Fukrey

Plot

Delhi-based school backbenchers Vikas "Hunny" Gulati and Dilip "Choocha" Singh are perpetually dreaming of making it big and want to get into the local college but don't have the required grades. The college guard Pandit tells them that he can provide them with the leaked class XII papers for a large sum of money. Choocha has the power to get the winning number of any lottery in his dream, and Hunny has the talent to sand the exact number out of his dream. They cannot afford or collect the money required, so they decide to sell the papers to other students but fail there too. Meanwhile, through Pandit, they meet Zafar, a former student of the college and a struggling musician. The fourth character is Lali, whose father Billa runs a sweet shop. Lali is currently pursuing his degree through correspondence and, like Hunny and Choocha, also wants to get into the same college, where his girlfriend Shalu, who ignores him all the time, studies. Pandit asks Lali to donate ₹250,000 in the college development fund to get admission, but Billa refuses to, saying college is too costly. Zafar's girlfriend, Neetu, who has broken up with him over his career choices, is now giving private tuition to Lali so that he can get the marks to get into the college of his dreams. On the other hand, Zafar's father faces a stroke and is paralysed. Zafar badly needs money for his treatment.

The four meet up at Pandit's office, where Hunny explains his scheme. However, since now they all together need a lot of money, they need someone to invest their money. On Zafar's insistence, Pandit is talked into taking them to meet a local gangster, Bholi Punjaban, where Hunny tells them their scheme. Bholi is ready to invest, and Lali also gives his shop papers as a mortgage. Bholi tells them to come the next day with the number. However, the same night, everyone except Choocha falls asleep. The next morning, Choocha narrates a fake dream, which Hunny interprets and gets a number. They go to Bholi and tell the number, but it backfires, and Bholi loses her money. Now to recover her money, she gives them a packet containing drug pills, which Zafar, Hunny, and Lali have to sell at a rave party the same night. She keeps Choocha as security with her. At the party, police and the Narcotics division conduct a raid, and Lali escapes with a packet with the police chasing him. Lali manages to fool the cops and reaches Neetu's place. He also sees Zafar there. Neetu throws the drugs down the drain just as the police are about to search her home. The cops leave her place, warning Lali. Meanwhile, Zafar tells the whole story to Neetu, and he was thinking that Neetu was falling for him, but she refuses. Zafar also warns him. Lali also calls Choocha, telling him to run from Bholi's house, which he succeeds in doing.

Production

Filming

The film was shot extensively in Delhi at various locations, including Miranda House, where most of the college sequences and opening song were shot.

Soundtrack

Distributed and released by T-Series, the soundtrack of Fukrey is composed by Ram Sampath, with lyrics by writer Vipul Vig for the title track, director and additional writer Mrighdeep Singh Lamba for two songs, and Munna Dhiman for the rest. Fukrey is thus the first Excel Entertainment production to not feature songs written by producer Farhan Akhtar's father and regular lyricist Javed Akhtar.

Reception

The music of the film received good reviews, especially for the song "Ambarsariya", an adaptation of a traditional Punjabi folk song, performed by Sona Mohapatra.

Re-release

The film was re-released in theatres due to public demand and popularity. The PVR Cinemas showed Fukrey along with other movies in September 2013.

Reception

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 50% of 6 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5/10.

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated it 3.5/5 and quoted, "Fukrey is a twisted and delectably uproarious take on the shortcuts the youth of today indulge in". Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN rated the movie 2.5/5 and noted that, "A tighter script and more screen time for the excellent Pankaj Tripathi, as enterprising campus security guard Panditji, might have helped turn this moderately entertaining film into a rollicking good caper." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film a 3/5 rating.

Box office

Fukrey grossed around ₹142 million within the first five days of its release. By the end of its second week, the film had collected ₹290 million nett in the domestic markets. The business of the film was varied across India. It was a success in Delhi/UP and East Punjab, as well as in Rajasthan but average in the rest of the country. The film collected around ₹20 million net on its second Friday which was just 20% less than the first day. Fukrey collected ₹360 million in the domestic markets by the end of its theatrical run.

Sequel

On 30 January 2016, a sequel to the film was announced, featuring the original cast and directed by Lamba and produced by Excel Entertainment. Filming began in August 2016 in Delhi. The film was released on 8 December 2017.

A threequel titled Fukrey 3 commenced shooting on 13 March 2022 with the cast of the previous two films reprising their roles and Mrighdeep Singh Lamba as the director. The film was released on 28 September 2023.

Animated series

An animated series for kids, titled as Fukrey Boyzzz, jointly produced by Excel Entertainment and Discovery Kids India, premiered on 12 October 2019 on Discovery Kids India, which showcases the animated avatars of popular characters Hunny, Choocha, Laali, and Bholi Punjaban, along with other characters. Fukrey Boyzzz: Space Mein Fukrapanti, an Indian animated comedy film directed by Avinash Walzade was released in 2020 continuing from the series.