Luck By Chance is a true sign of a republic- in the sense that it is a movie by the film fraternity, of the film fraternity and for the film fraternity! Zoya Akhtar makes her debut with this long-in-the-making movie (or more appropriately, docu-drama) which is subtle, intelligent, insightful, realistic (if i may use the word!) and pretty impressive...but alas! as i said, it is a movie for movie maniacs- ppl who love films and not just as a means of entertainment....its for ppl who like movies for wat they r, ppl who care abt how they r made, ppl who r not looking just for thr money's worth but somthng more....and diffrnt....its not a mass-entertainer...
What the team serves us is a delightful dish which hs a lot of meat in it, but which is also a bit bland, sans any masala....the movie gives an insider's view of the hindi film industry and it does a commendable job at tht! the subtlety and underplay is brilliant...the scenes with most of the special appearances are excellently written and executed, especially the ones with Anurag Kashyap, Akshay Khanna, Abhishek Bacchan and SRK...the inside jokes are really clever but not everyone will get them bcz u need to know abt these ppl and hw the industry works to undstnd wt they r driving at...Farhan and Konkona prove to be sincere and worthy actors....Farhan especially is very good in his protrayal of a struggler when he arrives for the auditions and suffers from insecurities after seeing his competitors...Hrithik, Sanjay Kapoor, Juhi, Dimple, Isha, Aly Khan, Arjun Mathur-everybody plays thr part to the T...however, the show stealer is undoubtedly Rishi Kapoor, who is hilarious as well as sensitive in the right proportions...he is just awesome! music is good but surprisingly, not as effectively utilised in the narrative, as it cud hv been...the opening credits deserve special mention...and amongst the appearances, Anurag Kashyap and Akshay Khanna, are especially emphatic....
However, the direction is a little too elite and tht makes the movie undecipherable for some...i saw the movie wit some of my frnds and not all of thm appreciated the subtlety...since tht makes the motive behind the scene difficult to comprehend for all and sundry...as a whole, the movie lacks the punch tht cud hv made it create a lasting impression....i kno, underplay is emphatic too, but too much of it can kill the narrative, jus lik too much of in-your-face humor can!
Its difficult to predict how many people outside the film fraternity, barring a few movie maniacs, will appreciate the movie...it will most likely face rough weather at the BO....so commercial acclaim seems a distant dream...but critical acclaim, it wil (and has!) definitely garner in loads....it IS good cinema after all...only thing is it isnt half as entertaining as it cud have been....guess thrs no answer to the question 'Should i watch this movie?'. Good, it certainly is....Entertaining, i wont say! Not every1s cup of tea! :)
