'Lucky Baskhar', produced by Suryadevara Naga Vamsi and Sai Soujanya, is playing in theatres currently. In this section, we are going to review the latest box office release.
Plot:
Baskhar Kumar is a bank employee who takes to immoral monetary transactions driven by desperation at first and insatiable greed later. His modus operandi ranges from robbing money from the bank to gaming the system in sophisticated ways. Will the con-man be caught by a CBI team led by Sai Kumar's character? Is he planning to surrender? Is he as smart as he believes he is?
Performances:
Dulquer Salmaan delivers a classy performance that captures the character's internal conflict, overt shamelessness, and moral dilemma. His transformation from a struggling bank employee to a man caught in a web of deceit is believable. Meenakshi Chaudhary as Sumathi is underwhelming. Her portrayal of a devoted wife, unaware of her husband's secrets, is not heartbreaking by any measure. Master Rithvik of 'Jailer' fame plays their son.
Ramki as Anthony is good. Sachin Khedekar, Sai Kumar and others are alright. Rajkumar Kasireddy of the recent 'AAY' fame and Tinnu Anand are good choices. Srikanth Maganti will go a long way. The artist who played Anwar is Krishna Kamal, a comedy talent who does some great stuff on Instagram. Raghu Babu and Manasa Chaudhary are seen in a short comedy track that is not cringe (thankfully).
Technical aspects:
The triumvirate of Nimish Ravi's cinematography, Naveen Nooli's editing, and GV Prakash Kumar's music creates an audiovisual experience that draws the audience into the world of crime. Nimish Ravi's lens captures the period setting with precision. The editing is razor-sharp, also playing a crucial role in maintaining the film's suspenseful atmosphere, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. The background score is particularly effective, adding layers of depth and complexity to the narrative.
The song 'Srimathi Garu' works better on the big screen. The title track, sung by Usha Uthup, has the urgency and energy of a song from Allu Arjun's 'Julayi'.
Post-Mortem:
Baskhar is the quintessential con artist who possesses an understanding of human psychology and a knack for exploiting vulnerabilities. He goes about planning his con meticulously and executing after thorough homework. Multiple layers of deception and misdirection keep the viewer engaged.
Telugu cinema has always struggled to rise above a certain dated protocol. Our filmmakers know nothing more than a surface-level understanding of financial scams (or any scam for that matter). 'Lucky Baskhar' is the result of understanding frauds beyond what the headlines and uneducated WhatsApp forwards say.
There are no leaps of faith here. The banking system's blindspots and lacunae have been explored by scamsters, that is, those manning the system at the branch level. How have they done it? How did stock brokers manipulate the Bank Receipts system? 'Lucky Baskhar' turns those details into a narrative in a riveting manner.
The scene where Baskhar begs his boss for forgiveness and his unexpected behaviour later, is top-notch. The family scenes where we see Sumathi develop clashes with her mother-brother duo is well-written.
The film threatens to become a routine coming-of-age drama at one point. But Venky Atluri stays true to the genre. Instead of taking the easy route, he takes a difficult one and still manages to draw whistles. Financial crimes are complicated but they also involve men who confound the supposedly super-smart. Baskhar digs into the weaknesses of the system for his own benefit. With him, the film too does a deep-dive.
While the second half could be seen as somewhat dry, by Telugu film standards, it is still a masterclass on how not to dumb down things.
Closing Remarks:
'Lucky Baskhar' is an excellent watch. This one takes Tollywood's con-man genre to the next level. The next time someone attempts to make a classy high-stakes crime thriller, the detailing achieved by this level will have to be taken as an example.
