Luck By Chance

[lobelia321]

I saw Luck by Chance and really liked it. There is a sweetness and warmth to the story. The main actress has a lovely sweet face, slightly pudgy, with gorgeous expressive eyes and a nice jutty-out chin that gives her a firm demeanour in profile. She looks as if she could be your neighbour, not glamourised, and I liked her a lot. Her co-actor had moments of sweetness but his double-chin bothered me a little; also, I have to agree with filmi-girl here, that he was a bit of a wooden stick. On the other hand, I didn't mind the stick-ness too much as, for me, that was the point of his character: a bit of a nobody, a bit of a vessel into which anything can be poured, a bit of a person who keeps himself to himself.

I liked the sets, also. I do like the over-the-top Bollywood sets where every family lives in a millionairesque mansion but I also really appreciated the under-the-top reality of this one. Young struggling actors live in small cramped flats, filled with higgledy-piggledy furniture and objects of the type that I remember from being a student. The sex was handled matter-of-factly: neither was it the Evil Thing To Be Avoided by the good girl, nor was it the Swoonsome Night of Awesome Love that inevitably produces a baby. In fact, it wasn't very melodramatic at all.

I like a lot stories with a moral choice. I like these in novels, and I like them in films, also. This film had a moral choice as its centre, and the character makes the wrong choice. Very brave of the film makers!

Also, I've never seen such fun credits. They are of the same model as the end credits to Main Hoon Na but these were the beginning credits. They showed the people that were credited! E.g. if the credit read 'Cinematography: so-and-so', that so-and-so was shown with a camera, and so forth. This went on down to lowly watchmen in uniforms and caps, and sempstresses making the gowns.

If you're not sure if you'd like Bollywood: I recommend this one to start out with. It has nice songs and dances, embedded in a meta-story about the film industry so they are motivated by the narrative. At the same time, it is a bit understated and real plus also has a lot of fun bits.

For a slightly different view, see filmi_girl's response to the film.

Comments

[pecos.livejournal.com]

Is there any chance you might be down London way on the 16th so you can join us for dinner?

Alternately, do you know when/where you're moving to in the States? I might be able to hook up with you here.

(yes, Brits won't get on a train for an hour to do something silly, but Yanks will travel like 2000 miles for a snack and a jabber! We're stupid and impractical)

And one other thing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9jCsbii5rs

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

I love the Duck!!!!! *hugs and squeezes Weta* Thank you for alerting me to this!

I can't do the 16th, honey! I'm teaching all day, and then teaching the M.A. in the evening! :-( Interesting about Yanks travelling 2000 miles...

[22by7.livejournal.com]

yes! i saw it very recently, too, and generally really quite liked it. meta-Bollywood can be quite insufferable and i thought this wasn't at all. i'm really fond of Konkona Sen Sharma - who will probably never make it to superstarheroine!status in Bollywood, heh.

also, Hrithik Roshan is totally this guy (http://www.disney-vacation-time.com/img/aladdin/aladdin-1.jpg).

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Hrithik!!!! *laughs very much* I actually found him quite lovable in this film. He often tends to get on my nerves. ;-)

[mystico-tala.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the review, I was wondering whether to try and see this one. I might have to make a trip to the theatre, it is only $2 :)

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Two dollars...???!

[mystico-tala.livejournal.com]

Yea! Isn't that great??! That Bollywood theatre near me changes the prices of the movies based on how long they've been out. So, a new movie could cost over $10, but one that has been out is only $2!