Customer Reviews

Luck By Chance

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have the 2 disc set from Big Pictures/AdLabs and the DVD is unwatchable with nearly unreadable English subtitles in white. Very disappointing because the movie is wonderful.

Everything clicks in Zoya Akhtar's smart directorial debut--setting a standard in a film industry it comes close to lampooning. The ridicule is good-natured, though, even accepting of the way things work in Bollywood, and while the characters represent showbiz clichés, they are subtly rendered--for the most part. And the ones that aren't are ridiculously fun.

Talent runs in Akhtar's family--she's the daughter and granddaughter of poets and screenwriters. She's also the twin sister of filmmaker Farhan Aktar, who had an equally impressive directorial debut with the acclaimed 'Dil Chahta Hai' (2001), which he helmed at the tender age of 27. She cast her brother as the lead in 'Luck By Chance' (on the heels of his promising acting debut in 2008 in the award-winning 'Rock On!!')--and he serves her well here as Vikram, an aspiring actor in Mumbai.

Vikram hardly struggles while pursuing his dream--he lives with his wealthy aunt who lends him money when the allowance he gets from his father isn't enough. His new friend Sona (Konkona Sen Sharma), on the other hand, is on her own. She ran away to become an actress, and she's established a toehold in the business with bit parts. Her big break is imminent, she's convinced, because her married-with-kids director-boyfriend keeps promising her so. Vikram and Sona are surrounded by others at the bottom of the entertainment food chain--a bitter stage actor, a flamboyant gossip columnist, and ambitious production assistants--all green with jealousy over their friends' tiny successes.

Akhtar casts her sharp, critical eye on the top of the hierarchy as well. Even though she and her brother are the beneficiaries of nepotism, that doesn't stop her from poking at fun at how rampant it is in Bollywood. Pretty, vacuous Nikki (Isha Sharvani), the spoiled daughter of famous actress Neena (played by famous actress Dimple Kapadia, whose real-life daughter is actress Twinkle Khanna) is making her debut opposite superstar Zaffar Khan (played by superstar Hrithik Roshan). But Zaffar backs out of the film, to the consternation of the director Rommy Rolly and his wife Minty (played with campy relish by Rishi Kapoor and Juhi Chawla). The film is also full of cameo appearances by actors playing themselves, including Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, John Abraham, Abhishek Bachchan, Akshaye Khanna, Vivek Oberoi, Rani Mukerji, Dia Mirza, Ranbir Kapoor, and Kareena Kapoor.

Through a sheer accident of fate, Vikram replaces Zaffar in the film--while Sona's hopes of a movie career are dashed.

It's ironic that Sharma, one of the best young actresses in Indian cinema today--and a somewhat unlikely rising star--plays someone who can't break into the business because she has neither connections nor luck. The casting itself makes the strongest comment of all.

- The Bollywood Ticket: The American guide to Indian movies (Subscribe: The Bollywood Ticket)

I think this movie was Kismet Talkies but was later renamed to Luck By Chance. The film shows us the inner workings of the movie industry from the scripting to the final product. There have been movies about movies and actors but this one I feel is the best. It tells you the story of Vikram Jaisingh ( Farhan Akhtar) who has moved from Delhi to Mumbai to try his luck at movies and his many experiences on the way. It is also the story of a struggling actress Sona played by Konkona Sen Sharma who is waiting for her first big role. Both Vikram and Sona are strugglers and neighbors end up in a romantic relationship. Vikram receives his big break because he is smart and manipulated people accordingly. Sona on the other had is used by people. This movie is not a documentary but a movie that can easily be about real people. The believability factor is high. The writing is simply superb, after a long time I enjoyed a Hindi movie for the script. Some sequences stand out, notably Dimple Kapadia's frustration at her daughter when she refuses to call the now successful Farhan Akhtar,Hrithik and Karan Johar's conversation at a film premiere and the sequence when Shahrukh offers advice to Farhan at a restaurant. The music was pleasing to the years and was puzzled that it has not received any acclaim. In the end what stands out is the direction of Zoya Akhtar with such a promising debut; she has become in my view a highly anticipated director. I want to see what she is going to do in her next movie featuring Abhay Deol, Farhan Akhtar and Hrithik Roshan. I gave this movie 5 stars120409.

"Luck By Chance" has most of the hallmarks of a typical Bollywood production: shimmering visuals, eye-popping colors and costumes, and gorgeous young performers all placed in the service of a slick-fiction melodrama, punctuated by elaborately choreographed song-and-dance numbers that play like glittery shampoo commercials on steroids. The difference here is that since it is Bollywood itself that is the subject of the film, writer/director Zoya Akhtar gets to indulge in some mild self-criticism aimed at a few of the weaknesses inherent in the industry. For instance, the movie questions why nepotism seemingly plays so large a role in the hiring of actors and actresses - a bit of an inside-joke, one assumes, since Akhtar chose her own brother, Farhan, to play the lead character in this film. It also makes fun of the fact that no self-respecting mainstream Indian film would be caught dead without at least a half a dozen musical sequences, even though they are rarely germane to the plot or integral to the theme. That doesn't, however, keep the makers of "Luck By Chance" from fulfilling their mandated quota of said sequences. Apparently, iconoclasm will take one only so far when there are box office receipts at stake.

"Luck By Chance" tells of an aspiring young actor named Vikram (Akhtar) who lands the lead role in what is described as "a big-budget thriller/musical love story." His sudden success becomes a cause of dissension between him and his girlfriend, Sona (Konkona Sen Sharma), since she is herself a struggling actress and has been unable to pick up more than mere bit parts in unimpressive films up to this point. She also becomes jealous of Vikram's co-star, the lovely Nikki Walia (Isha Sarvani), whose over-controlling mother (Dimple Kapadia) was a famous movie actress herself in the 1970s.

In terms of dramaturgy and audience attention-spans, the story could definitely use some tightening, but it does capture some of the frustration, heartbreak and disappointment of trying to make it in the "biz." It also points out the capricious nature of filmdom success, making the case that it is often nothing more than sheer luck - of being at the right place at the right time or of having that indefinable "something" that sets one apart from all others - that ultimately determines who will make it as a star and who will not.

The romantic scenes are nicely played by Akhtar and Sharma, but there's no getting around the fact that the movie itself runs on for such an unconscionable length of time (over two-and-a-half-hours) that audiences (Western audiences, at least) are bound to lose interest in the story quite a ways prior to its actual completion. That's a shame because there's much that is likable and charming about "Luck By Chance."

Acting was bland; script was mechanical; story was ho hum; songs were formula. I save my best criticism for the subtitles and as everyone else has mentioned that for English speaking audiences, for whom this movie is suppose to generate additional income, they were a serious distraction. First, they should be placed at the top so that they do not detract from or get lost within the busy/complex imagery of the scenes that occupy the lower two-thirds of the screen. Second, they should be larger and preferably a solid color like yellow so that they are visible from a distance, especially for those audience members whose vision is less than perfect. Third, they should be of a different font style. Font styles have been studied for decades in advertising for visual impact. A little bit of effort and money spent on the part of the producers would have discovered this fact. Fourth, the short time that the subtitles are on the screen makes it difficult to visually shift from subtitles to scenes. Fifth, inadequate and poor quality English translations. Conclusion: Producers are cheap and trying to save money at the expense of the audience.

This is a movie about one aspiring actors path through to the Bollywood bigtime. It is a very sharp and honest account of the Bollywood film industry (and probably all other film industries too). It is beautiful cinematography and should be appealing to both arthouse fans and those who like lighter Bollywood movies. There are a few Bollywood song and dance sequences but all in the context of scenes being filmed for movies. One of these has Hrithik Roshan strutting his stuff.
I did know Hrithik had an extended cameo (which he does very well). What I didn't know was how many other actors walk through this movie (and often have a few lines to say)as themselves including Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Kareena Kapoor, Abhashek Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Vivek Oberoi, John Abraham and others. So it becomes a bit spot the famous actors, producers and directors. It is just done so well.
Farhan in the lead plays in an understated way but is very good. Konkona Sensharma as an actress friend also trying to make it, is also very good. They have strong support from innumerable well known Bollywood actors and actresses.
The only real complaint was hard to read subtitles. Another reviewer mentioned white titles that got lost in a busy background. Our subtitles were unusually small so we had to pull our chairs close to the set to read them. I hope this isn't a sign of the times. If the movie hadn't been so good we could well have abandoned it early because of the subtitles.
Now this movie didn't do that well in the multiplexes of India butelsewhere on the Net it can rate mostly 7.5 to 9.5 out of 10. Some of the theories about the Indian reaction were that it was too real and that Hrithik fans expected to see more of him than a cameo after his dance sequence was used to promote it. Anyway for me it's a keeper and one to rewatch.

Intelligent, well rounded, entertaining film. Positive female message. Watchable without subtitles. Looking forward to the next film

IT's not the typical movie you would expect from Bollywood film industry, which is usually known for churning out really mediocare, plagiarized versions of Hollywood movies.

The most refreshing, & intelligent movie from the Bollywood film industry. The story line of 'Luck By Chance' is a parody of the Bollywood film industry itself.

It well acted, directed & produced. I would rate it as probably the Best Bollywood of all time. Just watch it.