Review : Luck by chance

Rating : Above average (3.8/5)
Genre : Drama
Year : 2009
Running time : 2 hours 40 minutes
Director : Zoya Akhtar
Cast : Farhan Akhtar, Konkona Sensharma, Dimple Kapadia, Isha Sharvani, Hrithik Roshan, Rishi Kapoor, Juhi Chawla
Kid rating : PG – 13

LUCK BY CHANCE : WELL-TOLD FILMI DRAMA

Technorati tag : Review Luck by chance

I was really looking forward to this film, even though it lacked in the oomph department; Farhan as talented as he is (and he’s really working on those biceps) isn’t quite the man to make one’s heart go pitter-patter. And the Akhtars didn’t dissapoint. Zoya Akhtar’s debut directorial venture is an entertaining, interesting first film.

Luck by Chance is a story of two wannabe-movie-stars. One is a woman, hard-working but awaiting her chance. And the other is a man, her lover, a go-getter, an opportunist. He makes it, she doesn’t, and their relationship is the casualty.

The film is a hard look at Bollywood – how it works and who can work it. From the big-time producer Romy Rolly, and his hat-wearing director, to the Adonis-like superstar Zafar Khan – they’re all there and they’re all parodied just right. The hero Vikram’s character is fleshed out as a sly, manipulative go-getter, and Farhan does it justice. Each person’s role, however small is detailed rather well – they all appear to ring true.Zoya has an eye for detail, even the smallest part is handled with care.

There is much leg-pulling going on here – whether it’s the scene where the Nikki in a super-short dress attempts to touch Romy Rolly’s feet at the behest of her mother, or in the scene where Nikki, a spoiled star brat can’t quite pronounce the dialogue minus the Anglicized lilt that her priviliged upbringing has brought her. There are also well-done moments of truth as in the scene where Sona tells Vikram how selfish he’s being, and then forgives him saying he can’t help it – that is just who he is.

The two protagnists Vikram Jaisingh (Farhan Akhtar) and Sona Mishra (Konkona Sen Sharma) share almost equal screen time and importance, and the film is peopled with an excellent cast. Farhan Akhtar is quite the actor, and Konkona is marvellous. Dimple Kapadia is beautiful and fiery and tempestous and really quite effortless as Nina – the star mother. Isha Sharvani plays Nikki Valia, Nina’s daughter, and the heroine opposite whom Vikram gets his big break. But the pairing which I loved the most was that of producer Romy Rolly, played by fat and jovial looking Rishi Kapoor (with a wig of curly hair – how apt) and his ex-heroine, high-heel-shod, perpetually cheery wife Minty (Juhi Chawla).

The screen-play unfolds marvellously, it’s all in place, and the story flows. There was not a jarring moment, each persona had it’s moment. We got to know all the characters well, even though we didn’t sympathize with them – and in this the director succeeds very well ; in fact this is what makes this film so engrossing. LBC is an urban, modern look at life in the big city, succeeding in the cut-throat, incestuous world of Hindi films. On a deeper level, it’s about defining your own success and achieving it. It’s not poetic, it’s pragmatic. And done well.

The film also has a very good music by Shankar-Ehsan and Loy – a slow and haunting musical score to accompany a strong, and to-the-point film. Nice – recommended.

Kid-wise : This film has adult situations/talk and hints at sexual situations.

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