Thursday, February 19, 2009

What Dreams May Come: Luck By Chance

For the first time in nearly ten years, I can find the tiniest little regret that I decided to leave behind the world of film making. It's not a serious one or even one that will last the week out but watching Luck By Chance, I was just a little bit sad for the choices I had made and thankful that that relentless cheerfulness in the face of everyday failure need not be mine. All that ambition, all that networking (what a polite word it is), that resentment, pushiness, and keeping an eye on the main chance - so exhausting.

Banno says:

A filmmaker friend recently said to Teja, "I'm going to make only commercial films now." Yes, you can make a choice to make commercial films, if you know the stars and the CEOs of the production houses. But if you don't, can you do anything but make a low-budget film without stars and probably, without release? Or worse, sit at home, wondering what you should do with yourself.

Corporate job, alcohol, table tennis, blogging, cricket, poetry, teaching, video rental store, general store, accu-pressure, yoga, drugs, sex, affairs, violence, drudgery, tantra, mantra, rings, numerology, boredom.

All that and more besides. It must be - it is - a film that cuts too close to the bone for everyone who is or ever was a part of it. My favourite bit (apart from Farhan Akhtar, I need hardly add. I now officially have a crush on him) is the title sequence with its patent affection for every bit of this mad, separate universe and those who people it.

Madhur Bhandarkar should watch (with his scriptwriter, of course) this film and learn something -anything - from it.

5 comments:

km said...

Main chance

I like that phrase.

Banno said...

Yes, exhausting, exhausted! But why did you leave? Have never got around to talking about that. Or so much else, in fact.

Space Bar said...

km: :D

banno: yes, yes, that and other things this time when I'm in Bombay. Will mail.

the mad momma said...

you crushing on FA too?! nice :)

Anki said...

hmmm
touches a pounding nerve that i keep ignoring for now