Luck By Chance is in a word, boring. In another word, it feels disjointed. Overall I think the word that should describe it is disappointing. I can’t say that I was excited to watch it because it was Farhan Akhtar’s second film, following hot on the heels of the well liked Rock On!, because I have yet to see Rock On! However I was excited for it when I first saw the trailer for it. I have a soft spot in my heart for Hindi films that have an indie air about them, even if it’s just in the dressing as it is with Luck By Chance. The trailer portrays the movie as a gritty tale of an actor trying to make it in Bollywood. It didn’t display quite the grit of, say Fashion, but it looked promising.

The film follows Vikram Jai Singh, a recent graduate of an acting school in India. Vikram seems to show the only bit of promise in the entire class, and is wished well as he and the others are set loose in the shark infested body of water that is the Mumbai film industry. In his search for success he meets Sona Mishra, a young woman who is also trying to make it as an actress. She keeps taking bit parts with hopes that the producer for whom she keeps working will eventually follow through on his promise to make her a star in his next film. The two find comfort in each other, supporting each other through their struggles, and of course, as is the case between two members of the opposite sex who spend a lot of time with each other, quickly become romantically involved. All this changes when Sona is told by the producer that he can’t do anything for her, and in the process passes Vikram’s picture along to him for reference. Vikram’s luck begins to change for the better as the famous Zafar Khan, played tolerably by Hrithik Roshan, pulls out of the next film by RR productions. None of the big names will agree to replace him, so the producers begin the search for a new face. Through a series of chance encounters, Vikram is chosen to be the new face in Dil Ki Aag. It all soon goes to his head, as people continually dote on him and his co-star quickly falls for him. You can fill in the rest for yourself. Or perhaps you can’t, but even so you’d probably create an ending more interesting than what was written in the script.

The story never seems to properly grip the audience. As the movie reached the intermission, I found that I didn’t really care if the in film producers chose Vikram for a screen test for their film. The character is completely unsympathetic and never does one single thing to make one care about him or what happens to him. I never cheered for him once, from when his friend drunkenly tells him that he’ll never make it in the industry to when his picture was in consideration for the leading role. After he receives his big break, when asked by his co-star if he has a girlfriend, his answer of “no” elicits nothing more than a yawn.

The other characters follow suit, just seeming to exist rather than being defined through their actions in the story. This isn’t to say the film is all bad. It’s two strongest points are Neena, played by the ever lovely Dimple Kapadia, who unfortunately never reaches the level of menace that I think she is meant to convey, and the cameo by Shah Rukh Khan. The King of Bollywood plays himself, providing some important words of wisdom to the now successful Vikram, as well as to anyone on a similar path.

The film ironically parodies its own production, showing what happens when successful industry heads engage in nepotism. It is the directorial debut of Zoya Akhtar, daughter of famous lyricist Javed Akhtar and brother of star Farhan Akhtar, and it shows. She never fully assumes command of the ship and therefore the story and actors meander aimlessly and carelessly. The biggest display of this comes at the end, when the film inexplicably closes up with a focus on one of the supporting characters, who up until that point was never featured as prominently as in the film’s final moments. In movies about film making, actors are frequently comically featured as not having read the script. In this case it appears that the screenwriter herself had not read the script.

Luck By Chance is 156 minutes of wasted potential. It could have been so much better by taking a few guiding hands from outside the Akhtar circle(a point interestingly touched upon by Karan Johar in his cameo), and with its refusal to do so sums up the problem that plagues the bulk of Bollywood. It would be a miracle of chance if you manage to sit through the entire film.