Dibakar Banerjee's 'Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!' is one of my favourite Hindi films of recent years. A dark satirical comedy revolving around a young thief, it is amazingly enjoyable and fresh and can provide a spectacular watch for the entire family. For all the smart-alecks, Banerjee does not try to glorify theft or anything of this sort but instead makes sure the viewer does not take it seriously and just enjoys this energetic and engaging, though a somewhat slow paced film. This is the comic, albeit a bit sad, story of a thief named Lucky which follows his experiences while looking for different people to rob and his subsequent attempts to quit the 'profession'.
'Lucky' is extremely Indian in its depiction, humour and heart. Banerjee skillfully captures the unique atmosphere of Delhi and its simple yet colourful lifestyle. The film is reminiscent of those classic comedies made by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and his style. It is totally realistic, and is aided by an excellent script, brilliant and witty dialogues, hilarious situations and many uplifting moments. One must note that the first portions of the film, revolving around Lucky's adolescence, are superbly portrayed. The romantic story between Lucky and Sonal, the lovely girl he falls in love with, is also extremely alluring.
The film is not your run-of-the-mill masala comedy. The comedy lies in the writing and the script. It does not even have song numbers for the actors to lip-sync, and you can only hear one song playing over certain montage sequences from time to time. And which song? A famous Kishore Kumar number which was taken right from an old Hindi picture of the late 1970s (Mahesh Bhatt's Lahu Ke Do Rang, to be specific). This, along with other such aspects as the great cinematography, the editing and the settings, perfectly contributes to the film's nostalgic and simple feel which will certainly be identified with Banerjee's style of film-making in coming days.
With Lucky, Abhay Deol ultimately became my favourite actor of the current generation. He is outstanding from start to finish and injects charm and energy into his character, which make it interesting and memorable. Manjot Singh is also fantastic as the young Lucky. Neetu Chandra is also likable as his love interest. Paresh Rawal plays three different characters in the movie. As funny as it sounds, the three characters have absolutely no connection in the story, and Rawal plays every role excellently, though I liked the character of the doctor the most. Richa Chadda, Archana Puran Singh and Kalpana stand out in smaller comic parts.
What else can I say? Lucky is an intelligent and humorous movie. It is stylish in its own way, it is feel-good, romantic and effervescent, and for me, it is also addictive! I can watch it again and again and still be totally entertained. This is a film that really can make you feel good. Way to go, Mr. Banerjee and Mr. Deol.
