Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Meenakshi Chaudhary
Direction: Venky Atluri
L. Ravichander
Lucky Bhaskar, notwithstanding the festival season, is unlikely fodder for luck to smile. It is as obvious as “popcorn” is not just a movie snack. The script (tardy all the way, written by Venky Atluri) expects Dulquer to be a magician. Even if he is, this time the magic is either insufficient or does not work.
The entire pre-interval narrative tries inelegantly to muster sympathy for Bhaskar (Dulquer Salmaan) – a small-time clerk who is finding it very difficult to both ends meet for wife Srimathi (Meenakshi Chaudhary) and son (Rithvik). From multiple moneylenders to comparatively richer relatives and a dummy Dad (Sarvadaman Banerjee), he is out there to play the victim card to perfection. The bank where he works gives promotions to the corrupt. Eternally cash-strapped, and desperate working conditions, are just the impetus to take the short-cut.
The two-and-a-half-hour story of rags to riches is too linear for comfort, concern or interest. Details notwithstanding, a good script must necessarily flesh out multiple characters in testing a story. At a certain level, this is even true for biopics. This cardinal principle takes a hit and surely robs the film of a sense of appeal. Every camera moment is centred around Bhaskar and, as a result, even the half-baked character of his wife Srimathi is far too sketchy. To invest in a story without investing in characters is a lopsided attempt.
For instance, Bhaskar’s rise is also due to the negativity of the general manager (Sachin Khedekar) and the chairman (Tinu Anand). His success is thanks to his colleague Antony (Ramki) and bank peon Samba (Raj Kumar Kasi Reddy). They are all reduced to mere interlopers in the protagonist’s tryst with success and his chosen criminal path.
The story is in the times of Harshad Mehta (all characters and incidents are purely coincidental in compare!!). Datelines justify costumes. Nothing more.
The ‘life and times of a white collar trickster’, who played the system with its rules in sleep mode, could make for fascinating viewing, if only the script was willing and the editor cooperating. The growth from a guy who earns `6,000 pm to the owner of a big restaurant abroad is sibylline without either inspiration or warning. Many loose ends do not help matters.
While on the one hand an obvious attempt is made to establish the wife as a strong-willed person, very often she stumbles to pressures and pleasures. Similarly, the honchos found wanting or the stage-managed raid by chief investigating officer Lakshman Rao (Sai Kumar) are too grotesque to warrant attention.
The cast is well and surely misled. Only Dulquer has a role worth talking about. He cannot really fail but this film reiterates that an actor is only as good his best, it does not add up. Venky Atluri should have cast Prithviraj Sukumaran for the hues of grey the central characterdisplays and demands.
Echoing a question of contemporary relevance: how will history remember me, the film labours to state that history only remembers how you finished. That being the test, history surely in any limited space is not going to be overtly concerned about ‘Lucky Bhaskar’. This is unfortunately an evening in the cinema that is Unlucky.
