Money makes the world go round. In Farzi, set in post-demonetisation India, it sets off a spiral that pits the protagonist, an exceptionally skilled but struggling artist, against the law and an underworld kingpin. He prints his own cash, cocking a snook at a system at the mercy of the wealthy and the powerful. The battle of attrition that ensues forms the spine of a solidly crafted, superbly acted series.
The anti-hero of the eight-episode show created, produced, directed and co-written by Raj & DK represents that segment of the Indian population that is crushed under the weight of loans and repayments. He resorts to crime as an act of rebellion.
Scripted by the directing duo with Sita R. Menon and Suman Kumar, every episode hovers around the one-hour mark. However, thanks to a gripping storyline, the uniformly-paced series sustains its momentum within the individual chapters and across all its eight parts.
Farzi, streaming on Amazon Prime Video, isn't the sort of show that strings together action sequences and shootouts simply for mere visceral effect. It factors into the narrative an examination of the nature of need and the dynamics of greed and places it on a canvas of constantly shifting emotions and relationships.
A bromance involving two orphans who have grown up together, a grandfather-grandson relationship drama, a tale of a disintegrating marriage, a story of a cop seeking redemption, and a portrayal of a committed young professional finding her way in a set-up that doesn't sit up and take instant notice of her worth - Farzi blends several real, believable strands in a narrative that delivers thrills and poses questions.
Shahid Kapoor, in his streaming debut, is cast as Sunny, a gifted street artist who produces knockoffs of the likes of Van Gogh and rustles up five-minute portraits for a pittance. He believes he deserves better.
He also works on the staff of his grandfather's anti-establishment magazine, Kranti. The older man, interpreted wonderfully well by Amol Palekar, has had run-ins with the rulers of the land on account of his outspoken views. The seasoned rebel stands in sharp contrast to the mutinous grandson. The latter has no qualms. His dissension is both illegal and amoral.
Sunny's impatience and defiance puts him in the crosshairs of an anti-counterfeiting unit led by a tough but troubled cop, a criminal network run by a ruthless gangster who smuggles fake Indian currency into the country and a bright young security printing expert determined to contribute her mite to the nation's war on financial terrorism.
It is need that pushes Sunny into a life of crime. The publishing business has run up huge debts and is on the verge of folding up. The hero figures out that waiting for money to come his way is not an option. So, with the help of his childhood buddy Firoz (Bhuvan Arora), he generates his own counterfeit cash and bails out the magazine.
