The ‘fukras’ are back in action in Fukrey 3, which is now running in theatres. The third edition of the superhit comedy franchise brings back its principal actors (except Ali Fazal’s Zafar). t2 chatted with Pulkit Samrat, Richa Chadha and Varun Sharma about the latest Fukrey outing, its popularity and what makes their characters tick. t2 is a media partner of Fukrey 3.

What’s the response to Fukrey 3 been like so far?

Pulkit Samrat: The response has been really kind. People are laughing throughout the film. They are calling it a laugh riot... in fact, somebody called it ‘the entertainer of the year’. That just made our day. Yesterday, Varun’s (Sharma, who plays Choocha) mom was extremely tired because there was a lot of repair work going on at her place. She was in two minds whether she should come for the screening or watch it later. But she did watch it yesterday and the moment she got out of the screening, she was like: ‘Main fresh ho gayi picture dekh kar.’ That speaks volumes about what the film makes you feel, how it relaxes you, how meditative it is to laugh in a theatre. It’s a community watch... people are just loving watching it together.
Richa Chadha: It was a big moment of joy for us to watch the film with each others’ families and also see the responses that the audience was bringing in. We are all North Indians who grew up in Delhi and no matter what film or genre releases, when a Fukrey film comes in, everybody rallies behind it. It’s a good, silly, fun film that you watch for a little while and forget about all your worries. In that sense, it really helps you purge a lot of your emotions.

For me, the special feedback has been that this time, the performances were better and everybody owned their characters more.
Varun Sharma: Everyone walking out of the theatres has a smile on their faces. There are certain expressions on their faces which don’t need a lot of words. That’s a beautiful feeling for any actor when you see the viewer coming out smiling.

What do you think makes the Fukrey films work so well among the audience?

Varun: I think it’s the relatability of the characters. The audiences have made the characters their own. There is a Hunny (played by Pulkit) in someone, there is a Lali (played by Manjot Singh) in someone else, there is a Bholi (played by Richa) in every group that everyone is scared of, there is a Pandit (played by Pankaj Tripathi) who takes the responsibility for the jugaad of everything and there is also a Choocha everywhere. So it’s the relatability of these people as well as the love that the franchise already has that works for it.

Every franchise, no matter how popular, will suffer from a certain amount of franchise fatigue at some point in time. Apart from what’s in the script, what do you do individually as actors do to ensure that there is freshness even when there is familiarity in every film?

Richa: We actually do keep it fresh and real. Thankfully for us, the director (Mrighdeep Singh Lamba) is also one of the writers of the film. So whenever we sort of lose our way, he cracks the whip and makes sure we come back on track. We do a lot of readings and workshops and we never get complacent about our characters. We never say: ‘Okay, we have played these people in two films before and so we know what we are doing.’ We have to keep in mind the evolution of our characters.

As far as franchise fatigue is concerned, I feel that if we get fatigued at some time, it will reflect on the screen. The writing is always fresh and it’s pacy and the jokes almost always land. If we keep all these in mind and the writers keep adding fresh punches, I think the Fukrey films will continue to work.

In what ways do you think that the third film is a step up from the first two films?

Varun: The scale is bigger, the storyline is wackier and there is a whole lot more of ‘fukrapanti’. I feel Fukrey 3 just ups the whole game, but the heart and soul of the franchise are in the same place as it was in the first two films. But all the things around the third film have gone 3x for us.
Richa: We are managing expectations, in a way. Things have got bigger and better and we have been in the theatre watching the film with audiences and with their positive reactions, the proof is in the pudding. We have seen the giggles come in and we have factual evidence that this is a bigger and better film than the last two films.
Pulkit: There is so much more madness. There is a lot of laughter. But why it’s still connecting with people is because its soul is intact, the heart is in the right place and the innocence is still there. All the characters have gone through a journey but they are still innocent at heart and they retain a childlike quality in them.

Pulkit, in response to the first question, you mentioned how Fukrey is meant for community viewing. It must be a high being able to release your film at a time when audiences are thronging theatres once more....

Pulkit: It’s a great relief. The film itself chose this date (September 28). We were actually supposed to release the film on December 1, but we suddenly got this window and we grabbed it. Every film comes with its own kismat. We are very excited. It’s a long weekend and people now like coming to theatres, they feel safe coming to watch films in theatres now and the whole idea of a community watch — that aroma of popcorn and samosas while watching a film — is a part of our DNA as Indian audiences.

All of you have a lot of other memorable films and characters to your name. When you interact with fans and audiences, would the Fukrey films have a top-of-mind recall?

Pulkit: While I was shooting for Made in Heaven (Season 2) in France, I walked into a luxury store in which a German guy was working. And this guy took one look at me and he started talking about Ambarsariya (the popular song from Fukrey) in his German accent. It’s so unimaginable that our movies penetrate and touch audiences everywhere. And we only have gratitude in our hearts for such instances and such love.
Varun: Varun and Choocha are synonymous. Choocha was my debut character and 10 years down the line, the character is still embedded in people’s hearts.
Richa: This is my most commercial outing and Bholi being such an iconic character makes the recall higher, especially in North India. People have this common misconception that I am like Bholi in real life. I always say that if I am like Bholi Punjaban, then Amrish Puri is like Mogambo!

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