Farzi is an Indian dark comedy crime thriller web series directed, produced, and created by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K., also known as Raj & DK. Both of them, along with Sita Menon and Suman Kumar, also wrote the series. The cast of Farzi included Shahid Kapoor, Vijay Sethupathi, Kay Kay Menon, Raashii Khanna, and Bhuvan Arora. Farzi's story is about a frustrated and disillusioned artist who decides to print fake money.
Farzi was first intended to be a film in 2014, but by 2019, it had been developed into a TV series. In July of 2021, production officially kicked off in Mumbai. Locations beyond Mumbai included Alibaug, Goa, Nepal, and Jordan. Songwriter Ketan Sodha worked with musicians Sachin-Jigar and Tanishk Bagchi on the music.
Farzi is connected to Raj and DK's spy series, The Family Man. Season 1 of Farzi was released on February 10, 2023, and you can watch it now on Amazon Prime Video. The season has eight episodes. Shahid Kapoor announced the show's comeback for a second season.
Plot
Farzi is about Sunny, an artist who loses hope because he can't keep his grandfather's revolutionary printing press in business. Sunny feels depressed by the inequality of wealth in India, so he and his best friend, Firoz, decide to produce fake currency. Mansoor, a gangster, and Michael, a cop, pose dangers to them.
Cast of Farzi
Shahid Kapoor as Sunny (The disillusioned artist)
Vijay Sethupathi as Michael Vedanayagam (The Special Task Force officer in charge of the Counterfeiting and Currency Fraud Analysis and Research Team)
Kay Kay Menon as Mansoor Dalal (The criminal genius who runs India's counterfeit network)
Raashii Khanna as Megha Vyas (The Reserve Bank of India officer who later worked for CCFART)
Bhuvan Arora as Firoz (Sunny's partner and best friend)
Chittaranjan Giri as Yasir (The Kranti Patrika employee)
Zakir Hussain as Pawan Gahlot (Finance Minister)
Jaswant Singh Dalal as Shekhar Ahlawat (A CCFART member)
Amol Palekar as Madhav (Kranti Patrika’s owner and Sunny's grandfather)
Kubbra Sait as Saira (Superior of Mansoor)
Regina Cassandra as Rekha Rao (Michael's ex-wife)
Cast of Farzi (Recurring)
Kavya Thapar as Ananya (Sunny's ex)
Chittaranjan Tripathy as Michael's divorce lawyer
Lokesh Mittal as Lakdawala
Vijay Kumar as Jitu Kaka
Saqib Ayub as Anees (Thug and Sunny & Firoz's friend)
Karan Maan as Commander Murtaza
Nilesh Divekar as Bilal (Mansoor's minion)
Priyadarshini Indalkar as MKG Publishing’s receptionist
Akkshay Gunaawat as Suparn
Saurav Chakraborti as Jamal (Mansoor's minion)
Mrinmayee Godbole as Rekha's divorce lawyer
Armaan Bhanushali as young Sunny
Kabir Khan as young Firoz
Vivek Madaan as Arjun Nayar
Govind Pandey as MLA Kesaribhai Doshi
Divyam Shukla as Vyom (Son of Rekha and Michael)
Ashutosh Priyadarshi as Titu Khislu (a smuggler from Bangladesh)
Anna Ador as Svetalana
Cameos
Episodes
Director(s) - Raj & DK
Writer(s) - Raj & DK, Sita Menon, and Suman Kumar
Realise Date - 10 February 2023
Sunny is a poor artist who works with his best friend, Firoz, to help his grandfather, Madhav, run an idealistic printing press. When their business is close to going out of business, things start to go wrong. Sunny and Firoz are upset, so they plan to print fake 500-rupee notes. Their first try didn't work, but their second try was successful.
In Nepal, Michael, a determined cop, catches his enemy Mansoor Dalal, a counterfeiting mastermind. However, Mansoor gets away. Later, Sunny and Firoz are kidnapped by Mansoor
Director(s) - Raj & DK
Writer(s) - Raj & DK, Sita Menon, and Suman Kumar
Realise Date - 10 February 2023
In a scene, we see that when Sunny was young, his father left him. At a train stop, he meets Firoz, another homeless boy, and they become friends. Sunny's mom's father, Madhav, adopts him and Firoz. Sunny and Firoz can now pay off all of their grandfather's bills.
Megha, an optimist who works for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), finds Sunny's fake note by accident, but her boss doesn't take her seriously. Micheal uses threats to force Minister Pawan Gahlot to set up a task group to look into fake money.
Director(s) - Raj & DK
Writer(s) - Raj & DK, Sita Menon, and Suman Kumar
Realise Date - 10 February 2023
Michael gets the task force he wants with the help of Gahlot. It is called the Counterfeiting and Currency Fraud Analysis and Research Team (CCFART). He has a hard time getting along with his son and ex-wife, Rekha. Megha joins Michael's team because she is unhappy with her job at the RBI. She gets into trouble quickly when she doesn't listen to Michael and goes to look into the 'artist' whose fake note she found. She almost ruins their plan.
Sunny and Firoz are hired by a politician to print fake money, and they end up taking a package of Rs. 20 crore to Surat.
Director(s) - Raj & DK
Writer(s) - Raj & DK, Sita Menon, and Suman Kumar
Realise Date - 10 February 2023
Rekha sends Michael the forms for a divorce. Gahlot launches Dhanrakshak, Megha's fake note scanner, because he thinks the media attention will help him win the election.
Madhav, on the other hand, has dementia. The arrests caused by Dhanrakshak have shaken Mansoor up. Mansoor kidnaps Sunny and Firoz because their notes are not detected by Dhanrakshak. He then offers Sunny a job in his criminal group.
Director(s) - Raj & DK
Writer(s) - Raj & DK, Sita Menon, and Suman Kumar
Realise Date - 10 February 2023
Sunny agrees to work for Mansoor. In his lab in Jordan, he makes a fake 2000-rupee note. Mansoor gets Madhav an appointment with a neurosurgeon and pays for the surgery. Michael and his team catch Bilal, who works for Mansoor, in Bangladesh. Michael scares Bilal and gets him to talk to the police.
Back in Mumbai, Mansoor tells Sunny that he needs to work his way into CCFART. He sets up a meeting with Megha and is able to hack her phone.
Director(s) - Raj & DK
Writer(s) - Raj & DK, Sita Menon, and Suman Kumar
Realise Date - 10 February 2023
Sunny uses Megha's phone to find out what CCFART is going to do. Bilal and another spy in Mansoor's organisation give Michael details. After the two groups played 'cat and mouse,' Mansoor came up with a 'Trojan Horse' plan to sneak Rs. 12,000 Crore worth of fake notes into India. With the help of a Russian boat crew, Sunny is able to trick Michael and get the money across the border.
Director(s) - Raj & DK
Writer(s) - Raj & DK, Sita Menon, and Suman Kumar
Realise Date - 10 February 2023
Sunny and Firoz are happy with their money and move into nice apartments. Sunny starts to like Megha, so he takes the tracker off of her phone. Megha finds out that the 'artist' is signing the fake notes with an 'S.' Mansoor is desperate to get the fake money on the market, so he tells Sunny to hurry up. Michael makes a plan to get the 'artist' to come to him.
Director(s) - Raj & DK
Writer(s) - Raj & DK, Sita Menon, and Suman Kumar
Realise Date - 10 February 2023
Sunny and Firoz are almost caught, but Michael sees their faces just in time. During a run with the police, Sunny and Firoz throw the fake money all over the streets to get away. Mansoor is angry about this and orders his goons to kill them, but Sunny's friends help him get away.
Mansoor sets Madhav's printing press on fire, which seems to kill him. Sunny gets angry and goes on a killing spree. He kills many of Mansoor's men and sets fire to the money, telling Mansoor he will be back for more. Michael and Rekha, on the other hand, get a divorce. Megha is almost done finding out who Sunny is.
Production
Farzi was first planned to be a movie by Raj & DK with Shahid Kapoor and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in 2014. The cast of Farzi also included Kriti Sanon. It turned into a television series in 2019, with Shahid Kapoor still involved. Shahid confirmed that Raashii Khanna had joined the production in January 2021.
In July 2021, the main filming began at Film City in Mumbai. Bhuvan Arora joined the cast of Farzi in September 2021. When Raj and DK were in Chennai filming The Family Man, they offered Vijay Sethupathi a part. He joined the production 40 days after they started shooting. Vijay said that Raashi Khanna, with whom he had worked before in Tamil films, made him feel at ease on set.
Pankaj Kumar was the one in charge of the cinematographer. Goa, Alibaug, Nepal, and Jordan were also places where episodes were shot. Amazon officially revealed Farzi on April 28, 2022, during the launch of 40 Indian projects that the company had approved. Shahid Kapoor, Vijay Sethupathi, Raashii Khanna, Kay Kay Menon, Regina Cassandra, Zakir Hussain, Bhuvan Arora, Amol Palekar, and Kubbra Sait were all officially added to the cast of Farzi.
Sita Menon, one of the writers, said that a scene showing a crossover with Raj & DK's show The Family Man was not planned ahead of time and that Raj had the idea on the day of filming. Later, Krishna D.K. revealed that The Family Man and Farzi take place in the same universe.
Soundtrack
The music for the series was composed by Sachin-Jigar. ‘Paisa Hai Toh’ and ‘Sab Farzi’ are two of the songs they composed. 'Aasmaan,' the third song, was composed by Tanishk Bagchi. On January 28, 2023, Sony Music India released a soundtrack record that had these three songs on it.
Farzi Songs
No. | Name | Singer(s) | Lyrics | Music |
1 | Paisa Hai Toh | Vishal Dadlani, MellowD, and Sachin-Jigar | Jigar Saraiya | Sachin-Jigar |
2 | Sab Farzi | Saba Azad and Sachin-Jigar | Priya Saraiya | Sachin-Jigar |
3 | Aasmaan | Raghav Meattle and Anumita Nadesan | Raghav Meattle | Tanishk Bagchi |
Farzi Release Date
On January 5, 2023, two first-look posters for Farzi featuring Shahid Kapoor and Vijay Sethupathi were released. On January 13, 2013, a week later, the original trailer came out. Prime Video and Swiggy worked together to send fake 2,000 notes to people who bought from Swiggy to promote the show. Farzi premiered on Amazon Prime Video on February 10, 2023.
Farzi Season 2
In February 2023, Shahid Kapoor said that the show would be back for a second season. The highly anticipated Season 2 of the black comedy crime-thrilling Farzi is confirmed to drop in mid-2024, as per the latest updates.
Farzi Reviews
Critics
NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee stated, "thanks to a gripping storyline, the uniformly-paced series sustains its momentum within the individual chapters and across all its eight parts". Chatterjee also complimented Shahid Kapoor, Vijay Sethupathi, and Kay Kay Menon's performances.
Rediff.com's Deepa Gahlot praised Sethupathi and Menon's performances, She called some episodes "adrenaline-pumping" and others "yawn-inducing." The Quint's Pratikshya Mishra called it a "sly, gripping thriller" and said that "the camerawork and editing work hand-in-hand to create a nearly mesmerising experience, mimicking the hypnotic nature of greed, fame, and power."
Farzi has elements of fascinating criminal dramas, according to Sowmya Rajendran, who also considered Kapoor to be "likeable as the anti-hero."
Audience
Ormax Media, a consulting company, claims that Farzi became the most-watched Indian streaming series of all time, with an estimated 37 million viewers, beating the record that Rudra: The Edge of Darkness had set.
Tring Review
The story of Farzi and how well it shows the crime underworld will hook you right away. The emphasis on the people and their varied histories, which give the narrative depth and significance, is what really sets this series apart.
The cast of Farzi, which includes Shahid, Vijay, Kay Kay, and Raashi, is fantastic, delivering superb performances that create a dramatic and compelling viewing experience. It is a major accomplishment for creators Raj & DK to balance each character's screen time and relevance in the script, ensuring that every storyline and subplot is masterfully linked together.
It's clear that everyone in the group gave their all to their roles. As a result, these complicated characters come across as real and exciting. The actors' dedication to their roles gives the show weight and makes it a memorable experience for viewers.
In the middle of all the mayhem and misery, Farzi skillfully inserts comedic moments to provide brief emotional relief without slowing down the web series' overall dark tone. The unexpected twists and turns in the story keep viewers on the edge of their seats throughout the entire series.
Farzi is a new and interesting addition to the world of crime thriller web series. It is a must-watch for anyone who appreciates powerful storytelling and top-notch acting. The anticipation for Farzi Season 2 is already high, leaving fans madly awaiting the next chapter in this engaging story.
Birthday
Anniversary
Wedding Gifts
Women
Men
