Oye Lucky or The Girls behind the Glass
Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! Movie Review
Every once in a while, you see a film that leaves you thrilled and exhilarated as you walk out of the theatre. An experience that counters the jaded cynicism that a large portion of filmmaking is prey to. A film that reminds you why you wanted to make films in the first place.
The first Wong Kar Wai film I ever saw (Chungking Express) left me sleepless at night. I couldn’t stop thinking about it – It was probably the most joy I ever got out of seeing a film. There have been others along the way, Hana-Bi, The White Balloon, Pulp Fiction, Amores Perros, Run Lola Run and Andrei Rubelev, amongst others.
The Hindi film industry has thrown up a few gems in the last few years but a movie that truly thrilled and excited me? Maqbool was probably the last film that did that to me in any unqualified, definitive way.
Then last night, I saw…
Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye
I had seen and liked ‘Khosla ka Ghosla’ but ‘Oye Lucky’ was something else all together. Walking out of the screening I was just so happy and excited that a Hindi film had raised the bar in a substantial way. This one I LOVED.
By now a lot of people know that it’s about the rise of a small time crook to notoriety and faux celebrity. But it’s much more than that – it packs in so many layers; class envy and conflict, family dynamics, lower middle class aspirations, thwarted ambitions and the nature of celebrity.
Its genius however lies in wrapping the whole thing in an extremely entertaining package. The film is just so much fun and the subtle messages so cleverly built into the writing that you never ever get the feeling that somebody is pushing an intellectual agenda.
The writing is pitch perfect, large hearted and finely observed. I was expecting great performances from Abhay Deol and Paresh Rawal but what took me completely by surprise were the new faces. Right from the actor playing the teenage Lucky (Sorry, I forget his name) to Lucky’s best friend ‘Bangali’ (Manu Rishi) to Dolly (Richa) there are some seriously talented people appearing on screen for the very first time. And why haven’t I ever noticed Neetu Chandra before?
Special mention for Kartik the DOP who packs the frames with style and mood without ever getting overbearing. There’s no ‘oh look at me, I’m cool’ camera moves or lighting. No flashy razzmatazz. Just a mature, understated, ‘correctness’.
And Dibakar? He’s my new hero. Hats off to the man for putting together this film. Some things that stood out besides the writing and performances:
- His use of Delhi locations; there’s no clich'©d India Gate. No Rajpath. It’s Delhi from an insider’s point of view. And when I saw the Roshanara club, I knew I had just died and gone to heaven.
- His use of music; exciting tracks that work for the movie instead of just being radio fodder.
- Wardrobe and Art direction; The Delhi suits and sweaters. The homes. Perfect.
- But most of all his restraint and sense of quiet observation. And the sheer coolness of it all.
Anyway, since the film hasn’t released, I’m largely talking to myself. Do yourself a favour this Friday and grab a ticket for this one. This is the most exciting Hindi film I’ve seen in a very long time.
And the girls behind the glass? Watch the film, oye.
Tags: Oye Lucky Lucky Oye
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Oye Lucky,lucky you Navdeep. You got to see OLLO days before any one of us can!
I absolutely loved Khosla ka Ghosla, so have been waiting for Dibakar Banerjee’s next for so long. Cant wait to see OLLO!!
fantastic! thanks fr the preview Navdeep. Waiting for this one.
saadi dilli oye..after the absolutely perfect portrayel of UP Bihar sensibilities in Deshdrohi..this one wud put the real panju character out there.. m so pumped up for this one..
Navdeep, thanks for the recommendation. Now I am looking forward to ‘Oye lucky’.
BTW, I saw ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ last week, in the quest of understanding, ‘how it influenced Manorama more than Chinatown’. Indeed, the girl-roommates, truck accident, ‘remember me’ and the book. Great recommendation was that too, although subconcious. The glowing suitcase was a big surprise. It was like watching an old movie to see something you thought was invented by someone else, recently. Similar feeling I had after watching ‘The Cabinet of Dr Caligari’, to realise somebody in 1919 made a movie with last 10 minutes turned the entire movie upside down.
Are you working on any new projects?
Counting down till I watch it tomorrow. Truly excited and now I know it’s gonna be great!
3 days to go here in SoCal!!! So is it better than Khosla ka Ghosla?
Wow, Navdeep, that’s quite a recommendation. I was looking forward to his next for a while (I loved Khosla), and now I am even more pumped to see it.
I am already sure of the kind of hit it can be..
Sweet!The perfect appetizer before the main course.
Its a sad state of affairs in the Hindi film industry. Its depressing to see such fanfare and praise for such simplistic films like DASVIDANIYA and TAARE ZAMEEN PAR. It makes you feel that to satisfy the Indian audience you need to make a film that requires an IQ of atleast 20. How stupid we are, eh?
When you watch films like WINGS OF DESIRE and VIRGIN SUICIDES you realise how far behind we are in terms of creativity, vision and storytelling. All hail people like Anurag Kashyap who atleast try to change something, hopefully not by compromising quality with technique.
@Abhay/Dibakar
Last week I saw “OYE LUCKY OYE”, I must tell u I have just fallen in love with your film. Outstanding Performances by all the actors, excellent dialogues, tight screenplay 130mins.
Right from the title sequence (it is a Paisa Vasool sequence) till the freezing moment of Lucky in the climax the entire film is brilliant. I am finding it very difficult to search for the right superlatives for this film.In a long time guys such a fresh subject with the smell of the environment has been woven so well in the film format.
Paresh Rawal after Mumbai meri jaan has come up with another trump card in 3 performing roles and you know what nobody is asking how come all 3 different characters look alike , the audience is so involved in the mannerisms of those characters there is no time for them to think in that direction ,ACE !!!
Abhay Deol, what a marvellous natural performance he has given,he has played the con-artist/thief to the T, his biggest commercial successfull film till date and this is going to benefit DEV.D opening collections too ,mark my words,Another ACE !!!
And the music WITH supporting actors is your third ACE !!!
CONGRATS TO THE ENTIRE UTV TEAM AND THE DIRECTION TEAM,
An Outstanding FILM EXPERIENCE !!!
GK
I havent seen the film yet but am already in love with it..listened to some of its songs and the use of some of the folk instruments(like tumbi) is highly working with the theme….the music is surely a tribute to the likes of Chamkila, manak, yamla jatt and the whole lot of paendu(person from the village who is tragically unsophisticated) singers who missed the adulation despite the talent…I love the way Dibakar uses all these things and yet makes a non-niche film…
Being from the delhi which it talks abt i’ve known many luckys, buntys, bittas, happys and i am not joking they are hilarious…you just have to listen to them…the way their mind works..its incredible…
just can wait to see lucky oye..
@aurobindo wait for RNBDJ this movie will be work of ART with complex script and srk with his oscar worthy perfromance:)
fucking shit yaar…. want to watch the movie right away… shit yaar… cant wait.
Really cant wait to see OLLO, but what depressed me is that a movie like Rab Ne…, Dostana, Singh is King and such movies will rake in the moolah, while movies like OLLO, Wednesday, Mumbai Meri Jaan, Dasvidaniyan; each movie such refreshingly different and brilliant in their own rights just about manage to break even.
I hope we can play a small but an important part in turning things around.
Does the ‘girls behind the glass’ have something to do with ‘Jugni rehndi sheeshe paar’.:-)
Navdeep likes it. Gotta watch it then!
For Moviefan and Shreyansh, I guess we are jumping the gun for RNBDJ, aren’t we? :-)
You may be right, you may be wrong but why bring all this in OLLO, baba!
Didn’t get this phrase – ‘the girls behind the glass’…
@ vishesh – when it comes to YRF, im preety sure it will be the same melodramatic stuff. SRK will dance,sing,laugh,cry,stammer, wear fancy clothes, act like someone who has 0 I.Q and his PR will make sure that the “UNCLE” look is so cool and how hard SRK worked on it. RNBGJ will be a big hit and he might take home the Filmfare too…
and brought all this to OLLO, because it is just so FUCKING irritating!!!
@ Shreyansh
When did awards ever make any sense? And that too Filmfare ones? For that matter even Oscars?
No point in breaking heads over it. Just enjoy OLLO and Abhay. And if some people can’t because they can’t look beyond SRK, that is their fucking problem. Yaar tension lena ka nahin.
@ratnakar – Its not about the awards, its just the state of Hindi films that depresses me.
@ Shreyansh- if you ignore the mainstream crap like Drona, Kidnap or Yuvvraaj, i think overall the smaller movies are proving to be much better. And even Yash Raj has learnt they can’t take audiences for granted any more. So if Adi Chopra tries to do a Mohabbatein again, doubt if audiences would be that tolerant this time.
Well Ratnakar Mohabbatein came in 2000 & wasnt too bad then.But in the last 8 years a lot has changed & certainly in the last 2 years its only Chak De India which has been a certified hit for
YRF.So I am sure Adi wouldnt take his audience for granted anymore.
But all said & done why do we need to even talk about Adi,SRK or RNBDJ over here?People here are already saying OLLO is good.So lets hope for the best.I for one am surely looking forward to OLLO.
@ RS(Sorry ratnakar is too long) – The smaller films are the ones who still give us any hopes.
But the biggies rake in the moolah.
How i wish OLLO, DEV D, Mumbai Meri Jaan, Wednesday to be bigger hits than “SIngh is King” , Dostana and RNBDJ!!!!
Y dont YRF, whoever gave money to Aneez Bazmee go bankrupt????
Shreyansh
While I myself love these “smaller films” I also accept reality.Do you really expect all Indians across the country to lap up these movies over the regular more mainstream ones?
Come on thats not gonna happen at all.Expecting a Dev D, Ollo or a Sorry Bhai to make as much or more money than a Singh is Kingg or a Dostana to me sounds downright silly.Rather one must appreciate that a lot of such smaller films are getting made these days and quite a lot of them are also being profitable for their investors!!!
@ Sethu – ya u r right, its not gonna happen.
Just going through a “Mungerilal ke Haseen Spane” phase
Dude Shreyansh, while we love our Pulp Fictions and Mullholland Drives, its the Independence Days and the National Treasures, that will rake in the moolah.
I mean Jerry Schumacher, will always make more money compared to David Lynch or Robert Altman.
Oops i meant Jerry Bruckheimer, typo there.
This movie is as mainstream as it gets and SHOULD be a resounding hit all over.
It, did not, appear to me, a “smaller” film.
I still believe that the pie is big enough for everyone. There is an audience for each genre for movie. Let the movie find its own. Some movies are “long tail”, they cater to niche audience. As long as the maker knows his/her audience and finds it, its all good.
Why blame every mainstream movie makers for your failures? Unless and until they are sabotaging your movie.
Just like hockey and football players blame cricket for their haalat.
Also, why are we already thinking that OLLO won’t be a hit?
Just my 2 cents.
@turrtle
I AGREE MAN !!!IT SURELY IS A BIG FILM , NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT !!!!
GK
Vishesh
I certainly agree with you.And nowhere am I of the opinion that OLLO wont be a hit.In fact I’ll be extremely thrilled if it succeeds ( in fact I’m quite hopeful it will).What I was saying is that it shouldnt be compared to a Singh is Kingg or a Dostana.all eyes now on friday ( 28th) as we await OLLO & Sorry Bhai!!!
Yup Sethu,
I agree with you, no need to compare with other big-budget films. Yup, waiting for Friday!
It seems every post have on PFC must have some SRK and YRF bashing comments ,varna logon ko khana hazam nahi hota hai.
Can we just discuss the movies mentioned instead of bashing these two punching bags everytime. sick and tired of it.
waiting for OLLO ,Sorry Bhai didn’t look too promising from the promos ,will give it a shot though since it has chitrangada ,sharman and is directed by Onir.
It was everything you wrote it would be. And more! What a fabulous film and what amazing performances by all involved… From young Lucky to the triple threat Mr. Rawal!
I was only disappointed that for the NYC screening organized by UTV, our large screening room at NYU was half empty. This is the kind of film that speaks to all audiences, not just Desis. The reasons behind Lucky Singh’s escapades are felt by many, particularly in these difficult times… Unfortunately, no one spread the word to NYU film students, who would have absolutely loved the film, and to their friends, because UTV made it seem like the screening was overbooked… It is a shame when such a golden opportunity is wasted.
@Nina
At last I have company, in coming days this company is going to expand !!!
GK
@Vineet
Agree with you whole-heartedly. Why bring in YRF and SRK at every opportunity. Do they man-handle the public into the theatres? If you have faith in your vision and creativity then why worry. OLLO will be a success. Give the audience some credit and if you don’t bash them and not OTHERS!
@Arthi.V
“Didn’t get this phrase – ‘the girls behind the glass’”
The song..Jugni rehndi sheeshe paar..
Tushar and ArthiV, #18 and #42,
I think ‘Jugni chad di AC car, Jugni rehndi sheeshe par’ point to those women who men watch getting into fancy cars and wear sunglasses.
the motto of the film ‘Kamaao to zero, churaao to hero” itself is so interesting. and with paresh rawal and nitu chandra there is a hell lot of comedy. this movie is awesome. i like it.
OLLO is an overhyped movie by PFC. The film is slow in parts and dosen’t sustain our interest.
Nothing good in the movie except Abhay Deol’s commendable performance.
DIBAKAR BANERJEE’s OYE LUCKY,LUCKY OYE is an enjoyable watch..has some really good moments..abhay’s performance is really superb..paresh rawal is good..the dialogues are good, some of them really funny..a good one time watch, but dont expect a KHOSLA KA GHOSLA..
^^ its much more than u claim buddy…i think is brillaint..and y compare it with KKG..its a different story altogether…
Just thought I’d reproduce an edited version of the comment I left on Dibakar’s blog:
What a lovely, amazing film Dibakar’s made! I saw it yesterday night with my boyfriend who isn’t Indian and this was the first Hindi film he ever saw.
I got more and more excited through the screening as I saw vignettes I grew up with – the mohalley ke ladkey beating the crap out of the public school sissies (hey, I went to a public school too
), the Archies card gallery, the restaurant with the couple, characters like Gogi bhai, jugaad, thulley…
Ok, I can go on and on. And once the film finished I was yapping away to my boyfriend trying to explain all the references and at one point he said – “You know, I really liked the film. You don’t have to be from Delhi to like it”
Dibakar’s managed to get through to at least one person who came with no preconceived notions, no expectations, who hasn’t even seen KKG (I did see KKG and loved it).
In fact, my boyfriend had no clue that Lucky’s father, Gogi bhai and Dr. Handa were played by the same actor till I pointed it out to him. What a magnificent performance by Paresh Rawal. He brings such nuance, variation in every character.
And Abhay was a perfect pick. He gets the lahja right, he gets the rogue-ish charm right, he gets the cool persona right.
Lovely script, great music and they even included my favourite Surinder Kaur song.
Of course the whiners will invariably claim that this was no patch on KKG. I’ve seen both and I assure you that this is the superior film. The script is tighter, and the dialogue sparkles more.
Hey Navdeep
I saw you after the screening. That was also the first time I had seen the film. It left me stunned. It moved me,I share your feeling completely.
And thank you :-)
Richa Chadda
I impressed with the initial credits. Dibakar, did you like stop every truck in Punjab and take pictures to make the initial credits??!! Most impressive credits format I have seen in years… fucking awesome! I loved the movie but my roomie, who I can call as the average-movie goer, was bored. I was so depressed. I wanted him to like it cuz I thought if he likes it this will be a hit. Nevertheless, lovely movie. One thing that was unsettling was that in many parts it seemed like the editing was a bit forced. Like ***Spoiler Alert*** When the Jat cop finally arrives at his place, Lucky calls another set of cops. I thought this will lead to a hilarious episode in the movie but suddenly we see him arrested by the jat cop.
It’s an extremely well made film. Doesn’t sag ever.
In my view, far better than Khosla ka Ghosla.
“OYE LUCKY LUCKY OYE” superb, saw it 1 week ago and i am still smiling when i think of it:)which is often enough.
“Padhne ka time mil jaata hai?” – brilliant!
The movie was simply outstanding. I think more than anything, the direction was superb. The background music was sparingly used. His portrayal of the real Delhi people and their mentality was a revelation coz being in Mumbai, I have never seen this side of Delhi
Hey
Yesterday I got the chance to watch this wonderful piece of slice of life in Delhi right at its heart Karol Bagh, Sadar Bazzar kinda area.
The dialect and body language of a typical Delhiete was easily visible.
Everyone performed unexpectedly well even Paresh Rawal who is not from North. His portrayal amazed.
Very few motion pictures have portrayed Delhi in its true colours. And this picture does that and does that to the T.
Well done and kudos to the team of Oye Lucky….
Hi Navdeep, big-hearted and highly deserved review and since I have just finished watching Manorama must say your work is right up there as well…stupendous! Best of Luck on a wonderful movie making career..o and btw why don’t you clutch of talents headbreak the marketing part – I am sure an underground cartel by you could pull out some tricks from your hats to beat the odds there….Talent doesnt seem to be in short supply here…then why let the big buck Tom beat the smart Jerries
Bol…
hi navdeep
loved your movie manorama 6 ft under.an interesting and much funnier desi chinatown.glad to see ur appreciation of another massively talented young director dibakar.oye ucky was great but missed vinay pathak here.abhay as usual was fantastic and paresh rawal is a true genius.what are u making next.looking for some grat movies from u.
gali..gali..gali..gali..gali..gali…oye surdaas….
Hey Navdeep,
Can you please provide me with more info about your new film?
I guess it stars Madhavan