“A high school slacker who's rejected by every school he applies to opts to create his own institution of higher learning, the South Harmon Institute of Technology, on a rundown piece of property near his hometown.”
Yes, South Harmon Institute of Technology that abbreviates to the title of this… er… Sorry, I pulled out the wrong synopsis from IMDb. But replace the fictitious South Harmon Institute of Technology from Justin Long's coming-of-age comedy Accepted with Fakirchand And Lakeerchand Trust University that abbreviates to F.A.L.T.U, the wonderfully ‘meta' (the-film-reviews-itself) title and you get the plot for this rip off whose only saving grace is that it has ‘dhinchak' song and dance and a pretty rocking soundtrack at that by Sachin Jigar.
But that's the least you would accept with a choreographer Remo D'Souza helming this remake that pretends to be original with a couple of lines you would not have seen in Accepted . Brace yourself if you are ready to take in this gyaan : “Children are not useless.” Gee… really? They could've fooled us. “They are used less.” When Riteish Deshmukh says that with a straight face, you know you are in the hands of a dependable actor.
The next pearl of wisdom comes from the producer's son Jackky Bhagnani who made his debut in Kal Kissne Dekha , a film that showcased his Joey Tribbiani-level acting competence. In his re-launch, Jaccky gets to ask THE 3 Idiots -level question: “Why is it that our education system passes anyone who has got over 35 per cent but does not admit anyone with less than 70 per cent in college? If that's the case, why not keep 70 as the pass mark?”
And, THAT kids, is the reason, you need to go to school and pay attention. Without which, you will ask questions like Joey Tribbiani… Jackky Bhagnani, I mean.
There's also Munnabhai's sidekick Circuit... oh, wait, he's called Google (Arshad Warsi) in this one and wears a different suit but essentially plays the same *yawn* once again.
The filmmaker torn between the three stars with the producer watching over the shoulder decides to ration out the lines to make sure footage is given in the order of importance to producer's son, politician's son and then the actor.
However, F.A.L.T.U seemed to be a rage with the youth (there were students dancing in the hall on Day 1) despite it being something of a rip off. And for a film that reviews the education system in the country, Remo sure takes a leaf out of the rut. He copies to pass. What a fine example for kids indeed.
F.A.L.T.U
Genre: Comedy
Director: Remo D'Souza
Cast: Jaccky Bhagnani, Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani, Puja Gupta
Storyline: Slackers create their own fake university after not getting admission into any college. As the tag-line of Accepted goes, they “reject rejection”.
Bottomline: This blatant rip-off may just click with the youth because of obvious lack of choice
