Lucky Baskhar: 2024 Telugu Crime Thriller Drama film Trailer, Review

Lucky Baskhar: 2024 Telugu Crime Thriller Drama Film Trailer, Songs

4to40.com October 23, 2024 Movie Reviews 832 Views

Movie Name: Lucky Baskhar
Directed by: Venky Atluri
Starring: Dulquer Salmaan, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Ramki, Hyper Aadi, Surya Sreenivas, Rithvik, Sachin Khedekar, P. Sai Kumar, Vijay in a cameo
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Drama
Release Date: 31 October, 2024
Running Time: 150 Minutes
Language: Telugu
Budget: Rs. 30 crore
Box office Collection: Rs. 112 crore
Rating:
Production Company: Sithara Entertainments, Fortune Four Cinemas

The film showcases the journey of an ordinary man and his triumphs.

Lucky Baskhar: Movie Overview

Lucky Baskhar (stylized as Lucky Baskha₹) is an upcoming Indian Telugu-language drama thriller film written and directed by Venky Atluri. The film is produced by S. Naga Vamsi and Sai Soujanya under Sithara Entertainments, Fortune Four Cinema and Srikara Studios. It stars Dulquer Salmaan in the titular role, alongside Meenakshi Chaudhary, Ayesha Khan, Hyper Aadi and P. Sai Kumar. Set in the 80s, the film follows the titular banker’s mysterious riches.

The film was officially announced in May 2023 under the tentative title Dulquer Salmaan 32, as it is the actor’s 32nd film as a lead actor, and the official title was announced that July. Principal photography commenced in October 2023. It was predominantly shot in Hyderabad. The film has music composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, cinematography handled by Nimish Ravi and editing by Naveen Nooli.

Lucky Baskhar was initially scheduled to release on 27 September 2024, but was preponed to avoid box-office clash with the releasing films. It was scheduled to release worldwide on 7 September 2024 in theatres, but was postponed. It is now scheduled to release worldwide on 31 October 2024, on the occasion of Diwali.

The music of the film was composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar. The audio rights were acquired by Aditya Music. The first single, “Srimathi Garu”, was released on 19 June 2024. The second single, the title track, was released on 28 July 2024. The romantic song Mindathe from Lucky Bhaskar was released on October 15th.

Lucky Baskhar is scheduled to release worldwide on 31 October 2024, on the occasion of Diwali. It was initially reported to be released in the month of July 2024 but was postponed to release on 27 September 2024. Further, it was preponed to 07 September 2024 coinciding with Ganesh Chathurthi to avoid box-office clash with the releasing films, but was again postponed.

Movie Trailer:

Lucky Baskhar: Movie Review

Venky Atluri, Dulquer Salmaan deliver an entertaining drama

Director Venky Atluri strikes a fine balance between exploring financial scam and relationships in ‘Lucky Baskhar’, headlined by a superb Dulquer Salmaan

Lucky Baskhar, the Telugu film written and directed by Venky Atluri, employs the narrative technique of creating tense moments before a twist, then retracing a few steps to reveal the events that led to it, at sporadic intervals. The first time this happens, it is an indication of what the titular character is capable of. When this technique is repeated, there is the danger of it falling flat. There are occasions when we can pre-empt a twist, but the manner in which it unfolds brings a smile. This relationship drama woven around a financial scam is Atluri’s best work till date and is anchored by a powerhouse Dulquer Salmaan, who shifts seamlessly from a common man struggling to make ends meet to a shrewd banker driven by the need to make quick money.

The film begins with Baskhar breaking the fourth wall and telling us, the audiences, his story. Banglan’s production design recreates a lower middle class locality of Bombay of 1989-92, with Nimish Ravi’s camera snaking through the grey-tinged walls of the houses and the narrow, congested lanes.

The first hour of the film moves along familiar lines. Baskhar leads a hand-to-mouth existence, having to support his wife, son, two siblings and an ailing father. He is forever in debt and cannot afford three plates of vada pav. It is no surprise when Baskhar faces the wrath of a money lender, or when his family gets humiliated. In short, things go from bad to worse.

It is easy to guess that Baskhar will take the bait to make quick money. In these portions, the writing spells out every single detail in a bid to make it easier for everyone to understand Baskhar’s stealthy methods at the bank.

The relationship drama unravels simultaneously. When we first see Baskhar and Sumathi (Meenakshi Chaudhary), they are in sync with each other, having shouldered each other through tough times. The origins of their romance and the family frictions are revealed briefly in a song, negating the need for further explanation. While some characters in the family are on expected lines, a few characters — the father who keeps to himself and the six-year-old son who shares both his stress factors and his smartness — hold a few surprises.

The 1989-1992 setting allows the makers to bring in references to manipulation of the stock market and money laundering through a character similar to Harshad Mehta. The name is slightly tweaked and Atluri uses this creative liberty to present his own version of a banking and trading scam. If the fraud done by Baskhar in the initial portions can be attributed partly to his luck and partly to the lack of surveillance (an era before CCTV cameras), the later portions hold the key to smart storytelling.

At midpoint, when Baskhar breaks the fourth wall once again to tell us that the story has just begun, he means every word.

Venky Atluri shifts to top gear in the later portions and gets into the murky ways of money laundering and how everyone, from bank managers to small time businesses, willingly or unwittingly, are a part of a large scam. The writing explains the modus operandi in simple terms but does not spoon feed. Baskhar’s character goes through a transformation, from rags to riches, and also lays bare his arrogance. Sumathi is more or less the conscience keeper but is her resistance enough to show Baskhar the mirror?

The story skillfully uses some of its supporting characters to make Baskhar introspect. But having gone too deep into the mess, can he swim to safety? Will he be allowed to? The narrative rarely pauses and keeps us guessing on Baskhar’s next move.

Dulquer portrays Baskhar with all sincerity. He is endearing as a middle class man and does not hesitate to wear his arrogance on his sleeve in the later portions. The look (by Archana Rao) also helps to enhance his transformation into a man who splurges at the drop of a hat. The silver strands that have begun to show are signs of his mounting stress. Dulquer is in control, both in speaking the language and enhancing the solid writing in the later portions. In scenes where he hardly has a word or two to speak, he conveys it all through his emotions and makes it look effortless. Meenakshi gets a reasonably well-written part and portrays her character effectively. Rajkumar Kasireddy, Maganti Srikanth, Hyper Aadhi, Ramki, Tinnu Anand and Sachin Khedekar are adequate in their parts. The smaller moments that come through Baskhar’s colleagues, including the part played by Gayatri Bhargavi, help to explore how Baskhar loses and regains his humane nature.

GV Prakash Kumar’s score is never subtle. While it considerably infuses life into the proceedings, in a few portions it makes it easy to gauge what is in store. A turning point towards the final portions is an example. Perhaps some ambiguity would have helped maintain the suspense.

The film discusses Baskhar’s moral compass without getting preachy and scores when it talks about knowing when and how to stop. In Baskhar’s words, well played, indeed!