Luck By Chance — Movie Review

The second BIG film of both Farhan and 2009 , Luck By Chance , is out now and the film stars a lot of big names of bollywood in special appearances apart from Farhan and company . The film also has some good actors like Konkana Sen Sharma , Rishi Kapoor , Juhi Chawla , Saurabh Shukla and Dimple Kapadia . The film has been directed by the debutant director Zoya Akhtar . She has also decided to start with Direction and I hope she has no plans to shift to acting just like her brother has . As soon as the promos of the film were on air , expectations started to rise and people were expecting a good film in the beginning the of the year after the disappointing 2008 . CC2C has already dampened the spirits to an extent and I decided to watch this one for a change .

The film has been publicised as a Film on Film Industry and no film except OSO has worked which was based on Film Industry . Luck By Chance , according to me is more of a Love Story that has Bollywood as the set-up . The film’s story is nothing but a little bit of Raju Ban Gaya Gentlemen and a little of Fashion and a little of some other films . Nothing so new about it that we don’t know . People know about the compromises and sacrifices that one has to make to land up a career in the glamour world . When I saw the film’s promos I was expecting to see the struggle of the lead character and quite opposite to it I got to see him getting too lucky too soon without much of a Hard work . It stresses more on his love and relationships angle rather than his journey towards stardom .

It is a slow film from the word go and on top of it, it is a full length feature film of close to three hours . The slow pace makes it pretty unbearable for an average cinema goer who expects some entertainment at a fine pace . The film is very much on the slower side and what could have been a good film of two hours has been made into a longer slower one . I am sad to say this but people started walking off without even watching the end of the film in the theater . The reason being the length and slow pace of the film . The story was also pretty much predictable and nothing in it to hold the audience for such a long span . The same was the case with Khoya Khoya Chand but it was expected from that film since it had a backdrop of the sixties . It was also a visually much more interesting film and had some really nice music .

The so many guest appearances also couldn’t help film and were just like a small pills of excitement . The guest appearances barring that of SRK were all dull and felt quite out of the place . It almost felt like they were forced in to make the film a little popular . The people who did guest appearances in OSO would have been happy after watching the film and I am sure the same won’t be the case with this film . I don’t know , I felt like Zoya was pretty confused while making the film or maybe pretty much influenced under the Director brother and Writer father . The dialogues by Jaaved sir were also no good and the film in any case lacked the entertainment quotient . The film has a very Serious tone and lacks humour and maybe this is what will hit the film most apart from its length .

Zoya didn’t use actors like that of Saurabh , Juhi and Rishi to their max . They had very small roles and that too were not that entertaining . Comparing this film to Jaane Tu which also had several such actors and Abbas in that film very well used all of his cast members . The script by Zoya herself was very weak and didn’t had enough to hold the film . I don’t want to be too harsh on the film but honestly speaking it was a boring film for most of its length .

The story revolves around Vikram Jaisingh and Sona Mishra who are both talented and hard working but it is because of their destiny that they land up in different places . Konkana goes the hard way and Farhan goes the smart way . The film revolves around the successes and failures of the lead couple and their love story . The story as I said earlier was very much predictable and had nothing that excited me . The script of the film also doesn’t justify its name and has hardly underlined the luck factor that much .

The music was good but again not used to its maximum and in any case both Konkana and Farhan don’t have that magnetic personalities to hold the songs on the screen . Though Farhan does a good job acting but as always he has very limited to offer and if script is not good he cannot take matters in his own hands . He is not a superstar material and he should not opt for acting as a full time job . He is a fabulous Director and I don’t get it why doesn’t he stick to that . Konkana is a good actress and she performs as expected . The only surprise was Isha Sharvani who looked quite glamorous and did her part well . She made her presence felt and was part of some entertaining scenes . Hrithik did his part well and his song has been well used for the publicity . Aamir’s guest appearance was the worst of them all .

The technical aspects like cinematography and art direction were good . Zoya’s script and Direction both were pretty average and were not exciting at all . She should wait for a stronger script for her next attempt . Overall , I was pretty disappointed with the film as I had a lot of expectations from both , the film and zoya . I hope it makes enough on the box office so that it doesn’t lose much .

Film Rating : Two and Half Stars out of Five ; a slow and pretty much predictable film .

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Luck By Chance — Music Review

The year is almost over and just before the end has come the music of Luck By Chance which gives a good end to the year which has been not so good in terms of music that has released . Luck By Chance is the second film as an actor for Farhan and from the promos this one looks to be more promising than his first one .The film starrs some big names like Konkana Sen Sharma , Juhi Chawla ,Hithik Roshan,Rishi Kapoor,Sanjay Kapoor,Saurabh Shukla,Dimple Kapadia,Isha Sharvani etc. etc. The film’s plot revolves around a struggling actor and his journey to make his dreams come true . And as a result the songs are very much related to dreams and life that one wishes to have . Such songs always work among the audience because everybody has a dream and it results in an instant connection with the songs. Remember “Aashayein” of Iqbal . Well this album is pretty much similar in terms of content . The film is Directed by Farhan’s sister Zoya Akhtar and hence the music is also by brother’s favourite Shankar , Ehsaan and Loy .

The first song on the album is “Yeh Zindagi Bhi” which is a nice slow track with some really nice lyrics . Jaaved Sir always pens down some fine lyrics when it comes to the films that his son/daughter make . This song is a nice opening track and gives a nice insight of life . This song might mark the start of Farhan’s journey in the film . The tune that SEL have used is really very nice and keeps the whole song pretty simple and melodious and letting the lyrics do their job . In such songs the lyrics are always the strong point and the job of the music director is to highlight those lyrics even more with the proper tune . In all its a good slow track that very well sets up a mood to listen the further tracks . Both the singers Loy Mendosa and Shekhar Ravjiani do a good job with the vocals .

Just after the slow and soulful track comes a very upbeat and sufiana track “Baawre” . This one is a treat who love Sufiana sort of tracks and also like pure Indian folk tracks . The lyrics here are also great by Jaaved sir and Loy does a fantastic job in singing the sufiana parts . The track though belongs to Shankar for most of the part and he does a great job as usual . In this track contrary to first one the Music takes the lead and dominates the track . The lyrics are good but it is the fantastic use of different instruments and the whole rhythm that makes this song one brilliant track . SEL have done a fantastic job on this one and given full justice to the song . The song interestingly describes a Circus scenario but ironically it refers to life only in general especially of the film world .

The third track on the album is a Slow Romantic number “Pyaar Ki Dastan” . Here both lyrics and music take a very safe mode and lack the newness . The music in this track has been kept very simple and nothing new has been tried . This one is just an average track and good thing is that it has been kept simple only and would work in the film . The male singer on this one isAmit Paul . Remember him ? The guy that came second in the last Indian Idol because of some unfair regional voting for the guy that won the show . Well I wont call it a superb entry into the music scene but he is at least with good guys (SEL) and I am sure they will help him in future also . His voice though sounds quite fresh and he needs to sing a lot many songs and then only any judgement can be passed on his singing . This one was a simple track so nothing to praise about .Mahalaxmi Iyer is an established singer and she does her job well as usual .

Then comes “Yeh Aaj Kya Ho Gaya” which is a nice guitar based track with Sunidhi Chauhan giving the vocals . It is a good short track with nice use of guitar throughout . This one is also a basic track with nothing fancy about it . The lyrics on this one are not as good as compared to the other songs . It is not a weak track yet it isn’t a strong one either . The song would look good along with some situation in the film and probably would featureKonkana .

Then comes the Best track on the album and one of the best released in this year , “Sapno Se Bhare Naina” . One brilliant track with some of the finest Lyrics Jaaved Sir has ever written . Just pay heed to the first line – “Bagiyan Bagiyan Baalak Bhaage , Titli fir bhi haath na laage , Is pagle ko kaun samjhaye……Sapno se bhare naina to neend hai na chaina ” . Anyone who has a passionate dream that he/she sees for his/her life would just love this track and would instantly identify himself/herself with it . Not only the lyrics are great but even the music that the trio has given is just fabulous . And who else than Shankar himself could have sung it better . His strong classical base matches the passion that is required to sing the song . Overall , a brilliant track and probably one the best in the career of both SEL and Jaaved Sir . I can keep on praising it .

The last original track on the album is “O Rahi Re” . SEL return to the simple soulful mood that is there on the first track . The music and lyrics both are great on this one too . The tune is great and reminds us of the music of the old times . Shankar sings this one also in his immaculate style and does full justice to the lyrics and tune . The lyrics in this one are again very philosophical sorts and talk of life . Music lovers would definitely like the song . Overall , its a really nice track keeping the theme of the entire soundtrack intact . A perfect song to end the soundtrack .

There is one Remix version of Baawre in the end that is probably the only song with heavy  techno beats . It is a nice remix and people who won’t like the original version would certainly like the remix version . For guys like me still the original one is better any day . But still , the remix is a nice one and not just adds extra bass and ups the tempo . It makes it sound completely different than the original one and would definitely work .

Overall , it is one of the best albums of the year and it was really nice to end the year with such a fine album . Great lyrics packed with some good tunes and singing .SEL and Jaaved sir together have done a much better job on this one than they did on Rock On . I just hope that this film also meets all the expectations I have with it . Go buy it if you are a true music lover .

Album Rating : Four out of Five Stars ; Great Package in total for music lovers .