Surprise, surprise: Fukrey may well be the most LOL fun you would have had at the movies in recent times. An irreverent slice-of-life youth film, this one is packed with ample punches and guarantees frequent laughs to give you enough bang for your buck. And sometimes even a little more.

Fukrey — meaning a street-smart slacker in Delhi slang — is about four good-for-nothing young men who are looking for that elusive shortcut in their lives that will change their fortunes. There is 12th-grade back-bencher Honey (Pulkit Samrat) and his bum-chum Dilip alias Choocha (debutant Varun Sharma) who can’t wait to get into college, for that would give them freedom from the strict discipline of school. But with their grades in the red, the two need to buy leaked question papers to be able to clear their board exams. There is Lali (Manjot Singh) who manages his dad’s mithai shop and dreams of giving up his correspondence course and getting into the college where his school sweetheart now studies. And then there is the older Zafar (Ali Fazal), an aspiring musician who needs some quick cash to fund his father’s treatment.

Circumstances get the four together and they hit upon a plan that seems dubious on paper but is the only way out for them. On the basis of Choocha’s dreams and Honey’s interpretations of them, the four decide to invest in lottery tickets! But investment needs capital and the four fukreys have no choice but to seek the help of female don Bholi Punjaban (Richa Chadda). But things go horribly wrong from the word go and the four find themselves sucked into one messy situation after another.

Fukrey is in the Delhi Belly space and benefits from its irreverent tone. Director Mrighdeep Singh Lamba keeps the interest alive by packing in enough gags and laugh-out-loud moments. Set in Delhi, it mirrors the lives and ambitions of today’s youth and yet manages to remain a film that will appeal to a wider audience.

Fukrey rests solely on the shoulders of its bunch of fresh actors and each of them makes the film what it is. Pulkit Samrat, who made his debut in last year’s Bittoo Boss, slips easily into his street-smart character while Manjot Singh’s straight-faced humour adds a lot to the film’s funny moments. Richa Chadda holds her own as the expletive-mouthing don and Pankaj Tripathi’s English punches in chaste Hindi are good fun. But it is debutant Varun Sharma — from the scene where he confesses his ‘love’ for Bholi Punjaban to how he is attacked by street dogs while dressed in a peacock’s costume — who stands head and shoulders above the rest with his comic timing.

Fukrey is not without its share of negatives. At 137 minutes, it’s a little too stretched and some scenes are just not funny enough. But do make some time for it if you are looking for a laugh or two this weekend (and have watched YJHD one time too many).