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about Luck by chance:
Cast: Farhan Akthar, Konkona Sen Sharma, Dimple Kapadia, Rishi Kapoor,Cheetah Yagnesh Shetty, Saif Ali Khan, Hrithik Roshan
Producer: Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani, Zoya Akhtar
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Music Director: Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonca
Lyricist: Javed Akhtar
Cinematographer: Carlos Catalan
Editor: Anand Subaya
Art Director: Anuradha Parikh, T P Abid
Screenplay Writer: Javed Akhtar
Story: Zoya Akhtar
Story of Luck By Chance: Vikram Jaisingh(Farhan Akhtar) is a Bollywood aspirant who dreams of making it big. He lives with a couple of friends in Mumbai, one of them a TV actor. Sona(Konkana Sen Sharma) is working with a small time producer Chaudhry(Aly Khan)who promises her a plum role, some day in exchange of sexual favors. Sona and Vikram meet by chance, and fall in love. In another part of the glitzy world, a successful producer Romy Rolly who is launching a film starring Zafar Khan(Hrithik Roshan) and debutante star-daughter Niki(Isha Sherwani) , gets a set-back when Zafar abandons the film to work for Karan Johar. Niki’s mother Neena(Dimple Kapadia) who once a huge star, wants her daughter to work with Zafar Khan for her first film. But with Zafar Khan leaving, the producer Romy is left in a lurch.
Sona feels betrayed and distraught when the producer Chaudhry says that there is no role for her. She however leaves a photo of Vikram for him to peruse. The picture lands up at Romy’s office and his wife (played by Juhi Chawla) feels Vikram is apt for the role. A screen test later, Vikram Jaisingh is signed for the lead role. As the popularity of Vikram increases, he began to distance himself from his friends and his girlfriend. He also starts to fancy his heroine Niki who gives in to his advances. The grapevine and the media takes full advantage of this situation and creates controversy about how Vikram has used mother and daughter(Neena and Niki) to further his ambitions and how he has hidden the truth about his girlfriend. The bad news works in Vikram’s favor and his first film with Niki begins a hit. Sona who has parted ways with Vikram, starts to work in serials trying to establish her own identity.
Plus points of Luck By Chance:
The beginning. A couple of scenes where Farhan is shown practicing in the acting class, show that the movie could have great momentum. Sadly, it doesn’t. The performances save the day again in this boring film, especially the performances of Dimple Kapadia, Rishi Kapoor, Konkana Sen Sharma and Farhan Akhtar(in that order)
Minus points:
Luck By Chance is not honest to its title. The movie is less about the ‘struggle’ and more about two timing. The protagonist gets to the top without much of an effort and you hardly get to see the fighting spirit or endurance of the protagonist, which would have been inspiring to say the least. As for the plot, it moves at a snail’s place. The first half is very slow and the second half is cliché. The screenplay is not up to the mark and you feel in the first half that the movie is going round and round, without heading anywhere.
There are many scenes which were not required and there are many sequences which could have led to great entertainment, had they been shown. For instance, the scene where Niki comes to meet Vikramsingh secretly, has a lot of promise but fizzles away. Also there are a lot of hypocritical elements and clichés in Bollywood,which could have been shown. A lot of on-set shooting sequences could have been shown.
A bucketful of guest appearances thrown in for effect, are not even worth talking about. You will miss Kareena Kapoor if you excuse yourself for a sneeze. Only Shahrukh Khan with an impactful one-scene and Anurag Kashyap as the writer who writes films watching foreign DVDS, make an impact. Music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy is disappointing. The movie demanded high quality music and a moving/inspiring sound-track, which is missing. The chemistry between Farhan Akhtar and Konkona Sen Sharma is missing, the director skips talking about how the relationship developed. In one scene, there are talking formally and in the next scene, they are hugging and kissing.
Take notice Hrithik Roshan takes a dig at Shahrukh Khan in Luck By Chance, in a dialogue wherein he says that he is just an employee who works for Zafar Khan, the star. This is a line which SRK usually uses in his interview.
Best scenes of Luck By Chance:
1. A smart scene where Farhan Akhtar walks up to Dimple Kapadia at a party and floors her by flattering her to the skies.
2. Aly Khan telling Konkana Sen Sharma point blank that she cannot be cast in the movie he is planning for, and the subsequent break-down and regaining of composure done brilliantly by Konkona Sen Sharma.
Performances of Luck By Chance:
Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia stand out in terms of performance. Isha Sherwani does a neat job. Konkana as usual, gives in a measured performance. Farhan Akhtar underplays his role and gives a subtle touch to his role. Hrithik Roshan does not elicit the ‘wow’ appeal he is known for, and does an understated job, even though he is the ‘star’ in the film.
Conclusion: A movie like Halla Bol showed the story of a struggler in a better manner. Luck By Chance does not inspire, does not really go beyond the cliché and does not portray Bollywood in its naked truth. It plays safe and saccharine; we would have loved it, if there was spice in it.
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