A thief was never so lovable before in Bollywood as it is in director Dibakar Banerjee's immensely entertaining film about a kleptomaniac who steals not just for greed, but for fame as well.
Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! , the title itself gives us a peek into a lower middle-class Punjabi family in Delhi. Lucky, the second son of a foreign-returned authoritarian baap (Paresh Rawal), is a boy who looks longingly at the world of the rich. Without the slightest pang of conscience he begins to nick petty things and grows to be a cool-headed thief who steals everything from TVs, cars, jewellery to cutlery, clothes, furniture, and even dogs. Nothing escapes the dexterous hands of Lucky ( Abhay Deol ).
Through his illustrious career as an elusive thief, Lucky falls in love with a college-going Sonal ( Neetu Chandra ). He works for a while under a gangster (Paresh Rawal) but then goes independent and invests in the dream project of a cunningly-manipulative veterinary doctor (Paresh Rawal again).
Lucky's daring thefts are not just inspired by his greed, but also his lust for fame. He's one of those thieves who like to read news of their robberies with narcissistic pride. It's a pride that makes Lucky unstoppable.
There is something very distinct about the style of Dibakar Banerjee , the man who previously made Khosla Ka Ghosla . His stories are set in the Indian middle-class and they have a definitive money angle to them. His movies are not the typical arty films with slow pace and dialogues few and far between. Banerjee is trying to present a new form of entertainment, where humour rises not from slapstick dialogues, but from the real but unique characters and the situations they are caught up in.
But one thing that 'Oye Lucky' lacks - but 'Khosla Ka Ghosla' had - is the emotional quotient. 'Khosla Ka Ghosla' had a love story on the sidelines. It had a parallel track of familial bonding. But 'Oye Lucky' has only superficial touches of it. Neither Abhay's romantic track nor his bonding with his family has any touching moments to offer you. Yes, there are funny moments aplenty. And the credit for it should go to the script and screenplay. The dialogues are straight out of life, and therefore not without flaws that one might notice in everyday speech. The songs are remarkably fresh and brilliant.
Abhay Deol has an easy demeanor about him which makes him very suited to the lead role. There is nothing histrionic about his performance, nothing overtly flamboyant. Abhay avoids the traps that any average actor might have fallen into while playing the part. He brings no swagger to his thief. His Lucky is an unassuming guy-next-door with a winning smile but a khurapati dimaag.
Paresh Rawal in the triple role is absolutely convincing. You feel as if three different actors have played the part. It's only Paresh's face that gives him away.
Take my advice. Go and watch 'Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye'. And take my word, you won't feel swindled. After all, in the present days of mad violence, death, and despair, we all need some humour to retain sanity.
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