VividSimon Simply Perfect

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

GrimPrecise I'll tell you why so serious

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Peter Young 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.

Manoj Arya There is a fleeting scene in Zoya Akhtar's remarkable new film Luck By Chance where an aspiring, struggling young actor Vikram (Farhan Akhtar) nervously enters a big budget movie premiere party. His friend who is an assistant director in Mahesh Bhatt studio has taken him along as return of a favor. Place is bustling with actors, directors, writers, big shots, and crackerjacks of film industry we reckon. He starts walking the noisy venue. Camera starts following him in commotion and calms down somehow, now fluidly capturing Vikram's point of view which is nothing less than surreal. He seems gliding though the glamorous starry room checking artists, celebrities in flesh chatting, giving interviews, drinking, cracking up from touching distance. There is something deliberately dreamy about this shot. Director has given the protagonist his moment. This is what he is aiming at.

RAHUL DATTA Every once in a while a film comes , which makes you wonder why there are not more of such ventures in Bollywood.Zoya Akhtar's directorial debut "Luck by Chance" is one such movie , where , by careful viewing ( especially the second time ) , I realize that every dialogue , every scene and almost every expression of the actors is well thought of and executed.I have seen the movie twice in theaters and am now watching it on the DVD , and am dumbstruck by the performances of the lead cast. Special mention here must be made about Konkana . She is absolutely marvelous in this movie . I know she is a natural performer , but in this movie , she does it with effortless ease , while knowing that this is a mainstream movie. Farhan Akhtar , in his second film , as an actor , proves yet again that he is such a gifted person. What a compelling performance.I must say that the characterization is one of the high points of this enterprise. Not a single character is half-baked, which is a rare feat in movies . Rishi Kapoor and Dimple show off their histrionics and take you by surprise .Watch this movie , and am sure you will relate to a few situations and characters completely. One of the best movies of 2009 , so far.

namashi_1 Zoya Akhtar's 2009 flick 'Luck By Chance' is a fantastic watch. A film that shows Bollywood like no other film has done yet. A film that entertains you from start to end. Zoya makes a film of a lifetime. I still wonder how did this film bomb at the box office!Performances: Rishi Kapoor is a veteran actor, his performance here is outstanding as the Punjabi Producer who does everything what his Astrologer says. Dimple Kapadia is superb, as ever. Juhi Chawla's cameo is good. Sanjay Kapoor is fantastic as the failed actor-turned-director. Farhan Akhtar doesn't look like a hero, I wonder how he gets films which he doesn't deserve at all. Konkona Sen Sharma is natural. Hritihik looks disinterested in a extended cameo. Ali Khan is good. Many actors make cameos in the film, but only Shahrukh and surprisingly Anurag Kashyap's leave an impact.Luck By Chance deserves a watch.