LuckyBaskhar Review..!!
Dulquer Salmaan returns to the big screen with Lucky Baskhar, who had no theatrical release for more than a year. The film is directed by Venky Atluri, who has previously helmed the Dhanush starrer Vaathi. The film was initially scheduled for an August release but got postponed to Diwali. The promos were catchy and the financial crime related theme of the film caught the attention of cinephiles. Dulquer is paired opposite Meenakshi Chaudhary in the film.
The film begins with a fourth wall breaking scene of Dulquer Salmaan who plays the titular character Baskhar. So, the protagonist is the narrator of the story and it begins so well. The audience would want to know the story of the protagonist as soon as he begins the narration. He is questioned by CBI officers after he is taken to the bank he works. The events take place during 1992. And this is the year, when the officials uncovered one of the biggest banking scams by Harshad Mehta. Yes, they have tweaked the name here but loved the idea of the makers to tell the fictional story of an ordinary banker, connecting to Scam 1992. As our protagonist narrates the story, the events leading to his questioning is shown through a flashback starting 3 years ago.
The middle-class banker is finding it hard to make ends meet, who is the sole bread winner of a big family. But he is putting strenuous efforts to land a promotion at the bank he works. We are also shown that Baskhar is immensely talented but at the same time he has a lot of debt to pay. He is not respected by his in-laws. By this time, the character arc of Baskhar and his premise is well established. Barring a few melodramatic portions, these portions are well portrayed. Soon, Baskhar lands in a tight spot and resorts to malpractices at the bank by manipulating the ledger entry. The screenplay effectively conveys the plight of Baskhar and his actions are reasoned. It doesn’t interrupt the pace of the film as the script demanded drama to present Baskhar profoundly before the audience. Maybe the dialogues could have been a little less melodramatic.
The following events in the film give the audience some much-needed action, generating thrills and rooting for Baskhar to evade the authorities. It does get overboard in a scene where he takes 3 luxury cars to Goa but who doesn’t love some overdose of thrill. Gladly, there isn’t any unnecessary action block. What I loved most about the film is the clear conviction with which Baskhar is written. He is not a man who does this for mere kick nor for the money. He is calculative and knows exactly what he wants in his life. Dulquer Salmaan literally lives as Baskhar and this gives the director enough freedom to gradually explore every possible side of the character.
The character turns grey in the latter half after we see a surprising twist in the intermission block. Precisely, the Scam 1992 is linked to the storyline after the intermission block. For those who are aware about the Scam, this will be even more interesting. There is not much explanation needed in this case. But don’t worry. Even if you are unaware about the Scam, the director clearly explains the financial jargons in layman’s terms. For example, cash embezzlement or the banking receipts are explained in simple language. Again, Venky doesn’t complicate things by paying too much attention on the financial crimes, instead he sticks with our character and his story. As the journey of Baskhar becomes more riskier, the audience would want to bail out Baskhar from this mess. This waiting takes the story forward and finally, the audience will be satisfied after a stunning climatic episode. The credit goes to a tight screenplay that is clever for the most part in the film.
Dulquer is very much relatable as Baskhar, his nuances and dialogue delivery is phenomenal throughout the film. Loved his charm and subtle expressions during the fourth wall breaking scenes. It is difficult to imagine anyone else as Baskhar. Apart from him, rest of the actors deliver convincing performances. The background score by GV Prakash elevates each episode. We’ve already heard the love track in the film but he excels in reverberating the thrills, excitement and pain in the life of Baskhar. The 90s settings, chosen color pattern and visuals of Bombay city are appealing. One could argue that the film approaches the financial crimes on a lighter note as it never emphasizes the perilous nature of such crimes. But this is the story of Lucky Baskhar and it marginally touches the darker side of a financial thriller.
Overall, an engaging financial thriller that ties to the 1992 Scam, featuring a brilliant Dulquer and smart writing.