Movie review: Luck By Chance

Luck, they say, is an important factor in the film industry. But talent is equally important. Thoughtfully, Zoya Akhtar doesn’t rely on plain chance in her directorial debut but exhibits immense aptitude while largely highlighting the significance of fate in films.

Luck By Chance is the story of an aspiring actor Vikram (Farhan Akhtar) who comes from Delhi to Mumbai to make it big in films. Sona Mishra (Konkona Sen Sharma) has been struggling for more than a couple of years in B-grade cinema and wants to switch to more meaty roles.

Meanwhile film producer Rommy Rolly (Rishi Kapoor) announces a new project starring popular film-star Zafar Khan (Hrithik Roshan) alongside Nikki (Isha Sharvani), daughter of yesteryear actress Neena Walia (Dimple Kapadia).

Zafar’s exit from the project is Vikram’s entry ticket to Bollywood. Luck shines bright on him as he is short-listed for Rolly’s film and selected to play the male lead. But as he gains professional fame, his personal life goes for a toss with a failed relationship with girlfriend Sona.

The uniqueness of Luck By Chance is the cheeky spoofs it attempts on the functioning of the film industry without exaggerating the outcome (like in Nagesh Kukunoor’s Bollywood Calling ). Luck By Chance has some of the best employed cameos which are not just stuffed in for star-value but go in sync with the script. Zoya manages to pull off satire on several actors who make you laugh at their own expense (notably Mac Mohan, Sanjay Kapoor and Anurag Kashyup). Also the film-in-film setting gives ample scope for several parody pieces on Bollywood clichés.

While Bollywood is essentially employed as the backdrop of the film, it doesn’t form the backbone, with the protagonist’s character-graph taking prominence. It starts with Vikram’s self-assured struggle to get into movies, progresses with his ethical corruption resulting from fame and culminates with his remorse. However, with the rejection of his repentance, the film opts for an abrupt climax where the protagonist suddenly switches from Vikram to Sona. The movie culminates on a pragmatic note much in the Madhur Bhandarkar mould, though it evades such treatment through its run by not getting hard-hitting heavy or regressively realistic.

Nevertheless, Zoya Akhtar comes up with a taut screenplay comprising of some amusingly comic-but-credible characters. The twist in the interval point is especially noteworthy where Sona loses her chance and Vikram gets lucky. The treatment continuously alternates between humour to reality bytes but at no moment gets slapstick. The narrative even covers external factors affecting the film industry comprising of acting schools, drama-theatre, corporate studios to media houses and has interesting anecdotes on each.

Anand Subaya’s editing is crisp and he makes good use of montage mixture at several instances. The production design (Anuradha Parikh) and the costumes (Arjun Bhasin, Aparna Chandra) impart a perfect Bollywood feel to the film. The imaginatively shot opening credit song deserves a special mention for paying tribute to every uncelebrated craftsman involved in the making of a movie. Right at the onset, it defines and sets a perfect mood for the film. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s musical score is engaging though a couple of songs in the second half were clearly avoidable.

Almost every character in the film has grey shades though not glorified to extreme extents. The movie reveals the double standards of industry people though not showing them in an outright negative light. The trivial scene where Hrithik as superstar Zafar is separated from the external world by his car’s glass window is a subtle metaphor for the confinements of stardom. The pre-interval confrontation between Farhan and his friends is another effective scene.

Zoya Akhtar succeeds in extracting perfect performances from each and every member of the cast. And if you think Isha Sharvani can’t act, she is used in the film to that effect. She is not supposed to act but simply look beautiful, which she does. Farhan Akhtar comes up with a natural and confident act and glides effortlessly through his role. Konkona Sen Sharma is as dependable as always and stands tall throughout the film. Rishi Kapoor gets the looks and mannerisms of his Bollywood producer character correct and is exceptionally hilarious. Dimple Kapadia is impressive as a yesteryear actress and the doting mother of her debuting daughter. Hrithik Roshan is decent in his extended special appearance.

Luck By Chance highlights how the film industry give regards to everything else but the story when making a movie and ironically weaves a fascinating story using that paradox
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