Why should you watch Luck by Chance

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Starting a new series on films which are not in the Classic or Definitive category, but should be seen. And that is why the title of the piece, shall be: Why should you watch. We start with Zoya Akhtar's debut film, Luck By Chance, released in 2009. Luck by Chance is an honest attempt from amongst all her releases. Perhaps she may have reached greater heights and fame with her later releases, but Luck by Chance stands out as an extremely honest film. She has not compromised anywhere and has also not fallen in the commercial trap of typical moving where most often one has to; especially on a debut attempt. And the honesty of it all comes at the end where Konkona walks off into the horizon and leaves viewers, thinking. It does take a lot of courage to walk out of the screen in an open ended fashion, such as this. Upon its release in 2009, it received a lot of critical acclaim but not the usual commercial success. Also, what one reads in the press, she had a hard time finding the lead male cast and faced several rejections. Pretty unusual, but I guess such is life. 

Moving onto the film. Luck by Chance belongs to out and out two characters, Konkona and Rishi Kapoor. Konkona for the subtlety she brings in the pain of her character and Rishi the opposite with the gregariousness he lends to everything, including when he is crying. They simply own up the space when they appear and it is brilliant to watch these amazing characters. What a loss for the film industry with the passing away of Rishi Kapoor. Just as he was enjoying his second innings, the cruelty of life pulled him away. I guess God is selfish in his ways. There are moments with Konkona, especially when she is with Farhan's character, completely distressed and heart broken of not landing up the second lead role. It is deep, poignant and touches you. I just wished Zoya held onto the scene a little longer. It mirrors the dark side of Hindi cinema in a very sordid way, yet, you have to wait for it. Konkona, at the end when she confronts Farhan and has a lowdown with him, is superb and showcases the other side of her, where she has come to grip with life. She also is amazing when Alyy Khan and Sheeba Chadha's character and they are all caught in an awkward moment. This is where Sheeba and Konkana shine. A quick word on Sheeba here, who deserves so much and yet she got so little in Hindi cinema. She caught my attention first in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and she has been consistently appearing in so many features, OTT and even television. She was an absolute gem in Dum Laga ke Haissha. Wish one could get to see her more. Watch her on the slow interview with Neelesh Mishra on YouTube. She is so candid and unamusing. 

Rishi Kapoor is the other amazing thing to have happened to Luck by Chance. Everywhere he appears its a delight. His highs, lows and in between are so well etched out and straight from the gut acting. Perhaps his many many years of dealing with producers in Hindi cinema has lent him the uncanny art of understanding the character of Romy Rolly so well; a part he played. His dialogues are so well written and some of them are a gem; sampler; hamare yahan toh property ko hi property bolte hai in a classic discussion with the corporates while looking for film financing. There are many more of Rishi Kapoor's performance and it deserves to be seen many times. 

Performances by Juhi Chawla (an able support to the loud Rishi Kapoor), Dimple Kapadia (as the over sized egoistic Mom to the star kid), Isha Sharvani (as the burdened star kid) and the sweet cameo from both Anurag Kashyap + Saurabh Shukla are all so delightful. Infact a large ensemble cast of Hindi cinema stars appear on different occasions and it brings out the charm of the cinema more brilliantly. 

The music is a delight with the magic of Shankar Ehsaan and Loy weaving the cast.

Luck by Chance, like I said about Zoya, is "Her" film and it deserves all the accolades and the kudos for the plot, dialogue and an amazing screenplay. Even the opening credits are so beautifully shot and it is a treat to watch. There are many a visual metaphors throughout and those makes the scenes a treat. To me, the best was of Konkona's character, coming back from an outdoor stint to find a brand new refrigerator outside (which has a backstory, definitely) and later she is sitting and gazing at the open refrigerator for long and the refrigerator light shines on her face. Pity, the scene ended soon, but the context was so brilliant. I think the movie was ahead of it's time and many never realized that it is a women oriented plot and the story is of Konkona's character  and not about Farhaan's (I wished they could have got a Ranveer or Ranbir to play his part). And that is why I loved the movie.    

Luck by Chance is on Netflix. Go watch.       

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