Fakebook Dhamaal follows a college where students, professors and even the principal get pulled into an obsession with social media. What begins as harmless scrolling and status chasing spirals into misunderstandings, exposure and trouble for nearly everyone involved. The comedy uses their tangles to argue that the online world can reward and ruin a person in the same breath.
Fakebook Dhamaal arrived in March 2019 with a premise ripped straight from the moment. Director Manoj Patel sets his comedy inside a college where students, professors and even the principal fall under the spell of social media, and the film turns their likes, posts and online pretending into a chain of public embarrassments. It is a broad ensemble farce that wants to laugh at the phone in everyone's hand while quietly warning about it.
The film works best when it stays light and lets its young cast, led by Soham Shah, Rutwa Patel and Kartik Rastrapal, play the vanity and panic of people who cannot log off. The trouble is the sermon underneath. Every gag eventually circles back to the same lesson about addiction, and the point is delivered so plainly that surprise drains out of the second half. Its middling IMDb score of 5.7 tracks that split, since audiences seemed to enjoy the idea more than the execution.
As a snapshot of Gujarati popular cinema in 2019, Fakebook Dhamaal is honest about what it is. This is a small, topical comedy built for a quick laugh and an easy takeaway, not a film chasing the festival prestige of that year's Hellaro. It later found a second life on streaming, where the cautionary hook still reads as current. Watch it if you want a low-stakes ensemble comedy about the online life, and keep your expectations tuned to good-natured time-pass rather than anything sharper or more lasting.
Verdict
A topical, good-natured comedy about life online that lands a few laughs before its lesson takes over. Fine as time-pass, not much beyond it.
What works
- Timely premise about social media addiction
- Light, energetic ensemble cast
- Easy, family-friendly humor
- Rooted in a recognizable college setting
What holds it back
- The message turns preachy
- Second half loses momentum
- Broad gags over sharp writing
- Production values stay modest
Cast & crew
Cast: Soham Shah, Rutwa Patel, Kartik Rastrapal, Nishit Brahmbhatt, Jenny Soni
Watch the trailer
Play the official trailer on YouTubeMore Comedy Gujarati films
Frequently asked
Is Fakebook Dhamaal worth watching?
A topical, good-natured comedy about life online that lands a few laughs before its lesson takes over. Fine as time-pass, not much beyond it. Kevu Che rates it 2.5 out of 5.
What is Fakebook Dhamaal about?
Fakebook Dhamaal follows a college where students, professors and even the principal get pulled into an obsession with social media. What begins as harmless scrolling and status chasing spirals into misunderstandings, exposure and trouble for nearly everyone involved. The comedy uses their tangles to argue that the online world can reward and ruin a person in the same breath.
What is the IMDb rating of Fakebook Dhamaal?
Fakebook Dhamaal (2019) holds an IMDb rating of 5.7 out of 10.