Films based on the common man always find an audience. And if Rajkumar Hirani is involved, then definitely the curiosity and excitement increases manifold. Because we all know, that it will have loads and loads of lessons to be learnt and to be cherished for life! And as expected, Ferrari Ki Sawaari, Rajesh Mapuskar’s directorial debut excels beautifully in this department. The director tells a beautiful story with élan and succeeds to a great extent! Sadly, the film has its share of cinematic liberties. All films have it but in case of Ferrari Ki Sawaari, it’s too much. Nevertheless, the film deserves a watch!

The story of the movie: Rustom aka Rusy (Sharman Joshi) is a head clerk at the RTO. He’s upright, honest and ever smiling whose life revolves around his son, Kayo (Ritwik Sahore) and his passion for cricket. Kayo aims high but big dreams often need hell lot of money, something that Rusy doesn’t have. But Rusy gets an opportunity whereby he’ll be paid handsomely, if he gets a Ferrari for a rich and influential person. All hell breaks loose when Rusy gets the Ferrari, but without informing its legendary owner – master blaster Sachin Tendulkar! Watch Ferrari Ki Sawaari to find out what happens next.

A smile gets on viewer’s face as Rustom’s character is introduced. He’s cheerful, simple, happy and most importantly, truthful and honest – something that we all aspire to be. The by-now famous scene and in a way also the best scene is where Rustom insists on a fine for breaking the signal because his scene witnessed it and ‘jo dikhega wohi to sikhega’! That one scene itself is a huge reason to watch and savour the film!

The film has a crisp and swift narrative and doesn’t boast of a single dull moment in those 135 minutes. Many had reservations with the scene where Ferrari gets stolen. But that sequence was still convincing. I have read of even more bizarre cases of car theft. What was difficult to digest was – how come the groom Pakya (Nilesh Divekar) didn’t object when Ferrari was being covered with flowers? Didn’t he realize that if the whole vehicle will be decorated with flowers, it’ll be impossible to make out that it’s a Ferrari? Also Deboo (Boman Irani) getting the towing van, loading the Ferrari and getting it to his residence was just too much! The traffic cop doesn’t even ask his name when Deboo takes away the Ferrari, moreover! There are few more such scenes but these portions are the ones that were just not convincing at all.

Nevertheless, the film has its plusses…lots of them! The characters are very well written and thought of. The intermission point and the pre-climax scene form a lump in one’s throat. The entire father-son bond (Sharman and Ritwik; Boman and Sharman) is just beautiful. And the final scene is excellent and clap-worthy. And as mentioned before, the film teaches values, which is a rarity in today’s world!

When I would be asked the ten best performances of the year at the end of 2012, I would surely mention Sharman Joshi without a shred of doubt! This is surely Sharman’s most accomplished work so far and he’s indeed fortunate to have got such a strong role. He looks immensely cute when he smiles…and he does it throughout the film (even when the loan guy humiliates him). And he was just brilliant in the finale…trappings of a fine actor for sure! Hope Sharman makes the right choice with his next film!

Ritvik Sahore appears confident and is very adorable. Boman Irani is well…Boman Irani! This talented actor never fails to amaze me – the way he does something different, in every film! His was the most touching character in the film and as expected, delivers a bravura performance! Hats off! Seema Bhargava (Babbo Didi) was hilarious…still can’t stop laughing on some of her antics! Satyadeep Misra (Coach Vilayat), who did a great job as Rani’s boss in No One Killed Jessica, was extremely likeable. Paresh Rawal (Dilip Dharmadhikari) excels in the brief role. Nilesh Divekar as the politician’s son does as per character’s demand. The actors who played politician, security guard, Tendulkar’s caretaker, shop owner and others does great and more importantly, their character seem straight out of life! Lastly, Vidya Balan was slightly awkward as the item girl but appears confident. She also proves that skin show isn’t the necessary ingredient to be qualified as an ‘item girl’!

Pritam’s music is subtle. Maara Re, title song, Mala Jau De, Good Night work and gel well with the narrative. Tapas Relia’s background score was first-rate while Sudheer Palsane’s cinematography is quite good. Rajkumar Hirani’s dialogues don’t boast of witty lines but works well and seem straight out of life. However, his story (along with Rajesh Mapuskar) was first-rate. Vidhu Vinod Chorpa and Mapuskar’s screenplay was brilliant but at places, had its loose ends. Finally, Mapuskar’s direction was quite good, considering that it’s his first film and that he had never even directed a short film in his life before! There’s no romantic lead opposite Sharman or any other character in the film (still considered indispensible in today’s times) and yet, the film was in real terms an ‘entertainer’. However, one wished the super-swift editing was not incorporated in the intermission and the marriage scene in the climax. Somehow, it diluted the effect to an extent. But overall, an impressive debut and hope to see many more films from him!

Some of the best scenes:
1.Rusy pays the fine
2. Rusy gets the bat for Kayo
3. Rusy gets new cell phone (brilliant!)
4. Rusy at the bank
5. Rusy at Tendulkar’s building
6. All scenes of the guard and the caretaker
7. The intermission point
8. Deboo meets Dilip Dharmadhikari
9. The last 20 minutes
10. Deboo’s flashack (quite novel!)

On the whole, Ferrari Ki Sawaari has its share of hiccups but at the same time, boasts of some brilliant moments that compensates for the glitches. Most importantly, it teaches us values and morals. Sharman gives the performance of his career and Boman too scores a sixer! Go for the film with your entire family, including your kids! Enjoy the ride!

My rating-*** ½ out of 5!

LINK

http://fenilandbollywood.com/2012/06/17/movie-review-ferrari-ki-sawaari-by-fenil-seta/