Luck by Chance (2009)

If not for anything Zoya Akhtar should be given due credit for managing an ensemble of the entire Bollywood by dragging them under one roof. And also presenting a sneak-peak behind the fame/shame/defame iron-wall industry. Research analyst of the industry would instantly identify the characters and the situations. "Luck By Chance" is an honest opinion about the industry ensuring it doesn't hurt or jibes anyone in particular. It marginally escapes being categorised as a documentary in my opinion. And the writing on the wall is clear - talent alone is not sufficient to gain foothold and climb the ladder in Bollywood. One requires the go-getter attitude coupled with being street-smart - "spark" as it was conveyed.Ф Farhan Akhtar:: Quite consistent in his delivery. Very matured and deserves applause to stand up to Konkana, if you know what I mean.Ф Konkana:: Had a couple of layers to her character and she effectively manages to bring them out at ease.Ф Isha:: I had my brain scratching wondering who this bimbo was. Yes Isha Sharvani is indeed talented and going un-noticed by the industry. Sad!Everyone else even if they are cameo's, were spot-on.Not the usual pot-boiler Bollywood "masala" movie - but hatke it its own right.

"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, 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 to us 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."

this movie has a great star cast. after farrah khan's 'om shanti om', this movie had shots of most of the celebs in billowed. yet, the storyline was not very new.the performances by all the actors were really good which kept me watching the movie without getting bored. the characterisations of rishi kapoor, dimple kapadia and her on screen daughter were really good and the actors had done justice to their roles.'fashion' showed the struggles and betrayals that a model would face in the fashion industry and now this movie shows the same of an actor (and an actress) in the Hindi movie industry.even though the story line is very much predictable it is still worth watching...

Ever wondered about the heroine's dead-sister's friend? Well, Luck by Chance makes you.This is a film about those tens of thousands of people who light up the screen momentarily if only to take the story forward. They are the clogs that make the wheels of Indian cinema turn; the unsung heroes (and heroines) of 'the Hindi Film Industry' who don't quite make it big. Mostly because- as this film tells us- they aren't born into Filmdom's Royalty: the progeny- sons, daughters, nephews and nieces- of the Bollywood elite. The only non-entrenched non-filmi people who do make it big are those who do movies filmi-children wouldn't want to touch with a pole. Think SRK in Baazigar; or the Big B in Zanjeer. Farhan Akhtar's character is one such struggling actor who gets his break starring in a movie the Superstar walks out of. He superbly- and subtly- portrays the self-centered moral dilemma of success, torn as he is between keeping his old set of not-so-lucky friends and the new glamorous lifestyle that comes with stardom- a world in which the former have little or no place except perhaps as cronies and hangers-on. Mr. Akhtar is in fact fast transforming into India's quintessential Thinking Man's Actor. Konkana Sen is particularly moving as Farhan's much-victimized girlfriend from his days of struggle and Hritik Roshan shines as the Superstar, replete with the insecurities that come with that job.This is a very good if somewhat longish film. But we owe it to the countless could-have- beens of Bollywood to go see it. The Curtains come off quite nicely.