Movie:  Firkee Rating: ★★★ Genres: Drama Censor: U Duration: 128 min. Studio / Presenter: Spotlight Productions, Adamant Pictures, Triple A Entertainment Producer: Maulik Desai DOP: Dhaval Ganbote Director: Suniket Gandhi Cast:  Parth Bhalerao, Pushkar Lonarkar, Atharva Upasani, Hrishikesh Joshi, Ashwini Giri, Abhishek Bharate, Jyoti Subhash, Kishore Choughule, Atharva Shaligram Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke

The first lesson of rivalry is learned during childhood when the competition is noticed in school. However , it is not only the competition in studies, but competition in sports and leisure games also invites rivalry among children. Latest released film ‘Firkee‘ which is set on the backdrop of a village in Pune district, presents one such character of a schoolboy Govind alias Gondya( Parth Bhalerao), from a lower middle class family, who is the only child of his parents ( Hrishikesh Joshi & Ashwini Giri).

Being an average student in the class, one day Raghav a notorious student from Govind’s class turns his enemy, after Govind stands witness to his cheating during exams. Raghav keeps challenging Govind and his two close friends by opening fights over small issues, but Govind and his two friends Bandya and Tichkya keep themselves cool . However, both encourage Govind to prepare and defeat Raghav the two times winner in Kite Flying competition in their village, during Sankranti festival. How the trio struggle to achieve their goal, is what we notice in the second half of the film, which is made interesting through some humor and action filled happenings.

The film ‘Firkee‘ however fails to impress in the first half, as there are very commonly noticed happenings in the screenplay . The concluding part of the film is well presented, especially during the Kite flying competition. Plus points of this film are good performances by Parth Bhalerao and Pushkar Lonarkar. Both receive good support from Hrishikesh Joshi and Ashwini Giri. Few dialogues in the concluding part are good, especially those uttered by Govind’s father played by Hrishikesh Joshi , who persuades his son to face the world, accepting challenges. In fact, this scene involving Govind and his father will surely inspire young children.

‘Firkee‘ is a good film for children and at the same time it sends a good message to parents of schoolchildren. In fact, it shows how such children are to be convinced, when they really need emotional support from parents. Background music of this film is good. Children living in small towns and villages, will surely enjoy this film. In short, ‘Firkee‘ presents a neat and clean simple story but has limited content. It certainly takes you down memory lane recalling the childhood rivalry.