Farhan Akhtar-starrer The Fakir of Venice will be the opening movie at the 8th Jagran Film Festival, which will kick off in New Delhi from July 1. Directed by Anand Surapur and also featuring Annu Kapoor, The Fakir of Venice is a drama inspired by the real life experiences of Bollywood filmmaker Homi Adajania, who travelled with a fakir (saint) to Venice. The film highlights the story of a con man from India (played by Akhtar) who is hired to find a fakir willing to bury himself in sand for an art installation project in Venice. He passes off Kapoor playing a poor slum dweller from Mumbai as the real thing, who ends up successfully conning the European art world.
The story also depicts the growing bond between the two characters who are brought together to carry out a deception. The film’s blurb explains: “To pull it off, they must learn to shed the layers of deceit and move towards understanding themselves”.
In the film’s poster, Akhtar and Kapoor are seen wearing saffron clothes.
Following New Delhi, the festival will travel to 16 other Indian cities before culminating in Mumbai with an awards ceremony in September.
