The action and skate dance sequences have been imaginatively shot. The songs too don’t act as speed breakers. The only major flaw of the enterprise is the sense of déjà vu one gets of films like Jeetendra – Hema Malini starrer Kinara and Aamir Khan’s Ghulam. But then that is a minor flaw, as the screenplay is infused with plenty of good moments that need to be experienced on screen.

Neil Nitin Mukesh convincingly adapts himself as a Mumbai tapori despite his suave persona befitting a rich dude. Deepika Padukone is only getting better with each film and with this one she treads successfully on a difficult character graph. She is effortless in her blind girl act and very good in emotional scenes. Piyush Mishra as the bad ass don is super cool in his act and is fun to watch mouth some really acidic lines laced with humour. Kay Kay Menon in a short but significant part is effective. All the actors playing Neil’s friends are very good. Manish Choudhary (last seen in Rocket Singh) playing a Police investigating officer delivers a fine act too. The two kids of Tilakwadi are hilarious to watch, especially Ameya Pandya in his tapori kid act.

R.Anandh’s music is fresh with Man Lafanga and Dhatad Dhatad being the pick of the lot. N. Natarajan Subramaniam’s cinematography is good and captures the dark night Mumbai sequences well. Editing by Sanjib Dutta however could have been better as the film drops pace in regular intervals. Bosco Caesar’s choreography is innovative.

Do give Lafangey Parindey a chance. It is definitely not a waste of time. Its characters succeed in endearing themselves to you. It may not be an ace but its still a quality product from Yash Raj Fims and marks the return to form of Pradeep Sarkar.

–Sampurn Wire