Director: Ken Scott
Cast: Dhanush, Bharkad Abdi, Erin Moriarty
The film, directed by Ken Scott and starring popular south Indian actor Dhanush, is inspired by the novel ‘The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe’ by Romain Puertolas. The journey in question is that of Ajatashatru Lavash Patel aka Aja (Dhanush), a boy from Mumbai who’s chosen the path of trickery and thievery to grow out of the poor financial circumstances he is born into. A thief who believes in Karma and develops a chance (we will hear this a lot) fascination for designer furniture, he at least seems to have his heart in the right place and adventure beckons on a trip to Paris, where he hopes to fulfil his mother’s final wish.
All roads in Paris invariably lead to the Eiffel Tower, but for this eccentric ‘Fakir’, the Ikea store is the dead end. And this is where he finds love at first sight too..with a real woman, not with the furniture collection! This sequence is probably the pick of the film. It is hilariously written and performed to perfection by Dhanush and Erin Moriarty, leaving us all in absolute splits. And this is where ‘chance’ strikes again. One thing leads to another and Aja finds himself locked in an Ikea wardrobe and transported to London. The journey doesn’t stop there- ‘Chance’, ‘Karma’ and a hot air balloon conspire to carry him to Barcelona, Rome and…Libya (no, this was not just a Eurotrip)! As Aja looks to make his trip back to Paris, one final time, you do perceive a change in his disposition. He is more a grieving Robinhood than a thieving Fakir now. This is a small win for an otherwise quite patchy film. The early part of Aja’s journey did pack a punch. Take for instance the scene with the refugees at the airport in Barcelona that really hits hard and makes you feel and sympathize. Unfortunately, this magic wanes as Aja journeys on. The whole sequence that follows with the actress in Rome is really fleeting and doesn’t really capture your imagination. Neither does the face off with pirates or the flashback sequence that involves the time Aja spent in jail as a juvenile. And for a film that tries to break stereotypes with a certain ‘lesbian’ comedy track, it still can’t get away with the Indian cow jokes!
Aja’s journey apart, Dhanush’s journey in cinema has been an extraordinary one too. He has conquered Kollywood, left a mark in Bollywood and now has got his passport stamped in Hollywood too. While this particular film might not count as a masterpiece, he should definitely take heart from the bold attempt. A shorter, crispier take on the same story, with some better writing could have worked wonders.
Overall rating: 2/5
