Lucky Baskhar

Dulquer Salmaan is exceptional as a middle-class man, Baskhar. He brings to life the humiliation, daily struggle and never-ending financial commitments to life through his role. Once he reaps profits from his illegal activities, he’s a changed man. And Dulquer aces both traits with his subtle yet effective performance. He is ably supported by Meenakshi Chaudhary, Sachin Khedekar and several others. GV Prakash's music, Nimish Ravi's cinematography and Naveen Nooli's editing are in tandem with the film's mood.

The beginning of Lucky Baskhar is quite engaging, introducing a story that Telugu cinema has rarely explored. Financial frauds and scams are fresh ground for the industry, and director Venky Atluri skillfully incorporates elements like money laundering, bank scams, and stock brokerage scams into the plot. His protagonist is also morally complex, adding depth. At the script level, Lucky Baskhar avoids routine formulas and presents a relatively fresh narrative. However, it’s challenging for a mainstream Telugu director to tell a story centered around stock broking and bank frauds without slipping into familiar tropes. Venky Atluri handles the first half well, but as noted, the momentum falters in the second half. The narration loses its grip and follows a formulaic path for much of the latter part.

Dulquer is ably supported by Meenakshi Chaudhary, who gets a full-fledged role as Baskhar’s wife Sumathi, and she is the emotional anchor of the film. Meenakshii is quite convincing as the woman with a mix of right morals and buried resentment. It is a rather interesting melange, and her responses to Baskhar’s actions keep him, and us on our toes. The film is filled with fine actors playing well-rounded characters that wonderfully aid the narrative. Be it the entire bank staff, Baskhar’s acquaintance Antony (Ramki), his family members, and even the runners of Dalal street, everyone gets a solid character, and full points to Venky for sketching them with integrity. This, in turn, ensures that even in stretches that threaten to derail the almost perfect ride, we are invested in the happenings because we want to see what they bring to the table.