MOVIE REVIEW: Luck By Chance
RATING: * * *

The cornucopia of the Akhtar talent ceases to recede. Zoya Akhtar's directorial debut, Luck By Chance is an insider's tale of Bollywood's reality under its glamourous veneer. While ambitious and selfish actors, displaced moralities, huge bellied producers laden with gold donning silk shirts innundate the movie, it deeply analyses the high emotional quotient of all its characters.

A comic yet heart rending tale of selfish tendencies where human beings are used as mere ladders for ascent, Luck By Chance delves into trampled relationships and betrayals rampant in a superficially close knit Bollywood.

Casting couches, unctuous characters, back biting, grandiloquent speeches and compromises galore in the film as Zoya does a face off for Bollywood in her own satirical style.

But the beauty of Luck By Chance lies not only in its well etched characters but in the realism Zoya lends to each one of them, not sparing any of them helplessness at the vissicitues of life. The pompousness often gives away to reality and the larger than life characters seem nothing more than regular made-of sweat-and-blood-human-beings who are victims of their own devices.

What the film re-iterates once again is the fact that good or bad, star kids always get priority treatment while outsiders need to use cunning and machination to be able to survive, that too if they good actors and lucky, all at the same time.

The show stealer is Rishi Kapoor, who plays Romy Rolly and carries his character of the pot bellied, garish, punjabi film producer, with great elan. While Farhan's performance in Rock On was delightful, in Luck By Chance, he disappoints with his dead pan and stoic dialogue delivery and acting. Koena Mitra surely needs to be the next in line to go on weight shedding spree but performs well all the same. Juhi Chawla is marvellous in her diamond studded, punjabi accented english speaking character. Isha Sharvani qualifies for a porcelain doll but one isnt too sure if she has learned to act owing to her bimbettish character in the film. Dimple Kapadia plays her role of a yesteryear heroine, who is seasoned in the modus-operandi of Bollywood, to the T.

Lastly the special appearances, that include SRK, Boman Irani, Kareena Kapoor amongst others, add to the flavour of the film. Overall, the only element that may peeve in the film, is its length. Not exactly as great as Rock On, the movie will be appreciated, nevertheless.