'Lucky Lakshman' hit the cinemas today (December 30). Here we review the latest box-office release.
Story
Lakshman (Sohel Ryan) comes from a lower-middle-class background. He hates his economically-challenged father (Devi Prasad) for not giving him a comfortable life. Once in Engineering, he attracts a rich woman named Shreya (Mokksha) without his knowledge (because he is lucky, he doesn't need to use his brain for anything).
Least does Shreya know that she is in for a heart-break. Why do they part ways? What turns does Lakshman's life take after Engineering? Will he and Shreya ever patch up?
Analysis
'Lucky Lakshman' is one of those over-confident films where the male lead's characterization is fundamentally flawed. The Lakshman you saw in the first half is radically different from the Lakshman you get to see in the second half. Is he selfish? Is he greedy? Is he mean-spirited? Is he a man-child? Is he an artless idiot who doesn't know how silly he is? What the hell is he?
We get that writer-director AR Abhi is narrating Lakshman's biopic. Not kidding but that's how the story is staged. The journey of his character starts in 2009 and ends in 2019 or a bit beyond. We get that a lot of us undergo personality changes in a span of a decade. But when you are telling a story, you are expected to convince the audience that your script is self-aware of this reality of life. Otherwise, everything will look clueless.
The love story between the lead pair takes off in the silliest possible manner. By virtue of being the most beautiful girl in the college, Shreya receives three love proposals day after day. To keep the love-struck college boys at bay, she pretends to be in love with Lakshman. There is another girl named Madhu, whose entry marks the dwindling of Lakshman's IQ to a trickle.
The entry of Charan and Kiran, who are introduced as Lakshman's childhood buddies, marks the total collapse of the script into a meandering mess.
Sohel Ryan of Bigg Boss fame delivers a blunt performance. His dialogue delivery is lifeless; his voice, at times, sounds like that of comedian Rahul Ramakrishna. A bunch of comedy artists fails to lift the film. Devi Prasad is the only artist who can be seen performing. Anup Rubens' music is listless.
Closing Remarks
'Lucky Lakshman' is artificial and boring. The two halves of the film seem to tell two disjointed stories written in two different moods by two different writers.
