"Luck isn't a dark film" - Soham Shah
"Right now I am ready to bet whether Luck will do well or not. Kaal did not do well and was delayed unnecessarily. But I take all of this positively", says an optimist Soham Shah. Then he cracks up by saying, "I've been giving fitness tips to Imran ever since we met and I hope he starts working out now." Soham Shah has made what you could call a Hard-R action flick that recalls the violent action flicks made in the early eighties that avoids political correctness or anything of that nature. This film also happens to have one of the biggest star cast in the recent times coming from all age group.
Yes, this is basically a big and loud popcorn flick but it is fun and it also has some of the scene-stealing performances by Imran Khan and Ravi Kishan. So after spending fifteen minutes talking to one of the newest finds in Bollywood direction, I found out that he came across as a laid back guy who really loves action movies. Call 'Luck' almost his love letter to those films that were unapologetic about what they were trying to be. With some rhyme, reason and regard for his co-actors Soham puts himself in the lucky spot with us.
Bets
on
Luck
"Let's
hope
that
Luck
proves
to
be
luckier
than
Kaal.
We've
worked
really
hard
on
the
film.
Luck
isn't
a
dark
film.
It's
a
proper
commercial
masala
film.
It's
an
engaging
film
too.
Actually,
while
we
were
shooting
in
South
Africa
for
Luck,
there
were
a
lot
of
casino's
and
I
remember
placing
the
bet
on
one
of
the
roulette.
I
won
and
I
hope
the
film
does
the
same."
Unusual
cast
"If
you
cast
faces
that
are
bigger
than
the
film,
the
audiences
seem
to
be
more
interested
in
them
than
the
story.
The
roles
written
for
various
characters
in
Luck
were
of
a
mixed
age
group.
Roles
were
written
for
old
age
people
like
Mithun
and
Danny.
Shruti
and
Imran
fitted
the
new
school
types.
All
the
actors
are
very
unpredictable.
You
don't
know
how
Imran,
Shruti,
Danny
and
Mithun
will
come
up
with.
The
only
actor
you
can
predict
in
Luck
is
Sanjay
Dutt."
Inspiration
from
the
West
"At
one
point
when
I
saw
13
Tzameti,
I
thought
that
the
concept
of
the
film
was
wonderful.
The
only
thing
common
between
13
Tzameti
and
Luck
is
the
gun
sequence.
Beyond
that
there
is
no
similarity.
The
Condemned
rumours
are
absolutely
rubbish.
There
is
no
similarity
whatsoever."
Big
Budget
and
recovery
"A
lot
of
money
is
put
into
making
Luck.
A
lot.
The
way
the
film
is
shot
and
the
way
the
action
sequences
are
executed,
the
film
looks
much
bigger.
The
scripting
was
such
that
the
film
would
not
have
been
made
in
India
because
the
concept
was
such
that
the
film
had
to
be
made
believable.
We
also
have
a
lot
of
international
casting
in
Luck.
Actors
from
South
Africa
and
U.K
are
a
part
of
Luck
too.
The
entire
film
is
based
in
South
Africa.
An
average
director
would've
taken
120
to
150
days
of
shoot.
We've
shot
the
film
in
64
days.
The
economic
planning
helped
us
too.
So
in
terms
of
recovery,
the
film
will
have
to
have
a
good
opening
and
that's
a
gamble
all
producers
and
directors
have
to
take.
I'm
sure
the
film
will
recover
its
money
put
in."
Chitrashi
-
the
boy
"The
character
of
Chitrashi
was
earlier
written
for
a
boy
but
as
we
started
casting,
I
thought
of
this
Chak
De
girl
and
said,
"She
is
like
a
boy" and
had
that
attitude.
A
girl
doing
the
action
and
things
which
a
boy
can
do
adds
on
to
the
film
and
that's
why
Chitrashi
was
cast."
Casting
of
Shruti
Hassan
"We
didn't
land
up
casting
anybody
else
before
Shruti.
When
we
started
the
casting
of
Luck,
Jaane
Tu...
Ya
Jaane
Na
had
not
released.
So
whenever
I
used
to
meet
Imran
I
was
reluctant
in
telling
him
that
I
wanted
a
girl
who
could
match
up
to
him
and
his
freshness.
That's
when
Imran
suggested
me
to
meet
Shruti.
Imran
too
wasn't
sure
whether
Shruti
would
be
the
apt
choice.
But
after
meeting
her,
I
found
out
that
she
was
the
fittest
babe
in
Bollywood.
She
had
a
great
body;
she
is
a
great
singer
and
is
tough
gal."
Imran
Khan
"Imran
has
his
own
style
and
character
which
he
tries
and
brings
in
to
his
movies.
You
need
to
handle
him
the
way
you
want.
He
has
a
wide
range
of
personalities.
He
can
play
the
sweet
looking
boy
to
a
tough
man
depending
on
how
the
director
would
use
him.
He
has
a
very
adjustable
personality
and
is
a
boon
to
any
director."
Ravi
Kishan
"The
role
that
Ravi
Kishan
is
playing
is
almost
parallel
to
that
of
Imran's.
Ravi's
character
has
a
lot
of
grey
shades.
We
needed
somebody
who
could
perform
variety.
We
were
looking
out
for
a
guy
who
could
scare
you,
who
could
make
you
laugh,
etc.
My
wife
used
to
see
Big
Boss
a
lot
and
put
my
notice
to
this
character
called
Ravi
Kishan
who
according
to
her
was
an
interesting
guy.
When
I
met
Ravi
Kissen,
I
realised
that
he
is
not
the
Bhojpuri
kind
of
a
person
the
industry
has
made
him
to
be.
He
is
a
terrific
actor
and
needs
to
be
tapped
in
a
lot.
I
was
convinced
that
Ravi
only
needed
an
image
change
in
a
very
stylish
way
for
Luck."
Mithun
Chakraborty
I've
always
been
a
fan
of
Mithun
because
I've
seen
him
doing
action
roles
throughout
his
career.
Lately,
he
has
been
playing
it
a
bit
mellow
by
doing
father
type
roles,
etc.
The
character
he
plays
in
Luck
was
written
for
a
sixty
year
old
retired
major.
So
I
needed
somebody
in
that
age
group,
who
could
carry
off
lot
of
style,
is
fit
today
and
at
the
same
time
was
a
superb
actor.
Mithun
Chakraborty
fitted
the
bill
pretty
well.
Danny
Denzongpa
"Danny
is
the
backbone
of
Luck.
He
holds
the
film
and
all
the
characters
together.
I
needed
somebody
with
a
very
good
voice
for
his
part
and
an
actor
of
his
age
group.
The
kind
of
scenes
are
happening
in
the
film
and
the
logics
that
the
film
has,
keeping
that
in
mind,
Danny's
character
had
to
be
played
by
somebody
as
senior
as
him
and
as
experienced
as
him.
His
role
adds
a
lot
of
mystery
to
the
film."
Mithun,
Danny
and
Old
school
"Mithun
and
Danny,
being
from
an
older
generation
of
actors,
had
a
superb
way
of
working.
Once
they
are
on
board
for
a
film,
they
bring
in
so
much
of
experience
to
people
like
me
as
they
give
their
valuable
inputs
to
each
and
every
scene.
They
want
to
learn
every
single
day
the
newest
of
technologies
available
in
Bollywood.
Both
have
a
knack
of
understanding
a
story
line
and
once
they
are
ready
to
do
your
film,
they
bring
in
a
lot
of
conviction
for
the
director
and
themselves.
Positivity
galore
in
them.
They
help
you
go
through
the
most
difficult
scenes
and
working
hours
by
their
sheer
stamina
at
this
age."
Sanju
Baba
"We
had
written
this
character
called
'Musa'
for
Luck.
It
was
granted
from
day
one
that
we
had
written
this
role
for
Sanjay
Dutt
because
I
wanted
a
guy
who
fitted
the
new
school
and
the
old
school.
Sanju
was
the
only
hope.
He
is
back
to
his
best."
Backup
"Whatever
ups
and
downs
come
your
way,
you
have
to
make
your
film.
You
have
to
try
your
best
to
get
the
best
on
board.
Every
actor
has
different
issues.
Somebody
would
not
want
to
work
on
that
film,
somebody
would
not
like
their
role,
somebody
would
have
money
issues,
etc.
Reasons
can
be
plentiful.
You
cast
somebody
by
which
your
film
is
justified
and
is
not
affected
by
the
wrong
casting.
There
is
always
a
back
up
ready."
Favourite
films
"My
favourite
Imran
Khan
film
has
to
be
Jaane
Tu...
Ya
Jaane
Na.
For
Mithun,
my
favourite
film
has
to
be
Gulami.
For
Danny,
my
favourite
film
would
be
Agneepath
and
for
Sanjay
Dutt,
Vaastav
is
my
all
time
favourite."
'No'
to
lip
sync
songs
"Luck
being
an
action
thriller
didn't
require
any
lip
sync
songs.
Suddenly
in
a
middle
of
a
fight
sequence,
you
cannot
have
an
actor
singing
a
song.
It
can't
happen
for
such
genre
of
films.
Luck
stays
away
from
lip
sync
songs.
Jaane
Tu...
Ya
Jaane
Na
can
have
them
because
it
would
look
real
there.
Lip
sync
in
Luck
will
be
quite
unreal."