Oye Lucky Lucky Oye - Review

Director - Dibakar Bannerjee
Rating - 2.5/5

Success in your very first venture can sometimes prove to be a pain in the a**. It not only leads to increased expectations from others but also to some amount of overconfidence in yourself.
Have a look at one of the posters of OLLO and the words - 'from the makers of Khosla Ka Ghosla' make it clear that it tried to capitalize on KKG's success right from the word 'go'. However for Dibakar Banerjee this might just backfire!
For me, although a decent watch, OLLO was no way near KKG. Not only 'cause it lacked an entertaining and gripping plot like KKG but also 'cause a sense of humour that was too subtle and too embedded in dialogues to catch attention. Also the perfect timing displayed by Anupam Kher and Ranbir Shourie in KKG was missed badly in this one. However the main drawback is that 90% of the audience comes out with an expression on their face as if they were shown a Korean movie with Greek subtitles. In short 'ye movie na, kuchh samajh nahi aayee' is what u get to hear all the way through the exit corridoor of the hall. The movie ocsillates between simplicity and complexity and perhaps the screenwriter was paid less.
As far as the actors go, Abhay Deol tries his best to look the Lucky he was supposed to be only to be beaten to it by a teenaged surd called Manjot Singh. Scenes showing the teen days of Lucky are actually the best part. Actress Neetu Chandra however looks simple and beautiful while portraying her small yet effective role with utmost ease. Paresh Rawal could have done better by sharing a character or two with some other actor as him playing 3 different roles really did not make much sense except showing signs of 'cost cutting due to recession'.
However, having said all that, I would still go on to say that I consider the movie worth watching once at least. The impeccable portarayal of the 'gullys of dilli', the teenage Lucky and his kaarnaame, the dedication with which Lucky steals, the well timed retro background score, the subtle but rib tickling humour here and there, the no moral baggaged characters and a few hidden satires on the society together make sure that you get the worth of your money. Some good work by the Art Director and the cameraperson make it all the more likable for Dilliwallas.