Farrey Movie Review: Alizeh Agnihotri Leads A Nearperfect Cast In This Teenage Drama That Scores High

Ferry (which means girl) is a refreshing change from the typical high school dramas that now populate streaming services and often feature overt violence, sex and drug use. The film, which is an official adaptation of Thai writer-director Nathavut Poonpriya's acclaimed Bad Genius, instead features an academically brilliant protagonist who finds himself caught in a web of manipulation and greed before mastering the art of thrilling action.

The film features newcomer Alizeh Agnihotri (Salman Khan's niece), who may not have the brains of her superstar uncle, but she certainly delivers as an exceptionally intelligent teenager caught in a dilemma. Agnihotri plays Niyati, an "evil genius" who is brought up in an orphanage by a school principal and his wife. After becoming head of state, Niyati eventually received a scholarship that helped her secure a place at a prestigious international school. Despite his impressive results, Niyati does not fit into the elitist environment where students drive fancy cars. But this genius has street smarts and quickly adapts to his actions.
What begins as a harmless act of helping a classmate Niyati quickly turns into cheating on exams. As more wealthy students join, the orphanage begins to receive more donations and Niyati has the money to cover the expenses. Another smart but poor student, Akash, who also won a scholarship, is soon drawn into the racket despite his initial resistance. Cheating at the academic level eventually turns into cheating at the international level. What works in this ambitious plan-gone-wrong thriller is a taut narrative that stays focused even as the tension builds.

With a near-perfect cast, Ferry benefits from great performances from newcomers and veterans alike. Prasanna Bisht and Zayn Shaw dazzle as Nayati's spoiled and ultra-rich colleagues. As Akash, Sahil Mehta reveals his weak character and morals and then his transformation. Ronit Roy is convincing as the headmistress of the orphanage who shows parental love for Niyati. Being his wife, Juha Babbar's hands-on approach to Sonia is perfect for him. However, it is Agnihotri, whose intelligence and ambition are important to Ferry, that makes the story moving and his character interesting. He also skillfully portrays Niyati's transitions at different stages of the film.

While Ferry is mostly effective at keeping viewers on the edge of their seats with some twists and turns, he leaves out some key details that would have made the entire hoax created by a group of desperate teenagers more believable. Without these details, some scenes seem unrealistic or even blurry. The collision of two very different worlds - the very wealthy students and the poor students - is designed to hit you in the gut. It fails because the film refrains from delving into the vast chasm between these two strata of society and the transactional nature of these classmates' friendships. Morality can be fickle. It needed to be talked about in this drama where the poor and the rich become enemies.

The film's treatment is reminiscent of director Soumendra Padhi's previous works, the National Award-winning film Born to Run (2016) and the web series Jamtara. Badi co-wrote the film with Abhishek Yadav. Directed by Keiko Nakahara and edited by Zubin Shaikh, it presents itself as a visually impressive thriller.

Cast: Alizeh Agnihotri, Sahil Mehta, Prasanna Bisht, Zain Shaw, Ronit Roy, Juhi Babbar Soni, Shilpa Shukla
Vari Director: Somendra Padhi
The rating of the movie "Ferry" is 3 stars.

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