Farzi or Fakes

 It starts out a bit slow, but picks up steam and is all the more enjoyable for the buildup.  Sunny, sometimes known as The Artist and his brother Firoz  live a lower class sort of life with their Grandfather.  Soon you learn they are not really related, but form a close family.  The Grandfather's printing business is about to go under.  The Artist (known for his really good fake art that he is open about) comes up with the idea of apply his skills to counterfeiting money.  After some trial and error he succeeds.

At the same time we meet two characters that are on a mission to break up counterfeiting.  Michael is a man who was busted by a reporter who falsely accused him of misappropriate behavior.  As a result he was demoted, became alcoholic and divorced, but still very concerned about counterfeiting.  Meghan is a government employee who pushes for stronger anti counterfeiting measures.  She is single with a mother pushing her to get married.

On top of these two factions we meet up with  a master crook, Mansoor who has big money and hooligans backing him.  He has developed a network for distributing counterfeit money.  A very arrogant, smart and ruthless man who is quick to recognize talent.

These three groups interact while we learn of personal concerns and criminal activities.  Tension builds.  We develop sympathy for some of the characters.  Class does not come with money.  The final episode is heart pumping with contrasting emotions competing for your attention.

There were a lot of classy people responsible for the quality.

The force behind this series and a few other films is known as Raj & DK comprising of Krishna DK and Raj Nidimoru.  The two have a Telegu language background and met studying engineering.  They emigrated to United States to build a career in software engineering.   By 2003 they had collaborated on their first film, "Flavors".  They combined directing, writing and producing over films.  Their film credits include "Stree" (2018) and "The Family Man" (2019-2021) winning awards along the way.

 Music was provided by the Sachin-Jigar team.  Their film credits include "It's Entertainment" (2014), "Badliapur" (2015), "The Family Man" (2019) and "Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui" (2021).  Check http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/01/chandigarh-kare-aashiqui-another-social.html

Pankaj Kumar handled the cinematography.  He has been able to modify scripts.  His award winning career includes "Ship of Theseus" (2012), "Haider" (2014), "Talvar" (2015), "Rangoon" (2017) , "Raat Akeli Hai" (2020) and "Atrangi Re" (2021).   Check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2017/01/ship-of-thesus.html and catch more about Shahid at  "http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2015/02/haider-bollywoods-version-of-shakespeare.html

Editing was done by Sumeet Kotian.  His film credits include "Drishyam (2015), "Madaari" (2016), "The Family Man" (2019) and "A Thursday" (2022).   Check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/02/the-message-is-spoiler.html

 Shahid Kapoor is the big draw and demonstrates why he is.   He plays Sunny, the Artist as a smart person who is low class, but is sophisticated enough to understand others of a higher class.  Way different from his earlier romantic comedy roles.  I would say he is the second best male dancer in Bollywood, but there is no demonstration in this film.  His credits include  "Vivah" (2006), "Jab We Met" (2007), "Dil Bole Hadippa" (2009),  "Kaminey" (2009), "Haider" (2014), "Udta Punjab" (2016), "Kabir Singh" (2019) and "Jersey" (2022).  Two blogs cover some noteworthy movies he has starred in  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/09 /arjun-reddy-and-kabir-singh.html and   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2015/02/haider-bollywoods-version-of-shakespeare.html

Vijay Sethupathi played Michael the dedicated counterfeit hunter.  You will both admire him and feel sorry for him.  Vijay has performed in Hindi, Tamil, Telegu and Malayalam cinema and winning many awards.  His film credits include "Puriyaatha Puthir" (2017), "Vikram Vedha" (2017),  "Super Deluxe" (2019) and "Kadaseela Biriyani" (2021).

Raashi Khanna played the other dedicated counterfeit hunter and the lead female.  As with the Michael character she is hard not to like, but also to feel sorry for.  She has also appeared in Tamil and Telegu cinema.  Her film credits include "Oohalu Gusagusalade" (2014).

Bhuvan Arora played Firoz, the "brother" to Sunny.  Bhuvan has 19 film credits including "Cham Bahaar" (2020).  Apparently the clincher for his audition was a fast talking commercial he had done and at one point is demonstrated in the series.

Kay Kay Menon played Mansoor, one of his many manic negative roles.  He has a degree in physics as well as an M.B.A.  He started his career in advertising, but soon got involved in theatre, television and films.  He has been in films in Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Marathi, and Telegu.  His film credits include   "Bhopal Express" (1999), "Main, Meri Patni...Aur Woh" (2005), "Gulaal" )2007)  "Sarkar Raj" (2008), "Mumbai Meri Jaan" (2008),  "Haider" (2015), "Rahasya" (2015) and "The Ghazi Attack" (2017).

Many other actors played supporting roles and gave the story line a lot of credibility.  In sum, the series includes a good mix of crime, action, black comedy and drama.  If you are interested in those elements you will enjoy this series. It deserves its high rating.

I have bolded the first mention of movies I have seen.