Fugly fumbles

Morbid and judgemental, ‘Fugly’ is one of those over-exposed social x-rays. For a good part of the intro and straight from the pulpit, we get a look at a voyeuristic collective and a nation hung up on sex. Life is no longer innocent. The average citizen gets sucked into the vortex of crime. The voices of protest get blurred in the cacophony. It seems like Madhur Bhandarkar’s India in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s ‘Rang De Basanti’ setting. The slogan Mera Bharat Mahan mocks. Debutant director Kabir Sadanand is still wet behind his ears. And with a suspect cast coupled with a long script, he makes a near mess of what could have worked out to be yet another winner.

Dev (Mohit Marwa), Devi (Kiara Advani), Gaurav (boxer Vijender Singh) and Aditya (Arif Lamba) are a bunch of carefree friends whose life goes topsy turvy when they are pushed into the big, bad world outside their college. The camaraderie of college life and the fact that one of them is the son of a local minister pushes the group into a zone of fun and defiance. Things go awry when the local grocery shop guy (Pravin Singh Sisodia) tries to molest Devi and then turns the tables on her. The guys decide not to leave him alone and avenge his lecherous advancements. Devi’s mom (Kunika) warns in vain.

Waiting to bring in a huge change in their lives is the corrupt cop Chutalla (Jimmy Shergill’s performance in the film is brilliant). Their lives change dramatically and as puppets in the hands of evil they are forced to take the road of crime. From rave parties to planned murders, the task is cut out for the four who are helpless. The political scene in the backdrop adds to the toxicity of their lives. The four, who started out in the hope of living their dreams, end up battling their nightmares.

The foursome decides to take on the corrupt system that has gone terribly wrong. They come to slowly realise that their lives have already begun – that some advantage has already been taken and some damage already inflicted. At a point they yield to the blackmail of a corrupt police officer only to get into a further mess till they finally decide that enough is enough. Then the final die is cast.

The narration, in fact, begins with the protagonist immolating himself at India Gate as an act of redemption. Without sounding stuck on a writer, must refer to a quote from Barnes that encapsulates the scenario: Life is a gift bestowed without asking for it; that the thinking person has a philosophical duty to examine both the nature of life and the conditions it comes with; and that if this person decides to renounce the gift, no one asks if it is moral and human duty to act on the consequences of that decision.

Either to get the villain exposed, as a self-confessed act or redemption or a sheer move in desperation, Dev takes the vital decisions that helps expose the villain. However, even within the limited context of cinema, the solution yet again is over simplified and brawl filled. There seems no redemption to the many existing with a hypocritical conscience. The film tends to mirror a time and tide gone wrong. Questions are interestingly pointed out but nothing more. Not really ‘Fugly’ but surely without the ‘f’ letter an ugly situation craving for correction.

Fugly

Cast : Jimmy Shergill, Mohit Marwah, Kiara Advani, Arif Lamba and Anshu man Jha

Music :Yo Yo Honey Singh, Prashant Vadhyar and Raftaar and Baadshah

Direction : Kabir Sadanand

Rating : ***