What a film, and definitely not by chance!
What do you write about a film that was expected to be a good one – and lived up to its expectations heart and soul? Nothing really. That’s Luck By Chance for you. A film that was much-awaited by everyone and was expected to be quite good too. Notwithstanding the fact that at the helms was a new director.
Well, there would be many who would say – but of course, Zoya would have done well. After all, check the family – Javed Akhtar, Honey Irani, Shabana Azmi, Farhan Akhtar. But, talent isn’t necessarily distributed through genes. Else, scores of star-kids would’ve been superstars!
Zoya definitely has what it takes to make a great director. The very fact that she has done a take on the industry without being too preachy, or too melodramatic, and even avoiding the pot-holes of making it a slapstick comedy a la Om shanti Om. One may say that she was helped by brother Farhan, even then it is a defining debut. And yes, better than Farhan’s!
The characters are all very well-sketched. That’s the greatest thing about the film. Not even one character goes over-the-top or is unnecessarily present. Right from Rishi Kapoor to Juhi Chawla to Dimple Kapadia – everyone is in perfect gear. And, I believe for the first time ever Sanjay Kapoor gives a convincing performance. Maybe, it’s so because he doesn’t have any hero hang-ups this time. He does a pretty decent job. And, sportingly takes digs at himself too.
Even the cameos are brilliant. Hrithik is good in the small role. And so is Saurabh Shukla, who is simply brillinat as the acting teacher who has to teach his students to emote in an exaggerated manner – no underplaying here – that’s his moto. Mac Mohan’s one scene is perhaps one of the most subtly ironical yet depressing scenes written in recent times.
Farhan of course is nothing less than superb. He proves once more the maverick that he is. This guy has the potential to be a star-actor. The way he unashamedly manipulates everything – from his releationships to his contacts to ensure that his climb to the top is assured – is a very honest portrayal indeed. Zoya is ruthlessly honest with her characterization. She doesn’t want to delve into good versus bad or everyone lives happily ever after theories. She is honest – and she doen’t want to justify that.
Konkona I believe is the star of the show. She steals the show especially in the second half of the film. She is sensitive, docile, victim, and she is also this strong independent woman, who learns how to face the world and is not afraid to do it on her own terms. It’s a pity Konkona doesn’t get quite her due in commercial cinema. Here undoubtedly is a brilliant actress.
In short, it’s probably the best debut in recent times – and the film has everything going for it. Right from good acting by the entire team. Great cameos. Slick editing that keeps the movie from becoming unnecessarily long and some nice music – though nothing too great. Must add, the Bhanwre song with Hrithik had some great visuals.
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
Zoya’s next one should be even more interesting now…
just came back after watching LBC.. and wat a movie it has been… an amazing satire… hypocricy and the struggle behind the glamor world… the movie started with capturing the lives of the people behind film making… spot boys, cameramen, tailors, etc. each and every star in the movie had a reason being there in the movie… AKs scene with isha and farhan was hilarious… songs were amazing… good camerawork… couldnt ask for more…BEST SCENES: 1. dimple kapadia and isha’s scene, 2. farhan with SRK , 3. Hrithik with Johar, 4. and the last scene konkona travelling in the taxi..
Farhan acted badly in ‘Rock On’. I hope he is better in this movie…
The best movie debut…..have to agree with Anurag on this one……DCH appealed more to the youth because it deals with love and friendship ,heck I like it more than Luck by Chance but if you objectively look at it ,Luck By Chance is superior to DCH.
Hats off to Zoya…..next few years will be exiting what with Anurag ,Farhan ,Zoya ,Ashutosh ,Rakeysh ,Nagesh and other young directors making top of the line films.
Lol, someone who did not leave any stone unturned in raping SM agrees in the content at least; so what if the title suggested otherwise…. Glad u liked it.
Absolutely flawless and an extremely honest movie. The cameos by all these stars are not there to attract the audience(no celeb scenes in the promotional material, unlike OSO). The small roles played by the A-listers of Bollywood..oops, Hindi Film Industry form a very important part of the movie. Loved the Anurag kashyap cameo.
Farhan Akhtar truly shines in this movie. I am a straight guy and I could feel his charm, what more can I say.
Dialogues by Javed Akhtar work great, there is never a dull moment thanks to them.
For konkana Sen Sharma it was pretty standard stuff, she could do this role blindfolded. Needless to say, she is excellent as Sona.
Rishi kapur, Sanjay kapoor, Ally khan, Isha sharwani(as a superhot PYT), dimple kapadia, Saurabh Shukla and others, are perfect for their roles. Brilliant Casting!
Hats off to Zoya Akhtar!
@Vineet
Couldnt agree more with your comments about DCH vs Luck By Chance
@Vineet
You are bang on about DCH vs LBC.
The climax scene between farhan and KoKo made me cum. this was such a brilliant scene, i didnt get where it was going..all redemption..and shit..and all sorries and bull..and kaboom!! KoKo says something that blew me away..didnt realise that untill she spoke..and that makes up for superb cinema..i dont think any director who hasnt thought much about the movie wh=ould have been able to bring that scene..and we are talking about she should have edited this..no need of that..why srk speech..etc..check out that scene and tell me.
I agree with you OM.
@OM-
Right Bro … Absolutely right
That scene left my mind numbed …
“Tumhari galti nahi hai .. Kuch insaan hote hi aise hai …”
That was the dialogue that crashed deep into my heart and still it is there …
Every time I think about that dialogue I feel like that sums up the whole persona of an ambitious pig…
@Sameer,
I disagree. I don’t think Farhan was bad in Rock On!! at all. In fact, as the investment banker who has made compromises in life, he was pretty convincing.
@Vee,
Yep I sure did
I loved LBC too.. But I prefer DCH. It is more timeless for me. It applies to a lot many things in life, at least for me. Friendship, told in today’s language.. Beautiful! I would hate to compare LBC and DCH. But if I had to vote, it would definitely be DCH. I can see it 20 times, not sure about LBC. Maybe 2-3 times.. It could do with some trimming in the second half.