Director Soumendra Padhi on his latest film ‘Farrey’

Soumendra Padhi, a talented director, known for his successful series "Jamtara" on Netflix, is back with Salman Khan Production’s film titled 'Farrey.' The term 'Farrey' being a reference to small chits of paper with answers that students use during exams is interesting and suggests that the film may revolve around a theme related to students or cheating in exams.

Soumendra Padhi mentions that the success of 'Jamtara' played a significant role in him being offered this project, which is understandable given the show's popularity. He also said: “My first short film, short long back, had my niece who was a kid at that time. I love to work with kids as there is always a pure sense of innocence in them and there is no baggage attached. My energy matches with them. In my film Budhia Singh: Born to Run (2016), for which I received a National Award, I have worked with a kid actor along with Manoj Bajpayee sir.” This indicates that 'Farrey' may also involve child actors and possibly explore themes related to childhood or innocence.

Farrey has Alizeh as a lead, who is the daughter of Atul Agnihotri and Alvira Khan and niece of Salman Khan. When asked about his experience of working with the star kid, he said: “When I first met Alizeh, believe me I was not aware of her identity at all. I come from a very different school where all these things do not matter. I started my career with Gajraj Rao in an advertisement agency, where the right faces matter the most.” He adds: “The most amazing factor between Alizeh and me is our shared love of books. In our first meeting I gave her two books and from there we connected. Before we started shooting for the film, we knew each other for 2 years. It was a very good experience working with her.”

Sharing his first ever meeting with Salman Khan at his home, Soumendra says: “There was a significant contrast between the tight security at the entrance and the more relaxed atmosphere in Salman Khan's room. During the meeting, Salman Khan was dressed casually in a simple t-shirt and listened to my narration. He also mentions that during the shooting of ‘Farrey’, the Khan family only visited the set once in Delhi.
When asked whether it will make a difference after ‘Farrey’ as the film is backed by Salman Khan, Soumendra said: “My dream has become bigger and maybe a bit easier now.”

Soumendra,sharing about how he got inspired to direction, said: “After I finished my engineering, I was dissatisfied with my engineering job in Hyderabad, so I came to Mumbai and joined Gajraj Rao. I have loved his way of storytelling.”
‘Farrey’ features actors like Zeyn Shaw, Sahil Mehta, Prasanna Bisht, Ronit Bose Roy, and Juhi Babbar Soni. The film is scheduled to be released in theaters on November 24. It will be interesting to see how Soumendra Padhi's storytelling skills are reflected in this project and how the audience responds to "Farrey."