An excellent movie by all standards. Everything from cinematography, dialogues, performances and characterizations reek of high quality, earlier seen only in art house cinema or a few rare movies like Dil Chahta Hai.I would not talk about the story but rather the finer nuances of the direction i observed. The name of the movie is totally justified by the script, you can literally see luck working in favor of Farhan's character (Vikram) through a series of events and each of these events have been cleverly marked by the director with the use of same background piano tune. A lot is said in the movie about outsiders who have to struggle and star kids who get things on a platter. However, the three characters shown to be belonging to outsider category (Hrithik as Zafar, Konkona as Sona and Farhan as Vikram) are in real life all star kids while the sole star kid in story (Nikki) is actually an outsider. Don't know if this was intentional but another of the interesting tit-bits we noticed about the movie.Zoya Akhtar has shown immense maturity by not being judgmental about her characters. For example Sona's probable physical relations with Satish Chowdhary (Aly khan) are not given much importance in the story.The movie has a lot of interesting cameos with Anurag Kashyap as writer being an interesting one. Sanjay Kapoor's role as a successful producer's failed-as-an-actor brother was a casting master-stroke, as he fits the bill in real life as well, as Anil Kapoor's brother. It was very brave for Sanjay to take up such a role and he has done brilliantly at it. Dimple Kapadia, Rishi Kapoor and Juhi all gave commendable performances.This movie is not just about Hindi film industry, its more about people in general and how they can change to gain from situations. It has one of the most matured endings for a Hindi movie and needs to be appreciated for showing that real life endings are somewhere in-between the perfectly happy or pathetically sad endings that we get in movies.Please do watch this movie with a relaxed mindset and I can assure you it will be one of the numerous re-runs you are going to have as it tastes better and better every time you watch it.

If not for anything Zoya Akhtar should be given due credit for managing an ensemble of the entire Bollywood by dragging them under one roof. And also presenting a sneak-peak behind the fame/shame/defame iron-wall industry. Research analyst of the industry would instantly identify the characters and the situations. "Luck By Chance" is an honest opinion about the industry ensuring it doesn't hurt or jibes anyone in particular. It marginally escapes being categorised as a documentary in my opinion. And the writing on the wall is clear - talent alone is not sufficient to gain foothold and climb the ladder in Bollywood. One requires the go-getter attitude coupled with being street-smart - "spark" as it was conveyed.Ф Farhan Akhtar:: Quite consistent in his delivery. Very matured and deserves applause to stand up to Konkana, if you know what I mean.Ф Konkana:: Had a couple of layers to her character and she effectively manages to bring them out at ease.Ф Isha:: I had my brain scratching wondering who this bimbo was. Yes Isha Sharvani is indeed talented and going un-noticed by the industry. Sad!Everyone else even if they are cameo's, were spot-on.Not the usual pot-boiler Bollywood "masala" movie - but hatke it its own right.

Like 'Rangeela', 'Film Star', 'Om Shanti Om', 'Khoya Khoya Chand' and, to an extent 'Page 3','Luck By Chance' is another movie that takes a look on the workings of Bollywood. What makes this movie different is the treatment. The movie is part satirical and part a realistic depiction of the struggle to make it big in the movie industry. Mind you, this isn't a movie showing the extreme dark side of the film industry (like a Bhandarkar would do) nor is it a shiny bright fairy tale (like a Yashraj film would do) but rather an honest portrayal of what the main characters Vikram and Sona go through and the means by which they achieve their goals. In addition there's also an interesting subplot about all the trouble the producer goes through to get his film made and the whole casting process.Zoya Akhtar proves to be a competent director. She brilliantly manages to balance the satire, intensity and humour. In a way she's poking fun at Bollywood but also celebrating it. The visuals are colourful (though sometimes a tad too much). The characters are intriguing too. Akhtar is a capable storyteller and she manages to keep the viewers involved in the events. However, midway through the film, the pace tends to drag a lot.Farhan Akhtar is only slightly better than he was in 'Rock On' but nothing close to memorable. The role required a better actor and Farhan is just too hesitant about how to perform. Moreover he is surrounded by more accomplished and more talented actors who only make him look worse. After Hritik, he is the weakest actor in the movie. A great performance and Konkona Sensharma are no strangers to each other and it is she who really carries the film with a riveted and transcendent performance. Rishi Kapoor and Sanjay Kapoor are quite funny. Dimple Kapadia is brilliant. Juhi Chawla is great as the frivolous trophy wife. The role itself is of little significance but it's always a treat to watch her. Hritik Roshan's Zafar is a caricature and why does he dance like a woman in every single film? Isha Sharvani does a decent job. Arjun Mathur gives a sincere performance as Vikram's friend. In addition there are fleeting amusing appearances by Shabana Azmi, Anurag Kashyap, Shahrukh Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Akshaye Khanna...the least memorable of which is Kareena Kapoor.Music has been quite well used. The songs are quite pleasing to the ears and the background score flows well with the story. The song sequences are colourful like the typical masala songs in Bollywood movies (thus the director achieves the intentional effect).Zoya Akhtar has written and made the film with heart but I think the film would have benefited far more with a stronger male lead. I recall reading that Saif and Tabu were the first choice for the leads and I wonder why they weren't even included as cameos after their departure. Otherwise, 'Luck By Chance' is a worthy watch.

Zoya Akhtar's 2009 flick 'Luck By Chance' is a fantastic watch. A film that shows Bollywood like no other film has done yet. A film that entertains you from start to end. Zoya makes a film of a lifetime. I still wonder how did this film bomb at the box office!Performances: Rishi Kapoor is a veteran actor, his performance here is outstanding as the Punjabi Producer who does everything what his Astrologer says. Dimple Kapadia is superb, as ever. Juhi Chawla's cameo is good. Sanjay Kapoor is fantastic as the failed actor-turned-director. Farhan Akhtar doesn't look like a hero, I wonder how he gets films which he doesn't deserve at all. Konkona Sen Sharma is natural. Hritihik looks disinterested in a extended cameo. Ali Khan is good. Many actors make cameos in the film, but only Shahrukh and surprisingly Anurag Kashyap's leave an impact.Luck By Chance deserves a watch.