Will Firangi Be Kapil Sharma’s Second Big-Screen Hit?

Kapil Sharma is neither nervous nor anxious. He  is  just curious as  to how audiences will respond  to  his second feature film.

You see, Firangi is  not what Kapil’s audience expects from him.

 “It’s  not  a typical ‘Kapil Sharma’ laughathon. Hasee aayegi aapko zaroor,  Lekin  hamare character  ke bholepan aur masoomiyat par(you will laugh for sure,but at my character’s simplicity and  innocence),” promises Kapil

It’s a comedy, but  not the in-your-face  guffaw-inducing  humour of  Kapil’s  first  film Kiss Kissko Pyar Karoon.

Says the film’s director Rajeev Dhingra, “Kapil and I are friends  from the time we ran  around in shorts.We grew up together. We  know each  other too well to  pretend  about anything. When  I decided to direct  a film with him  we were  very sure we won’t do what’s expected from him. There  is  no point in extending his stand-up comedy act to the large screen. If that’s what he wants to do then he might as continue on  television.”

Interestingly Rajiev wanted to start his directorial career  with Kapil’s film.

“But Kapil wanted me to work elsewhere before coming to him.So I  made  the Punjabi film Love Punjab which  did well,” says Rajiev.

 There is  always  the  fear of the unknown specially when  a showbiz icon  makes the transition away from his  popular image and that too in a  period film.

But Kapil is not scared. “When I  started  in my hometown Amritsar I had nothing but my dreams and parents’ blessings.Today with Firangi I  feel am  starting all  over again.”

In the film trade there is much trepidation , what with  all the  recent releases falling to the  ground.

Says trade analyst Atul Mohan, “Kapil Sharma has a solid fan base .All the negative stories surrounding him have left many disappointed with the media’s coverage of his stardom.No one is  going to   shun Firangi just because Kapil has stress-related health problems. If the film is good it will work otherwise no power in this universe can make a bad film work.Firangi  looks like it will work.”

Critic Raja Sen feels  there is way too much obsession with Padmavati  in  the  public mind right now to pay attention to any  other film. “People seem more interested in news channels  talking about Padmavati than any film that releases in theatres.”

On its side is  the fact that there’s no competition for Firangi at  the  boxoffice . This week’s other release Tera Intezaar features the grand starcast  of  ArbaazKhan and Sunny Leone.

Do we really need one more flop this year?