Here's a one-of-its-kind film that takes you into the underbelly of Bollywood - into the world of dreamy-eyed strugglers, pampered starlets, superstitious producers, Hollywood aping directors, and the sensation seeking media.
Without giving in to cynicism, first-time director Zoya Akhtar tells a delightful tale that exposes the workings of an industry where stars are deified and strugglers scorned. Farhan Akhtar plays Vikram, a struggling actor who leaves his dad's flourishing business in Delhi to try his luck in films. Similarly, Sona ( Konkona Sen Sharma ) is a girl from Kanpur who has been doing odd roles in films with the hope that a big break - promised by an exploitative producer - awaits her.
Through their struggling days, the two meet and fall in love. Unlike Sona, Vikram doesn't wait for opportunity to present itself. He creates opportunities, manipulates his way through the seemingly impenetrable barriers that can dog any struggler. And then the lady luck smiles. Vikram gets his big break, while Sona faces failure.
Having gotten his foot in the door to stardom, Vikram sets his conscience aside and selfishly pursues his aim, even though it leaves behind broken hearts and tussled egos.
It would have taken an insider to give an objective view of the film industry and Zoya manages that with remarkable aplomb. The characters in 'Luck By Chance' seem plucked straight out of B-Town.
There's a roly-poly producer ( Rishi Kapoor ) who concocts lies with a naturally gifted flair and loses his blood pressure to see a star walk out of his film. There's a starlet ( Isha Sharvani ) who can't speak Hindi properly but gets a lead role just because her mom used to be a successful heroine. There's the omnipresent mom ( Dimple Kapadia ) who keeps demanding the best for the baby and giving headache to the producer. There's a director ( Sanjay Kapoor ) who dons his thinking hat but prefers to rip off Hollywood blockbusters. There's a writer ( Anurag Kashyap ) who has to change the entire script just because the hero wants a positive role. And there's a star Zaffar Khan ( Hrithik Roshan ) who dumps his producer after getting a meatier offer from another filmmaker ( Karan Johar ).
Not just this, the movie introduces you to the unsung heroes. The old men with wrinkled faces and gnarled hands that sew fetching costumes for glamourous stars. The agents who fish out roles - however minuscule - for strugglers. And lastly, the strugglers themselves, who wait endlessly in queues, at auditions and outside producer's doors, only to be shunned.
With slice-of-life peeks into these lives, the movie tells a heart-winning but a tad too long tale of love, luck, loss, destiny, dreams and will power.
After Rock On , Farhan Akhtar gives yet another riveting performance that thoroughly deserves plaudits. The incredibly talented Konkona is superb as ever. Rishi Kapoor and Juhi Chawla delight you despite being over the top at places. Dimple Kapadia still oozes a hypnotic charm. Isha Sharvani is suitably cast as a bimbo.
The songs are catchy and cinematography is top-notch. Zoya shows remarkable subtlety in handling some sequences. But she gets overindulgent in her story at times. The result is a three-hour long marathon punctuated by cameos from stars like Shahrukh Khan , Aamir Khan , Abhishek Bachchan , Akshaye Khanna , Dia Mirza , Vivek Oberoi and Javed Akhtar .
In a nutshell, 'Luck By Chance' is a nice, touching story studded with a galaxy of stars! What more else could you have asked for?
Movie Review : Nice but long (6/10) Here's a one-of-its-kind film that takes you into the underbelly of Bollywood - into the world of dreamy-eyed strugglers, pampered...
Music Review : Fifty-Fifty (5/10) Though the music of 'Luck By Chance' is not out of the ordinary, it has its moments. Composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, the album has...
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