A spotlight on the big dreams of ordinary folk, Ferrari Ki Sawaari is the story of Rustom (Sharman Joshi), a righteous head clerk at the RTO. A single parent, he supports his 10 year old son’s cricketing interest and his crotchety old father’s (Boman Irani) grumblings. He does it all with a gentle acceptance. So passive is he, in fact, that it becomes both unnatural and tiresome.
When his son Kayo is selected for a cricket camp in London, Rustom must raise Rs. 1.5 lakh for the fee, a sum his meager salary does not allow. It appears that he is so low in the pecking order that he isn’t even eligible for a bank loan. This is first major hurdle in this saccharine sweet story. How can Rustom not get a bank loan of such a modest amount? Desperate to make his son’s dreams come true, Rustom succumbs to temptation and circumstance to commit a crime involving Sachin Tendulkar’s Ferrari, setting up the film for some silly situations that demand a suspension of disbelief.
This is the second hurdle: Mapuskar works hard to create a realistic middle class milieu but within it he inserts numerous logic-defying plot points.
The second half of the film chugs along steadily though random songs puncture the narrative further. Mostly two things irk: firstly, how can any family be so goody-goody; and secondly that the film builds aspiration for children for materialistic things of very high value. A multi-crore Ferrari is the symbol of success, achievement and kudos from community.
While Sharman Joshi pitches in with a sincere performance, convincing us that he really could be the good Parsi, Boman Irani manages to ham his way through yet another part – even though this time he is playing a character he could have easily owned. Ritwik Sahore as young Kayo is cute and believable in equal measure. The supporting actors add a layer of humour and quirkiness the film so desperately needed, in particular the actors playing cops, Tendulkar’s domestic helper and the building watchman. The Punjabi wedding planner is given some of the best lines, but her performance does not live up to them.
You can’t help but think that the director had a good title and an idea and then force-fit a screenplay around it. What the audience got is a contrived plot and sweet family film that lacks horsepower and leaves you unmoved.
