LUCK BY CHANCE Review
[My thanks to regular ScreenAnarchy reader Saad Nawab for the following review.]
‘Luck by chance’ feels like a dream, one which you have after being exposed to the workings and dealings of cinema in India. There’s a scene in the movie when a character mentions – Hindi film heroes dance AND act too. The latter part of the sentence need not be there. Bollywood doesn’t need talent. It needs good-looking faces and people to over-work and be underpaid. It’s an industry wherein you learn nothing but gain everything if you’re manipulative enough to work your way to the top.
Debutant director Zoya Akthar must be noticing all that since she’s stepped into the movie-making business. She hails from a family that has its roots embedded in Bollywood. Her brother Farhan Akhtar, who plays the lead in this movie, is also a successful director in his own right, making his debut way back in 2001 with the much appreciated ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ (What the heart desires). Zoya continues in her brothers’ footsteps and makes one hell of a movie which is thoughtful and condescending for the people working in the Indian film industry.
Luck by chance – the title refers to what the director believes happens to a chosen few who want to be a part of the magic of the movies. Agreed, it’s never easy anywhere. But you’ll believe me when it’s particularly annoying and frustrating when talent never gets recognized.
Such a thing happens to Vikram (Farhan Akhtar) and Sona (Konkana Sen), two lost souls in search of fame, fortune and meaning in the crazy world of Bollywood. Both characters hail from different parts on India and have no idea how to go about for what they desire. They work in an industry catered with unprofessionalism and inadequacies. In short, people are treated like dirt. From there on, the realistic and often satirical behavior in which Zoya Akthar take sher script is charming to behold. Vikram has patience while Sona has hope. Clinging to that and each other, they wait for fate to turn their lives around and probably get the break that they hope for. It comes to them in an eerie way. By the time the film is done with these characters, they’ll have matured into something they never realized they could be. This is a rare example of an Indian movie, one in which the audience will feel s for its characters genuinely.
No doubt Bollywood has a thing for colors and vibrancy and this film has loads of it. Credit goes to cinematographer Carlos Catalán. Song sequences drip with cinematic resonance. The same cannot be said for the production design which feels a little tacky for my taste. My main concern is for the people who lack the patience to sit through an almost 3 hour flick. This can be a tedious one to sit through and one of those movies that are primarily dialogue driven. Performance wise there is nothing to boast about. Everyone plays their part with ease. They should. It’s all about them and the way they live their hypocritical lives.
‘Luck by chance’ will no doubt raise many questions on what exactly makes Indian cinema tick and falter. I for one believe the complete lack of innovation and resources; that drive to make something worthy. It is a film that will remain close to the hearts of people out there struggling and the ones wanting to set their eyes on cinema. I’ve experienced all of this and more on a first-hand basis and it leaves you hollow knowing that you can perfectly be working and earning someplace else rather than being a slave and getting abused for nothing. Your creativity seeps away after a point of time, and slowly, your will to keep on going, and at the end of it, your dreams. Making movies is a collaboration, a gathering of like-minded people to create the best story possible. In India, that hardly happens. There are a lot of egos flying all around, a lot of insecurity. Guess things will never change for a long time coming.
Instead of watching stupid and over-hyped films (Chandni Chowk to China, anyone), consider giving ‘Luck by chance’ a try. It’ll be worth it
