Just watched "Luck by Chance".
When the pre-release promos for this movie came out, I thought this is a movie I should watch. Reasons:
a) The plot sounded interesting...thoda hatke.
b) Farhan akhtar..."Rock On!" showed that this guy is a multi-talent. Singer, director and now actor. And he can act.
c) Of course, Konkona. I have been a fan of this lady's mother Aparna for as long as I can remember. But boy, she is better. Not a heroine...an actress. And a fantastic one at that.
I got negative reviews from friends who had seen this movie. Slow hai, booring hai yaar. So I refrained from watching it. Until tonight.
Adhering to my motto (KISS, in case you didn't know), I can say that I liked the film. Nay, I loved it. Amazing movie. Amazing screenplay. Amazing camera-work. And amazing acting. Hope to write a more coherent review later, along with my other pending reviews of The Dark Knight and Harry Potter 6.
Here's hoping for the best and...a toast to the Akhtars! You guys rock! :)
I liked the movie too. One thing I regret is that films like 'Luck by Chance' have a scope to be much better, which remains unrealised. 'Luck by Chance' is a story well-told. Zoya Akhtar deserves credit for that. However, the shortcoming is, like many other good Bollywood films, the lack of striking visuals. There are only a few directors in Bollywood who have made good use of their cinematography to create impressive visual images and enhance their storytelling. Rakeysh Mehra and Vishal Bhardwaj are two directors who have been very impressive in this respect. Anurag Kashyap is improving fast. Outside Bollywood but well-known to India, Deepa Mehta, is remarkable in terms of visuals. This is one aspect where I felt if Zoya Akhtar could have concentrated more, 'Luck by Chance' would have been an even better experience. The camerawork is good but textbook stuff, not very original. Bollywood films overlook aesthetics, though the trend is changing slowly.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing: I watched 'Eight and Half'. Without any second thought, I have to admit, ITS THE BEST FILM I HAVE SEEN. Its poetry, or music, composed by the camera.
I am surprised it took you so long to watch 8-1/2. I probably wouldn't rank it as my personal favourite, but I did enjoy this movie immensely. It usually takes me at least a couple of viewings to get the feel of a movie, and I have only been able to watch 8-1/2 once. Hope to see it again soon.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that irked me about LbC was the ridiculously long song sequences. It is obvious that Zoya wanted to exploit the commercial angle of this movie as well as its "behind the scenes" feel. As for the cinematography aspect, I hope she will learn soon enough.