Lucky Baskhar Review - A Gripping Tale on Money and Morality!

Ashwin Ram

Lucky Baskhar is a financial crime drama starring Dulquer Salmaan, Meenakshi Chaudhary in the lead roles. The film is directed by Venky Atluri and the music is composed by G.V. Prakash Kumar.

Premise:

Set in the 80s, Dulquer Salmaan is a private bank employee. How he smartly utilizes the opportunities that come on his way and become rags to riches form the crux of the story.

Writing/ Direction:

Lucky Baskhar is not a conflict based story flick, as the title suggests, it is filled with chances which the protagonist makes use of in his favourable manner. A screenplay film that gets the highlighted word rock-solid with such skilled and smart writing. The character introductions and establishment of the world felt hurriedly narrated in the beginning, the momentum is formed soon after. Once the initial setting is done, there is no stopping the horsepower of the flow, each scene offers something new, also they have all been brought together fluently and effectively on-screen. The minute detailing with respect to the bank operations for the 80s period is fascinatingly presented. Not just that, the goods import-export situations have great clarity. Plus the whole share market stretch by spinning off the Harshad Mehta scam is a masterstroke. All the intricate information has been delivered in a commercially viable way, kudos to the director Venky Atluri for the wholesome package. How a human would react after becoming wealthy both internally and externally is beautifully shown. There are some convenient logic placements for the cinematic elements placed, yet the factor does not affect the totality of the film. The second half had a bump at first without much threat to the central character, picked up very well after the family crash and workplace politics, the climax in particular is splendid. Neatly written Tamil dialogues and tidy dubbing work as well. Downside, too quick to absorb wholly and cheer for the high moment as the next one appears instantly, hence the impact is quite flat.

Performances:

Peculiar character for Dulquer Salmaan and he has played it perfectly, he gets a gray-shade yet empathetic role that has deep arcs to root for. Probably till the first half, Meenakshi Chaudhary barely had any importance, the small points were used to foreshadow and link convincingly with the storytelling, she did a fine job. Many other supporting characters had properly developed roles that helped in the fulfillment, their performances served the purpose too.

Technicalities:

G.V. Prakash Kumar’s songs are just average, there is no big scope for musicals here, but the situations driving tracks aren’t impressive enough. Thankfully, his background music does the trick, quality work that evidently elevated the mood. First class camera work, captured the crowds well and also the activity of the artists in crucial scenes. Naveen Nooli’s editing is a huge bundle of joy to the film, he played it street-smart in many interesting places and effortlessly raised the intensity level. Art department and costume designers have achieved their intent in making the period setting look realistic.

Bottomline

Cinematic liberty handled right, a captivating period drama with a few dry spots and truckload of entertainment. Smart writing all the way, helping it to be a solid package with plenty of detailing in the narrative.

Rating - 3.25/ 5