Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008)

After Dibakar Banerjee’s critically acclaimed movie Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006) comes Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye (OLLO). Dibakar’s style of showcasing real incidents in the genre of comedy is very inspiring for me. Additionally his ensemble of cast are actors that a) are not stars by Indian definition and b) are always set in northern India mouthing colloquial speech. OLLO is set on similar principles. It’s a point which I want to make to our film-makers – stars do not necessarily make a great movie but the story does play a integral part of the film-making process.

OLLO traces the footsteps of Lucky Singh (Abhay Deol) who makes a leaving stealing cars and housebreaking. Lucky’s the cute next door guy gunning for a high society lifestyle. For him, the sky’s the limit for his brazen activities and he’s also not limited by weather or daylight in that respect. With his partner in arm called Bangali (Manu Rishi) he’s introduced to Gogi Bhai (Paresh Rawal) and together they form a coterie that runs havoc in the capital city. He’s enamoured by his love interest Sonal (Neetu Chandra) a last year college student. Things begin to take a turn when he meets Dr. Handa (Paresh Rawal) and his wife (played by Archana Puran Singh).

My liking and inquisitiveness for the north indian dialects – those that are spoken by the commoners around the Delhi area began with Khosla Ka Ghosla and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye has come to personify the same. Abhay Deol as the high profile thief cum lover boy is just fantastic and after Manorama, Socha Na Tha, Ek Chalis Ki Last Local and Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd., one must appreciate his choice of films that have abstract storyform. That makes me await eagerly for his next release Dev D directed by Anurag Kashyap. What needs to be noted with OLLO is the sheer characterization of the cast. It’s heartening to note that Dibakar has not let the success of his previous movie overshadow this one in terms of story, cast or music. Talking of which OLLO has some foot tapping numbers like ‘Jugni’ (Des Raj Lachkani & Party) finds rooted in Punjabi with coatings of western hip hop and the title song in Punjabi beats sung by Mika. This is brilliance that is very rarely seen on Indian screens. Entertainment guaranteed so just go for it. Just don’t look for any social messages from it.