Just in case you’re wondering what Fukrey means. It’s a colloquial Punjabi term for slackers. Nonetheless, the film talks about something more meaningful. About small surprises in life that make the most gruelling efforts worth it. A kind act by an acquaintance or a favour by a stranger can make all the difference in the world. Mrighdeep Singh Lamba’s Fukrey works on the idea that total strangers can end up helping each other. Along the way you can even learn one or two important lessons in life. And like its philosophy, Fukrey is a small surprise. A pleasant story told with conviction and most importantly the right amount of succulent humour.

Yes, there are one or two striking similarities with films like Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch… you get the drift. In need of money, four guys end up borrowing money from the wrong sources (the mafia). Their much expected plans of doubling the money don’t quite pay off and the heroes end up becoming punching bags. But the not-so-genuine story is but means for stronger scenes that capture and enforce genuine human emotions. The scene where Hunny (Pulkit Samrat) catches a glimpse of his love interest Priya (Priya Anand) on an apartment balcony is spectacular. The next one where Jaffar (Ali Fazal) discovers the pain of helping out his paralysed father is heart wrenching. These strong scenes are consistently present in the first half. Thanks to them you invest enough emotion in the characters.

The second half turns into a comedy of errors and series of misfortunes. The young boys Hunny, Jaffar, Lale (Manjot Singh, the young sardar from Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Udaan) and Choocha (Varun Sharma) end up on the wrong side of a Punjabi mafia lady boss Bholi (Richa Chadda). They try to win lottery tickets, sell drugs and do miscellaneous criminal acts unsuccessfully. And here’s when the film turns on the entertainment and thrills quotient. It even serves up a good dose of outlandish comedy. Sample this. Choocha has absurd dreams and he always recollects them for his best friend Hunny. Hunny then applies some random logic and derives a lottery number from the pattern of the dream. And as it turns out, they always win the lottery.

It’s not so much the idea of Fukrey that impresses. Instead it’s all that goes into executing that thought that works magic. Every character is working towards his ambition and dream. But everyone is taking a risky shortcut towards realising that goal. And when the proverbial shit hits the fan, total strangers or acquaintances, bail each other out. There’s a certain hope the story sells that works for the audience. It helps that performances across the board are superlative. Richa Chadda steals the show with her boisterous act. And leading man Pulkit looks like total hero material and builds on his acting reputation after Bittoo Boss. Newcomer Varun Sharma is to Fukrey what Zach Galifianakis is to The Hangover. He’s brilliant.

While Fukrey may have its heart in the right place, its technical credentials are not all up to the mark. The film could’ve been edited better, the film is a little too long. Cinematography isn’t always up to the mark either. Car mounted camera scenes are plenty and almost always a bit too shaky. But those are minor grouses for a film that packs a solid punch. It uses the Delhi milieu to its advantage. It adds a nice tadka with its Punjabi slang. And as the Punjabis would say chak de phatte!