Luck By Chance – On The Other Side Of The 70mm. Review on Luck By Chance

What is most interesting about Hindi cinema today is the way they are taking potshots at themselves. We had Om Shanti Om do that last year and this year it is Luck By Chance doing it right in the face. With the "awakening" of Hindi cinema, the new breed of directors has probably understood things that were funny about the industry in the years gone by and they are actually making a career out of those digs. And what's more interesting is that these films are finding an appreciative market!

Zoya Akhtar's debut has been long in the planning – they say it was waiting in her mind for about 7 years before she actually got to make the film – and it shows. Very few people will find faults about the movie, apart from the point that it seems to drag in certain places. A few scenes could have been made crisper. However, the overall length of the movie is perfect and it doesn't bore you at any point.

The story is about Vikram Jai Singh and Sona Mishra, played by Farhan Akhtar and Konkona Sensharma respectively, who are both struggling to find their niche in the Hindi film industry. While Vikram believes in grabbing whatever opportunity comes his way at whatever cost, Sona is the more careful one. She knows the importance of the proverbial knock at the door too and she knows that she has to open it in time to let the opportunity enter, but she lets emotions get in her way once too often. That describes the biggest difference between the two protagonists.

Vikram is still to find a footing in the film industry and is trying all he can while Sona has been kept waiting by a producer with a promise of a parallel lead role in a film, with the telltale "Miltey Rehna". In the meanwhile, she subsists with small roles in big movies, such as "dead sister ki saheli".

Chance comes in Vikram's way when Zafar Khan(Hrithik Roshan) refuses a role in a big movie Dil ki Aag that his mentor Romy Rolly(Rishi Kapoor) is producing, due to creative differences. His wife, Minty Rolly(Juhi Chawla) is a great believer in destiny, who thinks that Zafar has refused the role because Rolly did not wear a pearl ring which a guru had told him never to remove.

The movie is also to be the launchpad for a star daughter, Nikki Walia(Isha Sharvani). Her mother, Neena Walia(Dimple Kapadia) is the quintessential actress-mom, who will do anything to see that her daughter succeeds in this world. She is called as "the crocodile in a chiffon sari" by Rolly at a point.

Vikram gets Zafar Khan's role due to a turn of events(too difficult to explain) and gets in the good books of Neena Walia. He is believed to be this actor with a spark who women will fall over themselves for. But the problem begins when Nikki, the star daughter, herself cannot get enough of him and starts making advances.

The best part of the movie is the sarcasm and the double-mindedness which is so openly shown at various points. The best instance is when Romy Rolly, who was initially dead-set against casting Vikram, tells him, "There was a lot of objection about casting you, but it was I who cast you in this movie! Zafar bhi to tumhaare hi jaise tha jab yahaan aaya tha, aur ab dekho – superstar Zafar Khan!" Better than that is Vikram's sage-like response to this self-eulogizing "Jaanta hoon sir, you are the boss."

That's Vikram's character for you. He begins by buttering his way to the top – he constantly tells Neena Walia, "I am in this world because of you. Mere dono parents aapke diehard fans hain, aur aapki films ke wajah se hi to veh mile." – and ends by sleeping around. He is the manipulative bas%$^d who is traditionally thought about when we speak of the film industry.

Sona Mishra, though struggling in the industry for a much longer time than Vikram, has still to learn about the machinations of the industry. And that is why she is relegated to Ekta Kapoor serials at the end and loses her lover.

The movie is full of morals which any newcomer in the film industry or in any other industry must remember. Shah Rukh Khan's line is the most memorable, "When you get your success, don't forget the people who were with you when you weren't successful. These are the only people who will tell you the truth." Hrithik, who plays Zafar Khan, says, "I am not Zafar Khan. I am an employee of this image known as Zafar Khan. If I play a negative role, I will be cheating on the thousands of people who do not want to see Zafar Khan in that image." Every such line makes you think.

The movie is propelled by its actors, there is no one that outshines the others and that is the way it should be. The music is not the highpoint of the movie, but it keeps the mood upbeat. The best part is Zoya's direction. She has minutely handled scenes such as Vikram's first audition(palpable tension there) and Zafar Khan making mock faces to street kids who adulate him from outside his car.

Watch the movie for a bit of realism about the people in the film industry. The life is not all glossy and glitzy as it appears from the outside.