Falaknuma Das

For those who are unfamiliar with the original Malayalam film Angamaly Diaries that this one’s a remake of, Falaknuma Das is not the tale of a gully boy’s rise to becoming a don, nor is it a story where the protagonist learns his lesson and goes on to live humbly. It’s the tale of a man who aspires to be a name everyone fears in Falaknuma but ends up crossing a line he might not be able to bounce back easily from. Sure, there’s a phase where he’s scared of the situation he’s in but it all’s well in the end and there’s no lesson learnt here. 

Falaknuma Das (Vishwak Sen) is too busy drinking with his friends, getting into numerous pointless fights filled with fisticuffs and expletives, waging territorial wars, judging women (even his own girlfriend) based on the kind of clothes they wear and laughing at jokes that involve using derogatory terms against women to finish college. Instead, he sets up a mutton shop to earn some money so he can convince his then-girlfriend Sakshi’s (Harshita Gaur) father to let them marry and migrate to Germany. But he ends up slowly inching deeper into the world of crime, graduating from just throwing a few blows to something a little more serious. He’s left so wide-eyed (literally) by the consequences, you’re supposed to care as a viewer but you really don’t.

Also in this tale are a motley of characters featuring his ‘gang’, a father-like figure Peg Pandu (Uttej) (seeing as how Das’ father passed away when he was young), a pair of arch nemesis, other random gangs, three women who fall in love with him and, of course, the much hyped up character of SI Saidulu (Tharun Bhascker) who ends up being wasted in a film that doesn’t know what to do with him. Tharun delivers such an earnest and stupendous performance; you truly end up wishing the film had more of him. Also wasted are the characters of amateur bomb maker Mallesh who just wants a regular job he can settle into and Das’ friend (Venkatesh Kakumanu) who just wants good food after a stiff drink. The duo are relegated to delivering laughs as and when the narrative seems confused about which direction it needs to go in. 

Vishwak Sen makes his directorial debut with this remake and delivers a film with a narrative so chaotic; it’s difficult to pay attention to the plot points in between the entire unnecessary and loud melee. He also surprisingly does an okay job, after the kind of performances he delivered for Vellipomakey and Ee Nagaraniki Emaindi. His character requires a lot of shouting and anger to radiate off him, but his performance makes it seem juvenile and nothing else, even though he tries. Prashanthi Charuolingah, Harshitha Gaur and Saloni Mishra’s characters and performances are plain okay too. Vivek Sagar delivers stupendous music and old-school style BGM, which unfortunately gets a bit loud at times.

The biggest drawback of Falaknuma Das is the lack of structure in its narrative, for it does show potential by shining through in the most unsuspecting moments with its subtle humour. If only the film had direction. The climax, taking place during Diwali, is built up so well, you really expect a more omnious ending than what you're handed. And the plus point? The way Vishwak uses the visuals, with stupendous cinematography by Vidya Sagar, to write a love letter to Old City. These scenes showcasing the best of food, colours and sounds of Charminar, Vikarabad, Dhoolpet, Mekala Mandi and more surely drag on, adding almost nothing to the chaotic narrative, but they’re a delight to watch on-screen. 

For those who’re looking for a story which would make sense, Falaknuma Das is not the film for you. If you’re looking for something messy but different, even if a tad bit juvenile, this one’s for you.