By Rohan Rai
TORONTO: The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir opened in cinemas in Canada on June 21.
Distributed by A-Z films, Dhanush stars as the lead as a street magician who charms his way out of sticky situations in a journey that takes him across the globe to many countries.
“The film was refreshing and very entertaining,” said an audience member. “I went with no expectations and was surprised at how much I liked it.”
Dhanush plays the lead as Ajatashatru Lavash Patel, a poor boy who grows up to be a street magician and embarks on an extraordinary voyage across Europe in search of his estranged father. The movie has an entirely international cast and also features Berenice Bejo, Barkhad Abdi, Erin Moriarty and Abel Jafri as well as Gérard Jugnot, Ben Miller, Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse, and Stefano Cassetti.
“What I found most interesting is it takes the life of a very ordinary person and brings out the extraordinary in it. It is a film that everyone should see,” said a Dhanush fan. “His character in the film is one that most viewers can identify with, because he is truly philosophical about life.”
Many audience members also commented on the music and liked the Madaari song, sung by Vishal Dadlani and Nikhita Gandhi with music by Amit Trivedi.
“I felt like getting out of my seat and dancing with the music. The beat of the Madaari song was so good.”
(Flashmobs in Toronto and Calgary also contributed to the Madaari Mania in Toronto at https://youtu.be/j8D_k0SytrE and Calgary at: https://youtu.be/yCj4iRygZ3U)
It’s an art that is an integral part of Indian culture,” says Dhanush in an interview. “I’ve done more than thirty films in India, and in most of them I had dance scenes. Since I’m used to dancing on a regular basis, I didn’t really need to do any preparation for that.”
The film has been adapted from Romain Puértolas’ best-selling novel The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir Who Got Caught In An Ikea Wardrobe. The screenplay of the film was written by Puértolas and Luc Bossi who is also producing through his Paris-based company Brio Films. Other co-producers include Vamonos Films, Little Red Car Films, Scope Pictures, M! Capital Ventures, Impact Films and Golden Ratio Films.
