Upcoming starlet, Neha Dhupia (of Julie and Sheesha fame) once said ?In Bollywood, sex sells, and so does Shah Rukh Khan? She could have gone on to add Salman?s name too. For most of Salman?s films in the last year or so Tere Naam, Mujse Shaadhi Karoge, Garv) have done reasonably well at the box office, even if they were mediocre films.
Lucky, which is produced by brother Sohail, in association with T-Series, and directed by Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru, (better known for their foray into the music video segment), opened to 100 percent collections in the metros, on the first few days. And by the looks of it, it appears that this Salman starrer is also headed for a hit.
PLOT::
The entire film is set in the USSR, and is the story of Lucky (Sneha Ullal), a schoolgirl who is the daughter of one of the Indian embassy staff. One day, on her way to school, a Russian youth tries to molest her, and in trying to escape, she unwittingly gets into the car of Aditya (Salman Khan) who is the son o f the Indian ambassador. As they drive away, a civil war breaks out, and they are in the firing line, as the terrorists battle the security forces. The two are now on the run, getting on each other?s nerves initially, and then slowly settling down into an understanding, as they are forced to share their meagre food and water resources with each other, as they wait out the night in a grave yard.
Understanding turns into love, but Lucky falls sick and has to be rushed to the hospital. Meanwhile, the ambassador (Vikram Gokhale) recruits the services of PD (Mithun Chakravarthy) an ex-intelligence man, to try and locate these two. The rest of the story is all about how these two travel across the snowy terrains of Russia, avoiding the enemy, and try to reach safety.
MUSIC::
The film has many plus points, as compared to the routine fare dished out by Bollywood nowadays. The setting of the film in Russia, against the backdrop of a civil war, gives us a novel storyline. Indian films have rarely been shot in Russia, and this film exposes this beautiful country to the masses. The music by Adnan Sami (his first for a Hindi film) is a wonderful fusion of the East and the West, and many of the songs, like ?Sun Zara? and ?Shayad Yehi Tho Pyaar Hai? are full of melody and heart.
Lucky Lips is a very catchy feel good number. All the songs have a good sense of sur and taal, and will tend to grow on you. Adnan has also succeeded in roping in veterans likeafely s Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosale and Anuradha Paudwal, and that?s a good thing. Also, the film is a very clean one, with no ?skin? show or gory violence, and one can see it with the entire family. The entire film is very crisp, and has fresh look.
SNEHA ULLAL::
On the negative side, Sneha Ullal, who really looks seventeen, seems an unlikely lover for a forty plus man. But this can be excused, in the face of the fact that very often both are staring death in the face, and such strong emotional bonding is not unheard of. Performance wise, Sneha is not bad, for a debutante, but has a long way to go, in terms of acting skills and dialogue delivery.
Mithun is the surprise package, and keeps the audience in splits with his antics. Ultimately though, the show rests on the shoulders of Salman, and he does a very good job, whether he is enacting a comic scene or a serious one.
Overall, not a bad film, considering the many plus points. Its vacation time and India, and the audience are advised to go and take a look at Lucky. It?s definitely a film which gives you value for money, and one can’t say that about very many films today.