Imagine this scene: "Mere paas waqt kam hai," says the man with a perpetual frown. To which, Mr Shiny Teeth replies, "Mere paas luck kam hai."
WHAT'S IT ABOUT: Imagine this scene: "Mere paas waqt kam hai," says the man with a perpetual frown. To which, Mr Shiny Teeth replies, "Mere paas luck kam hai."
But this is just the tip of the iceberg director Soham Shah gets even cheesier than this in his Friday offering. The film begins with dangerous dude Moosa (Sanjay Dutt) running blindfolded and dodging trains thereby establishing his 'luck' factor.
He asks his loyal henchman (Danny Denzongpa) to get him a bunch of 'lucky' candidates to participate in some hazardous escapades all for a global betting syndicate. Either they win a fortune or they lose their lives that's the catch.
Imran Khan, Shruti Haasan, Mithun Chakraborty, Chitrashi Rawat and Ravi Kissen are then selected and packed off to South Africa where millions are being traded on their lives. Who wins and who loses is what it's about.
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WHAT'S HOT: Soham Shah plays with his treatment and brings forth a film that's got technical finesse. The premise is interesting though borrowed from films like Enter the Dragon and Condemned, it's something novel for the Hindi screen.
The first half shows promise in parts and Soham takes full advantage of his action team to deliver some spectacular stunts.
The sky-diving sequence deserves special mention. The look and feel is slick and the song Aazma Luck Aazma fits perfectly with the film's theme. Among the performances, Sanjay Dutt relies totally on his star appeal the attitude and the swagger is unmistakable.
Imran Khan is competent and sincere even in the most awkward scenes he only needs to be careful about the self-conscious flickering of his eyes and dance moves. The biggest discovery of Luck is, however, Shruti Haasan.
The girl exudes confidence and she's got a presence. She's a scene stealer all the way, despite the minor diction problem.
WHAT'S NOT: Soham Shah had everything going for him stunning locales, lavish production values, a dream star cast and a promising subject.
He simply ruins everything with his tepid screenplay that turns embarrassing after a point. Moosa's character has many loose ends if he's such a powerful don, why is he jumping across trains? The betting syndicate is more like a joke with some phirang extras hamming their way through in a studio set.
The reasoning behind Imran's joining the gang is exaggerated just like his tryst with good luck. The second half is more like a series of episodes of Fear Factor and Roadies clubbed together only in the film, the tasks are devoid of any novelty.
The sequence with sharks is unintentionally funny the fish look more deadpan thanu00a0 Ravi Kissen. The climax is dreary and more filmy than in an Anil Sharma film. And why make Mithun say 'Koi shaque?' a zillion times? Didn't that go out in the '80s?
WHAT'S THAT: Soham's obsession with the word 'luck' crosses all limits. A special audio CD of Luck to the first reader who tells us exactly how many times the word 'luck' is used in the film. Keep counting.
WHAT TO DO: Go buy a lottery ticket instead. There are more chances of you getting lucky on that one.
LUCK
U;A/ Thriller
Dir: Soham Shah
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Imran Khan, Shruti Haasan, Mithun Chakraborty, Ravi Kissen and Danny Denzongpa
*u00bd
LUCK At a theatre near you
Regal (4, 6.45, 9.30 pm)
Liberty (6.30, 9.30 pm)
Inox Nariman Pt (5.30, 8.15, 10 pm)
PVR Parel (4.50, 7.45, 10.30 pm)
Globus (4.45, 10.30 pm)
Fun (7.45, 9.30, 10.30 pm)
Fame Big (9.15, 10.30 pm), Fame Malad (9.15, 10.15, 11 pm)