One, two, three, franchise on box office spree

Raghib Hassan, Staff Reporter

One of the most hilarious and successful Bollywood films of 2013, “Fukrey,” (“Jobless”) achieved unprecedented success soon after the release. The film had Pulkit Samrat, Ali Fazal, Manjot Singh, Varun Sharma, Pankaj Tripathi and Richa Chadha in lead roles.  This success inspired the producer of the film, Excel Entertainment, to come out with a sequel “Fukrey Returns” in 2017 — which also made a mark at the BO. Now, the third installment of the Fukrey franchise, “Fukrey 3”, is all set to be released in the UAE on Sept.28. To promote their latest film, Pankaj, Pulkit, Manjot and Richa arrived in Dubai on Saturday afternoon, and interacted with local media. One look at the trailer and one concluded: the film looks bigger than its previous incarnations.  

Talking to the media, Richa said that “Dubai is lucky for us. We had come here 10 years ago to promote our film, though we were all very new to the industry then.” Richa and Pankaj have done many films together and their chemistry is eye-catching. About working with Pankaj Tripathi she said: “This is my eighth film with Pankaj-ji. So we didn’t really need any icebreaking!It was a lot of fun to work with him on the sets. He has a wacky sense of humour — and is given to shooting deadly one-liners.” (“Ji” is a term of respect in Hindi).

She added that “the film has given me a lot in my career and also given me a husband”! Ali and Richa got married on Oct.4, 2022. Expressing his love for the media, Pulkit said that “we wanted to come to Dubai to promote the film. I hope this time again audience will like our work.”

Another co-star of the film, Manjot, said that “we gets lots of appreciation from Dubai and that’s why we wanted to come here. This franchise is very special for me, because “Fukrey” was my debut film and I saw myself on the poster of the film for the first time. It was an incredible feel.”

Speaking about reprising his role in the franchise, Pankaj said: “My reason to come back to “Fukrey 3” is that it is a huge franchise and people have shown so much love for it. This reason was enough for me to return to it. I know I have to repeat the same role, which is not a big challenge for me as an actor. My job is to act. I don’t know anything else other than acting in my life.”

Thinking aloud, a rather reticent but very humble, Pankaj, said: “This is big budget film. I did many small budgeted films such as “Newton”, which did great business. But I feel it is the script which does the magic and not the budget.”

Richa quipped, “When we did the first part, we were not sure about its success. But it became very successful. Then came part 2 and now we are here with the 3rd part. I hope 3rd part will also offer you guys the same entertainment.”

About his shooting experience, Pulkit said: “We shot the film during the peak summer in Delhi. The temperature was 47 or 48 degree Celsius. We shot in Delhi’s famous Lajpat Nagar Market, and we received extraordinary support from local people there. They all supported us.”

Richa came from Delhi, so going back to her home as an actor was always an incredible feel, added Richa.

Ali Fazal, who was the part of first and second franchise, is not the part of 3rd edition. When Richa was asked whether she missed him during the shoot of the film, she replied that “I don’t miss him at all because by the time “Fukrey 3” started, Ali was staying with me!”   Pankaj was quick to add “I meet him in Mirzapur.”  “Mirzapur” is very famous television series and Pankaj and Ali are the main cast in that series. The third season of the show is expected in 2023. Directed by Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and produced by Excel Entertainment, “Fukrey 3” releases in cinemas on Sept.28.