Blast from the past: Farhan Akhtar’s ‘original’ acting debut set to release, 9 years later

The Fakir of Venice, the film Farhan Akhtar was supposed to make his debut with, is finally gearing up for release, nine years after 2008’s Rock On!!, which is his actual acting debut.

Says our source, “An offbeat film, it would also mark the debut of director Anand Surapur, had it released then. However, with no definite plan for it, especially in India, it languished in obscurity for years. Rock On!! came and went.” TFOV did make the rounds of international film festivals, 2009 onwards. “Meanwhile, Farhan continued to pick up other Bollywood assignments and did several films under his own banner. He even had a Rs 100 crore winner in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.”

While it seemed that TFOV was forgotten, “It is now being revived and a release date is planned (March 10),” our source confirms, “The film also stars Annu Kapoor, who plays the title role .” Incidentally, March 10 is also the date when Karan Johar’s Badrinath Ki Dulhania is set to release.