Friday, November 28, 2008

Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! Movie Review

Flim : Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!
Director : Dibakar Bannerjee
Cast : Abhay Deol, Neetu Chandra, Paresh Rawal
Review : It won’t be the simplest of tasks to give the complete and correct gist of Oye Lucky Lucky Oye . The screenplay adopts such a wayward pattern that summarizing the storyline calls for a lot of retrospection. The easiest explanation would be that Lucky (Abhay Deol), born in a chaotic Punjabi family and brought up amidst commotion in Chandigarh, upgrades to become a smart thief in Delhi. He applies his sharp wit to outfox both the rich and the cops, to steal anything from a swanky Mercedes to a simple photo-frame. Absolutely unapologetic about his act and art, Lucky doesn’t want to live in the hiding but rather have a social repute of a respectable person.

However the film is more about characters than the plot. It’s the crazy but credible characterizations that you take note of and want to talk about. The wackiest amongst the lot is Lucky as a teenager (played by Manjot Singh), one of the most interesting younger avatars played in a film. He dares to argue with his eccentric father, beats up rival schoolboys, finds his first love at the funeral of a friend, takes his girl for a lunch-date and gifts her greeting cards brought from her father’s shop.

Lucky’s love interest Sonal (Neetu Chandra), for a pleasant change, is aware of his tricky traits and doesn’t crib about the fact. Thankfully the storyline doesn’t demand the traditional transformation of the goon into a good guy.

Some more superbly-sketched side-characters include Sonal’s sister Dolly (Richa Chadda) who attempts to seduce Lucky, the step-mom who makes an incestuous attempt on young Lucky, a minister’s shady son and a television reporter who keeps sensationalizing news.

The film intentionally avoids a moral tone to the protagonist or the plot. It neither justifies Lucky’s illicit acts nor works towards the conversion of his character. In the true spirit of con-flicks Oye Lucky... keeps its crooked character consistent till the climax. Unlike the thematically similar film Bunty aur Babli , Oye Lucky... scores on detailing Lucky’s pilfering procedure. Abhay Deol lends a composed and confident conduct to his street-smart character and stealthy modus-operandi, making his conning acts look absolutely credible.

The erratically entertaining screenplay co-written by Urmi Juvekar and Dibakar Bannerjee, branches out into too many subplots. Lucky’s teenage love story is amongst the most original and entertaining chapters. His Shimla honeymoon and reunion with family was least anticipated though handled well. However Paresh Rawal’s double-crossing episode appears somewhat far-fetched for the world-wise conman Lucky and isn’t rewardingly resolved as per regular Bollywood standards. Lucky’s camaraderie with his sidekick (Manu Rishi) isn’t completely clear as the two continue to collaborate despite differences.

The pacing is too fast to breathe, gasp, feel, absorb, react or relate. The restless second half jumbles up at times but ‘luckily’ arrives to a gratifying conclusion. The scene in the start where a steward suggests cuisine options from the restaurant menu is hysterically funny. Also, the ironical climax sequence where Lucky gains recognition for his misdeeds deserves special mention. However the repetitive robbery cycle in the second half could have been toned down.

Much like Khosla Ka Ghosla, Dibakar’s second attempt continues to capture a fervent Delhi flavour through its settings, character-sketches, lingo and humour. Manu Rishi writes some hilarious dialogues with a strong North Indian essence. Also a retro feel is smartly incorporated with use of some 80s songs through the title credits and background score.

However Dibakar Bannerjee’s fascination with Paresh Rawal seems irrational. No doubt he is a great actor but so smitten is the director with Rawal that he casts him for three different characters, absolutely unconnected with each other. Though Paresh Rawal does justice to each role, it seems a bit silly to identify him as a new personality thrice through Lucky’s eyes.

The film certainly belongs to Abhay Deol who carries the character of Lucky with complete conviction. Here is a thief who isn’t of the regular-rough-rogue variety but wins cuteness compliments and is super-cool despite his defamatory demeanour. Abhay reigns supreme through every twist and turn in the film. Paresh Rawal as Lucky’s father, mentor and betrayer is good in each role. Neetu Chandra has a raw appeal to her character. Manjot Singh as young Lucky is simply superb.

It’s more than plain luck that makes Oye Lucky Lucky Oye engaging. This one is a wacky-n-witty entertainer. Source : movies.indiatimes.com

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