The
three
male
leads
are
excellent,
giving
their
parts
various
shades
of
joy,
anger,
despair
and
the
emotional
heft
required
to
make
their
characters
believable
and
likeable,
observes
Deepa
Gahlot.
If
there
has
been
something
missing
in
the
streaming
space,
it
is
stories
about
ordinary
middle
class
people
leading
ordinary
lives.
The
assumption
is
that
people
want
to
see
a
manufactured
reality
rather
than
have
a
mirror
held
for
them
to
see
their
own
troubles.
Lafangey,
directed
by
Prem
Mistry,
with
a
story
by
Abhishek
Yadav
and
Ankit
Yadav,
set
in
a
nondescript
colony
in
Delhi,
follows
three
friends
who
have
grown
up
together.
They
belong
to
the
same
background,
with
the
same
kind
of
education,
and
lack
the
opportunities
that
better-off
youth
would
have
taken
for
granted.
They
have
reached
the
age
when
the
son
of
the
house
has
to
start
adulting,
and
take
on
the
responsibility
of
the
family.
But
even
with
the
best
of
intentions,
the
three
are
left
floundering.
Kamlesh
(Harsh
Beniwal)
is
the
son
of
a
small
provision
shop
owner,
Rajinder
(Naveen
Ohlyan),
who
expects
him
to
take
over
the
shop.
But
Kamlesh
thinks
this
work
is
beneath
him,
and
aspires
to
be
an
actor,
based
on
his
performances
being
appreciated
on
the
college
stage.
His
swagger
hides
a
deep
insecurity
about
his
prospects,
especially
when
a
rich
junior
proves
to
be
a
competitor.
Rohan
(Gagan
Arora),
most
likely
to
get
stuck
with
a
low
level,
dead
end
corporate
job,
is
blinded
by
his
love
for
Ishita
(Barkha
Singh),
to
the
extent
of
throwing
away
a
hard
won
job
opportunity
because
it
would
mean
relocating
to
Bangalore.
He
lives
with
his
brother
(Gaurav
Mishra)
and
sister-in-law
(Sonali
Parmar),
and
strains
at
the
leash.
Chaitanya
(Anud
Singh
Dhaka)
is
afraid
he
will
have
to
keep
living
in
a
house
that
is
falling
apart
and
inherit
his
father’s
crushing
debts.
His
attempts
to
get
a
suitable
job
have
failed.
Over
six
episodes,
Lafangey
explores
the
young
men’s
lives,
always
teetering
between
hope
and
desperation.
If
an
opportunity
comes
up
one
day,
there
is
every
chance
of
it
being
snatched
away
the
next.
It
is
almost
as
if
men
of
that
socio-economic
class
are
doomed,
unless
they
are
exceptionally
lucky
or
gifted.
It
would
be
an
aberration
if
their
dreams
weren’t
dashed
because
escaping
the
pit
of
mediocrity
is
too
difficult.
Their
education
and
middle-class
self-esteem
leave
them
out
of
gig
jobs
like
delivery
boys
or
app
taxi
drivers.
Chaitanya
does
try
but
cannot
fit
in.
A
lack
of
choice
forces
Rohan
to
take
a
job
as
a
salesman
in
a
showroom.
His
girlfriend,
with
whom
he
moves
in
—
living
in
being
a
huge,
rebellious
step
—
pretends
he
is
the
manager,
and
ultimately
gets
irritated
by
his
lack
of
initiative.
The
women,
aware
that
odds
have
always
been
against
them,
are
more
focused
than
the
men,
who,
by
virtue
of
their
‘raja
beta‘
gender,
had
things
handed
to
them
easily
till
that
privilege
stopped.
Chaitanya’s
sister,
Chetna
(Saloni
Gaur)
is
always
seen
studying.
Ishita
strives
to
succeed
in
her
career,
even
if
it
means
putting
her
relationship
on
the
back
burner.
For
a
while,
Chaitanya
starts
making
money,
through
dubious
means,
and
Kamlesh
does
the
dispiriting
‘struggler’
grind
in
Mumbai
and
almost
reaches
a
breakthrough.
But
life
has
other
plans.
Kamlesh,
Chaitanya,
Rohan,
Ishita
and
Chetna
could
be
among
the
millions
of
youngsters
running
on
a
hamster
wheel
that
takes
them
nowhere,
but
gives
them
an
illusion
of
movement.
Their
parents
gave
up
their
goals
to
give
their
children
a
shot
to
achieve
what
they
could
not,
sacrifices
being
a
part
of
the
middle
class
reality.
Lafangey
empathises
with
the
characters,
but
does
not
offer
false
hope.
Even
when
they
are
dragged
down,
the
friends
are
upbeat
and
willing
to
get
up,
dust
themselves
and
run
back
into
the
scrum.
The
three
lead
actors
are
excellent,
giving
their
parts
the
various
shades
of
joy,
anger,
despair
and
the
emotional
heft
required
to
make
Kamlesh,
Rohan
and
Chaitanya
believable
and
likeable.
Lafangey
streams
on
Amazon
MX
Player.
Lafangey
Review
Rediff
Rating:
