Proclaimed “Megastar” Anmol KC has returned to the screen with yet another movie that has perfectly segregated him from the title.

‘Farki Farki’ is a Nepali movie directed by Suyog Gurung. The movie is based on the concept of a time loop, where the protagonist, Madhav (Maddy), played by Anmol KC, has a precognition whenever something significant is about to happen.

Apart from its ambitious yet cliched storyline, the film does an excellent job of bringing actors with potential to the big screen. This time, the movie has taken a giant leap by replacing Salon Basnet’s side role as Anmol KC’s birdbrained best friend with the newcomer Ravi Kafle.

The plot of the movie revolves around Madhav. The character portrayal of Anmol KC as Madhav once again follows the same representation of KC’s previous films, where he is often presented as the spoiled son of a wealthy father, struggling to understand the value of his loving parents.

Ravi Kafle plays Subash, Madhav's best friend. In the movie, Subash’s quest is solely to pray to the almighty for the well-being of his friend Madhav.

The routine of spotlighting the main character while debilitating and undermining his best friend has become a hallmark of movies featuring Anmol KC.

Jassita Gurung as Sayera, this time, has put her acting skills to the test. Sayera is a mixologist at one of the bars. The plot of the movie begins to develop when Maddy, Subash, Sayera, and her best friend Suzi meet at Sayera’s workplace.

Suzi, Sayera’s best friend, keeps warning Sayera that Maddy is a flirt and a womaniser. However, despite all the warnings, Sayera is drawn to Maddy. Eventually, Maddy has Sayera wrapped around his finger in no time. He accomplishes this task with his power of re-experiencing future events, avoiding doing things that are likely to push his heroine away from him.

At this juncture, Sayera's characterisation is a bit hazy. The film has done well with its intent to show Sayera as a self-reliant and independent woman, something that the Nepali film industry frequently falls short of. It is also praiseworthy to note that the film has tried to depict the ground reality of Nepali society, where girls are constantly pestered by their families to get married.

Despite these developments, the film falls back to square one when Sayera’s portrayal of an independent woman gets shaken by the film’s callow narrative. The typecast depiction of female side characters, where they are constantly treated as nothingness by the megastar, makes one's skin crawl. The recurring pattern of the hero having to save his heroine from dangerous situations perpetuates the trope of a damsel in distress in the film’s storyline.

Reengaging with the plot, Sayera falls in love with Maddy and begins sharing her life’s details with him. As is the usual pattern of movies, Maddy’s heart is uplifted and, at the same time, filled with guilt, and he starts repenting of his way to have won Sayera’s heart.

Therefore, with the aim of not breaking Sayera’s heart any further, Maddy decides to leave her.

The film’s narrative becomes puzzling yet again because it is unsure about the audience it wants to target with its storyline. For instance, the family dynamic is overly exaggerated, with characters freely discussing their boyfriends with their parents, which seems unrealistic and fails to connect with the audience on a realistic level.

However, the movie should be lauded for its depiction of some scenes, which were not designed to convey explicit messages but speak volumes to the audiences, offering profound insights. For instance, Suzi and Sayera's portrayal of best friends and sisterhood captures the essence of true friendship and sisterly love.

Suzi’s unwavering loyalty and understanding embody the true spirit of friendship and sisterhood, making their bond a film highlight.

While the lover’s spat keeps brimming, Subash and Suzi have fallen in love and decided to get engaged. Sayera, on the other hand, has nipped her problem with Maddy in the bud. All is well, and the four lovebirds go to Mustang for their bachelorette trip.

Maddy insists that all of his friends climb a hill. Unable to deny the main character's request, all four of them climb the hill, only to meet with a catastrophic finale where Suzi falls off the cliff while clicking pictures.

Maddy is blamed for his inability to save Suzi’s life with his self-proclaimed time loop power. All his friends, including his lover, stop talking to him, which causes Maddy to fall into the abyss of repentance and realisation.

Gradually, Maddy starts experiencing flashbacks from his childhood. One experience involves him bullying his best friend Subhash. The flashback also reveals the reason behind his strained relationship with his father.

Too many climax scenes punctuate the movie, leaving the audience struggling to keep up with the multiple threads of the plot. This has also led to the movie’s failure to properly synchronise its storyline, resulting in an uncomplicated yet naive tale.

Nepali films should win accolades for always resorting to the same formula to evoke emotions in their audience by making the characters experience tragic deaths. Maddy’s consciousness gets shaken only when his father is struggling on his deathbed. He is supposedly a changed person only when the film's plot kills Suzi.

The director's effort to experiment with a completely new concept, such as a time loop, merits applause. However, the film's long duration makes it stray away from the message that it wants to impart to the audience. Instead of focusing on the plot development, the film only provides an accurate depiction of the grief that today's youth face after heartaches. The movie's scenes may seem like a catharsis for people going through breakups.

On a positive note, the film's cinematography is another aspect that deserves a round of applause. Nepali films have always produced catchy songs, and the ‘Farki Farki’ movie is no exception. The rhythm is smooth and energetic, perfectly complementing the melody and adding to the overall appeal of the song. It’s the kind of beat that makes you want to tap your feet and move to the music.

Farki Farki

Director: Suyog Gurung

Cast: Anmol KC, Jassita Gurung, Ravi Kafle, Samriddhi Aryal

Duration: 146 minutes

Year: 2024

Language: Nepali