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...

It makes me feel so happy to see a product like Luck By Chance coming out of India. A land full of commercial cinema! I enjoyed Luck By chance to the fullest. Zoya Akthar made a brilliant debut as a director, I could not find any flaws.

Farhan Akthar is one damn good actor, he expresses so good with his face. It might be because he is a brilliant director himself and knows how to deliver performances.

The cast of the whole movie was very convincing, Rishi Kapoor as Rolly was hilarious but very impactful, Konkona delivers a fine performance yet again, she is one of the best actresses in the country. All the cameos made sense and wasn't commercial just like Om Shanti Om for instance.

The music was used very well, no unnecessary playbacking portions, no misplacement of the songs. Sapno se bhare naina was very beautiful, Pyaar ki dastaan is shot very well aswel.

Zoya Akhtar is one director to look out for, she left me speechless. SRK's cameo is very effective, his last dialogue is very effective.

Awesome with a capitcal "A"!

Well done Zoya, Farhan, Konkona!

A satire about Bollywood, and the struggle that young talent has in a nepotistic world, certainly sounds intriguing. But when the talent is mainly defined by beauty and ambition, it's hard to feel too sympathetic, particularly over the full course of what is a decidedly long film. In fact, satire is too strong a word here: although the inanity of Bollywood plots are gently ridiculed, the movie includes some song and dance sequences of its own (disguised as belonging to films within the film); and the eventual ending celebrates a character who fails to become a star, but nonetheless enjoys success as a leading television actress. Fundamentally, this not a story about real failure at any level, not one character is poor and not one young character is ugly, or indeed, even ordinary looking. A harsher, funnier tale might have been told.

When a successor hones the talents and legacy of the master, it reflects on the creativity of the apprentice. Zoya Akhtar follows the legendary footsteps of her father and gives us a story so familiar, yet so unique and credible. Her directional debut with 'Luck By Chance' proves to be a writer and director's accomplishment that is complemented by exemplary performances even though they may include numerous cameos. Farhan and Konkana embrace the characters of 2 struggling artists in the Hindi film industry with ease and subtlety.

The film is about Vikram Jaisingh, a sincere young Delhiite whose dream is to make it to the big screen in Bollywood and a struggling 'extra', Sona Sharma who plays brief and meaningless roles in 'B' grade films while making compromises to even make it this far. This story is also about Zaffar Khan (Hrithik Roshan) who is tired of playing the filmy hero for the same producer, Romy Rolly (Rishi Kapoor) over and over. He simply wants a break with Karan Johar's upcoming movie. Khan's apparent unwillingness to work with Rolly finally gives him the chance in Johar's film while our struggler gets lucky by chance as the replacement. So begins the spoof on bollywood film making and the hypocrisy of the stars and starlets.

While Vikram has just found his companion in Sona, the outdoor shoot for Rolly's film brings him casually closer to Niki Walia (Isha Sherwani), the gorgeous daughter of the erstwhile glamour queen Neena Walia (Dimple). Relationships fail, strain and ignite in this film that apart from all stories that lie entangled is about realizing one's dreams in an adverse reality. Then, when dreams turn into reality, one realizes that fame and success are a "dangerous intoxication", rightly advised by ShahRukh Khan.

Luck By Chance is about the Hindi film industry and what makes it 'Bollywood' as we know it. The eccentric individuals, the stereotypical characters posing as experienced producers, veteran actors, unyielding directors, junior artists, hypocritical stars and the real gems in the industry. One has to get dirty to play in the mud and thus it brings success to some. While the chase to destiny tends to derail the dream train of even the earnest, it embraces those who endlessly strive toward it with a bit of Luck.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is pleasant and soulful with Javed Akhtar's lyrics. The film opens with a glimpse into the industry with the meaningful and enriching Yeh Zindagi bhi and ends with the soulful O Raahi Re while Sapno se bhare naina portrays the turmoil within a dreamer. Sadly, Hrithik's item song Bawre fails to leave a lasting impression.

Konkana Sen performs at her brilliant best with realism being at the crux of her versatility. Isha Sherwani plays the spoilt heroine convincingly while her on-screen mother Dimple Kapadia looks gorgeous as ever and gives her best after Dil Chahta Hai. Juhi Chawla is lovable as ever while Sanjay Kapoor surprises us with a good performance. Rishi Kapoor enacts the stereotypical Sindhi producer to perfection with his wit and zest while Hrithik underplays his real persona to play Zaffar Khan, an actor in a career ambivalence of sorts. Farhan proves yet again that he can be an actor almost as good as he is a director. Almost…...there are parts where he is totally unconvincing, especially when he is romancing Isha in the lush green outdoors of the Konkan region. But his emotions are subtle in effect and dialogue delivery stronger than that in his own show on T.V. The rest of the supporting cast plays their parts aptly to the script's demand while the cameos by the stars are for the first time, justified in purpose. Even though ShahRukh Khan or Karan Johar might have just a few lines to say, the impact lasts long enough.

But the film's biggest hero is Javed Akhtar. His exemplary writing, part in story and in dialogue is what makes the film remarkable. Zoya's direction could not have done much without such a strong story and script even though it may not show the audience something they haven't seen before. In the end, Luck By Chance wins hearts through its subtle story telling. Even though it may be a mocking tale of 'Bollywood', it never gets loud or exaggerated. While remaining very real, the story never turns into a Madhur Bhandarkar style 'hard hitting' real. Instead, the subtle rendering of the film world's reality and an achiever's journey through it leaves a lasting impact which will appease in the same manner even over a second watch.

Luck By Chance shows typical Bollywood fare in an atypical manner and brings to the spotlight, Zoya Akhtar.

• 8.64 on a scale of 1-10.

Many films in the last few years have been centred around the Hindi film industry. Some have portrayed it as a bright world, some have portrayed it as sleazy, and some just used it as a way to tell a story. Luck by Chance belongs to the latter category. It is not as much about the industry as it is about young people who try to succeed in it. It is essentially about people who struggle to carve their own niche in some particular profession and the way they do it. In this case, it is acting. This is the story of Vikram (Farhan Akhtar) who arrives in Mumbai to pursue an acting career in the film industry. He starts dating Sona (Konkona Sen Sharma), who is senior to him in the movie business but is still waiting for her big break. The film is decorated by many appearances by actors and filmmakers who play either themselves or some fictional characters, which is an obvious attempt to make the film more realistic (or maybe more appealing?). And these appearances are indeed very lovely. The film's concept of the rise of one young actor is a bit hard to believe considering he has made only one film after all, but it is quite a common standard today. I found the portrayal of the industry reasonably fair, satirically humorous yet somewhat inconsistent (well, any commercial cinema is really not that crazy about real talents as it is about commercial appeal, but filmmakers very rarely admit it). I did like, however, the way the film showed how complicated making one movie can be and how important (or disruptive) media hype can be. It was all nicely put together with a message: never forget who you are and where you come from.

Farhan Akhtar's performance was not completely consistent and although as a performer he is a natural, he fails to register the growth in his character. The film belongs to Konkona Sen Sharma who is as fine as ever in the great role of Sona. She is natural, convincing, and shows the struggle, disappointment, pain and later on the overcoming her character goes through without having to go to unnecessary extents. Rishi Kapoor is quite funny while Dimple Kapadia is wonderful and beautiful as always. Juhi Chawla, in quite an insignificant comic role, is amazing, beautiful and completely charming. Shahrukh Khan gets a brief but very pivotal role, but Hrithik is annoying as the less-witty-more-arrogant film star. All in all, I enjoyed the film for being basically not very negative as, say, Madhur Bhandarkar, would have made it. The story is narrated well and Zoya Akhtar makes an impressive directorial debut because she somehow manages to poke fun at the film industry and yet leave a nice impression of it. I think those who want to become actors will find the film a bit disturbing though. But as I said, Luck by Chance is essentially about people who struggle to carve their own niche in some particular profession, and it does show some ray of hope. Towards the end, the film becomes increasingly more interesting. We see how people don't let failure deter them. On the contrary, we see how they keep struggling indirectly and how they finally come to terms with what they are capable of doing and what they are just not.