The web series “Farzi” tells the story of Sunny, a young man who has grown up with resentment towards the world after being abandoned by his father and taken in by his grandfather. He turns to the world of crime to help his grandfather’s publication, Kranti and soon realizes his own potential as a brilliant artist who can design fake notes like no one else. The show explores the intricate and technical details of making and distributing fake notes, making it a thrilling and dangerously detailed crime drama.
The characters in the show are well-defined and fleshed out, with each important character having their own story that runs concurrently with the main plot. However, some of the characters’ tracks feel forced and slow down the pace of the otherwise fast-paced thriller. Shahid Kapoor delivers a top-notch performance as Sunny, while Vijay Sethupathi brings his trademark style to portray the highly motivated IPS officer Michael, who never plays by the rulebook. The clash of these two strong characters keeps fueling the narrative with huge doses of excitement.
Kay Kay Menon is a hoot playing the fake note kingpin Mansoor, nailing the eccentricities and quirks of his character. Bhuvan Arora is superb as Sunny’s best friend and man Friday, while Amol Palekar is aptly cast as the upright freedom fighter who still has hope for the youth of the country and his fading newspaper ‘Kranti’. Raashi Khanna is impressive as Megha, a young and raring-to-go professional.
The show’s scale is no less than that of a movie, with telling cinematography and the generous use of outdoor locations and top-notch production values. The dialogues are very relevant and well-suited to each character, although there are too many F and MC, BC words that feel out of place at times.
Overall, ‘Farzi’ is a refreshing and intensely gripping scamster saga where the pros far outweigh the cons. Despite the cinematic convenience and some forced character tracks, the constant unpredictability and thrill make this show an easy binge for those who enjoy crime dramas.
- Genre: Black comedy & Crime thriller
- Written by: Sita Menon, Suman Kumar, Raj & DK
- Directed by: Raj & DK
- Music: Ketan Sodha, Sachin–Jigar & Tanishk Bagchi
- Original release: 10 February 2023 on Amazon Prime Video
- Country of origin: India
- Original languages: Hindi
- No. of seasons: 1
- No. of episodes: 8
Casts
- Shahid Kapoor as Sandeep alias Sunny aka ‘Artist’.
- Vijay Sethupathi as Michael Vedanayagam, an IPS officer and head of the Counterfeiting & Currency Fraud Analysis & Research Team (CCFART)
- Kay Kay Menon as Mansoor Dalal, a mastermind who heads the counterfeit network in India, based out of Jordan
- Raashii Khanna as Megha Vyas, an officer for the Reserve Bank of India, who later joins CCFART
- Bhuvan Arora as Firoz, Sunny’s best friend and partner in crime
- Chittaranjan Giri as Yasir, an employee at Kranti Patrika
- Zakir Hussain as Finance Minister Pawan Gahlot
- Jaswant Singh Dalal as Shekhar Ahlawat, a member of CCFART
- Amol Palekar as Madhav, Sunny’s grandfather and owner of Kranti Patrika
- Kubbra Sait as Saira, Mansoor’s superior
- Regina Cassandra as Rekha Rao, Michael’s ex-wife
- Manoj Bajpayee as Srikant Tiwari (voice only)
- Uday Mahesh as Chellam
- Ajay Jadhav as Sub-Inspector Shinde
- Kavya Thapar as Ananya, Sunny’s ex-girlfriend
- Vijay Kumar as Jitu Kaka, Mansoor’s uncle and manager
- Mrinmayee Godbole as Rekha’s divorce lawyer
- Chittaranjan Tripathy as Michael’s divorce lawyer
- Ashutosh Priyadarshi as Titu Khislu, a Bangladeshi smuggler
