Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

After last Sunday's burns caused by Yuvvraaj, I was not willing to go out for a movie this weekend. Anyway there were not many releases this Friday, and I had almost seen all the previous ones. PP had wanted to watch one, and had suggested Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!. But to her sheer disbelief, I had not bought tickets in advance and had half expected we wouldn't get them over the counter. I knew this was only wishful thinking because all theatres were less than half-booked even by late afternoon, I guess due to a sense of mourning for (or fear of?) the Mumbai Massacre.

So we still had seats available after the bloke ahead in queue had wanted 9 tickets and took 9 months deciding between Gold and Silver. As we settled in our seats and went through promos, I prayed for Abhay Deol, Paresh Rawal and Khosla Ka Ghosla director Dibakar Banerjee. None of them disappointed me in the comical drama that takes us first through the adolescent life of Lucky, and then his excursions in his profession, giving us a detailed tour through residential areas of Delhi from Tilak Nagar to Rajouri Garden and Rohini to Defence Colony.

The narrative keeps you bound and you don't feel bored for a minute. Intelligent use of still photographs has been used more than once to fast forward the movie. The screenplay is great, and the humour is good, non-cheesy, and light without much of other emotions, though you feel a bit sorry for the parents. Otherwise the movie is strewn with laughter throughout, both during the present Lucky and the past. Money is shown as the biggest power. The music is all Punjabi but not that good, except the title track. But since most of the songs play in the background, they did not seem to be needlessly inserted and did not obstruct the flow.

Abhay Deol seems to have developed a knack for signing up the most hat-ke low-budget movies that are all different from each other and are critically acclaimed. OLLO is no exception. The dimpled actor keeps his innocent smile even when he is wanted by the police. Paresh Rawal was not his usual timid, mindless comedian but played three powerful, intelligent characters, as Lucky's father (not as strong as the other two), and the other two characters who patronize Lucky at different times. Some good serious acting on his part. Neetu Chandra was sweet but did not have much screen time.

Though it might be too early but Dibakar Banerjee's second venture shows a trend here. Quite a few similarities can be drawn between national-award winning Khosla Ka Ghosla and this one, the most prominent being being shot in Delhi and the use of local Delhi language, a mix of Hindi, Punjabi and Haryanwi. The movie might not qualify for the national award this year, nor the director, but he has nevertheless done a very good job in writing and directing a script so well.

To sum it up, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! was full paisa-vasool, though I would have loved it on the small screen too. My verdict: 8 on 10.

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