Farzi is an Indian Hindi-language crime thriller streaming television series created by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. The series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 10 February 2023. It marks the digital debut of Tamil actor Shahid Kapoor and reunites the directing duo with actor Vijay Sethupathi after their work in The Family Man universe. The title Farzi is a Hindi colloquialism meaning "fake" or "counterfeit," referencing the show's central plot about counterfeit currency.
| Title | Farzi |
|---|---|
| Genre | Crime thriller, drama |
| Created by | Raj Nidimoru, Krishna D.K. |
| Directed by | Raj & D.K. |
| Written by | Raj & D.K., Suman Kumar, Sita R. Menon |
| Language | Hindi (with multilingual dubs) |
| Original network | Amazon Prime Video |
| Production company | D2R Films |
| Release date | 10 February 2023 |
| Number of episodes | 8 (Season 1) |
| Lead cast | Shahid Kapoor, Vijay Sethupathi, Kay Kay Menon, Raashii Khanna, Bhuvan Arora, Amol Palekar |
The series follows Sunny, a struggling artist from Mumbai who, along with his friend Firoz, devises a sophisticated counterfeit currency operation to rescue his grandfather's failing newspaper. As Sunny's fake notes flood the market, he draws the attention of Michael Vedanayagam, an unconventional officer of a special task force assembled to combat counterfeit currency, and Mansoor Dalal, a powerful underworld figure already entrenched in the trade. The narrative interweaves the perspectives of the conman, the cop and the criminal kingpin.
Produced by D2R Films, the production house founded by Raj & D.K., Farzi was developed alongside the duo's other Prime Video projects. Filming took place primarily in Mumbai. Sachin–Jigar composed the music, and Tanay Satam served as cinematographer. The series was made available in Hindi along with dubbed versions in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada to expand its reach across Indian audiences.
The trailer was launched in early February 2023, with promotional events held in Mumbai. Following its release on 10 February 2023, the series received broadly positive reviews, with particular praise for the performances of Shahid Kapoor, Vijay Sethupathi and Kay Kay Menon, the writing tone characteristic of Raj & D.K., and the production design. Critics noted the show's blend of dark comedy with thriller pacing. Amazon reported strong viewership in India and across South Asia in the weeks following release.
The show is notable as Shahid Kapoor's first long-format streaming role after a career predominantly in Hindi cinema. It also continued the trajectory of Raj & D.K. as among the most prominent showrunners in Indian streaming, after The Family Man (2019, 2021) and Guns & Gulaabs. A second season was officially announced by Amazon Prime Video, with the creators confirming continued development.