Luck By Chance

 

A.V: ***1/2

E.V: ***

 

When Jim Carrey was an aspiring to be an actor, he had once written out an undated cheque of one million dollars in his name. This same cheque he carried in his pocket everyday, with a dream of encashing the same one day. Today we all know he can write dozens of such cheques for himself. Was it his destiny or determination, or a bit of both? There are many such examples in every field whether it is business, politics, sports or cinema. The successful ones are those who have a vision they can turn into reality. In Luck by Chance, the main protagonist has one such vision and is undeterred in achieving that. Yet the movie is not so much about him as it is about choosing your life.

 

This is certainly not the first movie to be made on such a theme in Hindi cinema. The last two attempts being Superstar and Om Shanti Om. While the first was a suspense drama, and the second a fantasy and parody of the industry. In some respects, Luck by Chance is similar to OSO in the digs it takes at the industry insiders. However the screenplay does not revolve around the self indulged jokes. Sure there are some clichés like the diva who was exploited during her teens by her parents, for stardom and money. But the focus is on the ordinary hard working individuals who toil hard behind the scenes waiting in the wings for their big break.

 

The film follows the lives of two struggling actors, Vikram (Farhan) and Shona (Konkona). While Vikram is a acting school graduate, Shona takes on bit roles in big and small budget films hoping that the producer would give her a lead role one day. They go through a share of disappointments till Vikram’s life changes when he gets a call from Romy Roli Productions for audition. They are one of the biggest producers in the industry, and have been left in the doldrums when their lead hero ditches his mentor to sign another project. Vikram manages to charm the leading lady’s mother (Dimple) and gets his chance to live his dream. What effect this development has on his personality, his relationship with Shona and the decisions they take form the crux of the story.

 

To her credit, Zoya Akhtar has shot the movie in her own perspective, rather than trying to emulate her brother’s filmmaking style, proof of which can be found in the way the last twenty minutes of this movie unfold. It is a conclusion which might puzzle some; thankfully Zoya did not choose a typical ‘everyone lives happily ever after’ ending for this one. The pace of the movie does drop in the second half. The music is a big letdown, and even though there are a few nice songs, none of them catch your attention. This was Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s follow up to Dostana and Rock On, both of which had a number of chartbusters.

 

Farhan does justice to the role that (as is commonly reported) was one of the least desirable given the number of people who rejected it. He conveys the intensity required in the character and also has some lighter moments here, something which made his portrayal different from Rock On. Konkona shares her screen space with a lot of smaller characters yet makes an impression being a stalwart. Rishi Kapoor is thoroughly enjoyable in his role of the over-the-top producer and his mannerisms, though borrowed seem well timed to bring in all the laughs.

 

The makers of this film have spoken about the struggle they had to undergo to complete this project. If you notice carefully, the film in several places portrays those struggles, a poignant reminder that sometimes you need to be lucky to get a chance to prove yourself on center stage.

 

- Suprateek Sinha