Hard Luck

Cast: Sanjay Dutt,Mithun Chakraborty,Imran Khan ,Shruti Hassan

Rating: ***

Running at: Inox (Forum,City Centre,Swabhumi)

Luck is good news for all those who have no regard for the movie going etiquette. You can turn up half-an-hour late and still say what is going on. And this would require no great imagination of you.

Though Soham Shah is not exactly know for cinematic fireworks (remember the ghost-in-the-forest Kaal?) he does make good-looking films. Throw a delicious Imran Khan and a calendar-perfect Shruti Hassan on the sparkling white sands of Cape Town,pump in some ‘she’s got the look’ music,and fill up frames with top shots of crystalline rivers snaking past rugged cliffs — grabbing eyeballs is no big deal. But then Shah,you are reminded,is out to make a film. So in comes Sanjay ‘Bhai’ Dutt in his trademark loose pajamas,blonde hair and grubby beard. With Mithun Chakraborty,who is probably the first Punjabi Major whose Hindi is delightfully Bengali in spirit. And Ravi Kissen who had probably mistaken the film for the Big Boss house.

You are told that these people can hoodwink death any given day. And Moosa Bhai (Dutt of course) is out to become the Bill Clinton of the betting world. How? He runs a ‘pure business’ where people bet on the lives of his ‘lucky’ mascots who perform life endangering stunts.

The film has some moments,mostly post-interval. All this,thanks to the stunt choreographer who makes the glorified reality show worth sitting through. But then again Shah intervenes,trying to flesh out little personal stories of the characters. The common thread running through them being a noble cause (read mortgaged house,ailing wife,dead sister) which has pushed them to their gambler roles — sexy jackets,boots,aviators et al.

Imran Khan seems a little more comfortable being a stud muffin compared to his first experiment Kidnap. He looks incredibly good as usual and doesn’t seem all than uncomfortable clenching jaws,gnashing teeth and glaring at people. But you still wish someone gave him a nice frothy romantic song and let him serenade his girl in peace,instead of handing him a pistol. Shruti Hassan is a photographer’s dream-come-true. She looks stunning in every frame. As for her acting abilities,she is yet to make a point. If there’s anyone who really stands out – it has to be Chitrashi Rawat. She is electric to say the least.

But one wonders why Soham Shah makes gambling look as lofty as genetic research and makes crooks talk like Olympic winners!