‘Lucky Baskhar’ Review: A Deceptive Anti-Cautionary Tale With A Delightful Dulquer

Director: Venky Atluri
Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Tinu Anand, Meenashki Chaudhary, Ramki, Sachin Khedekar
Writer: Venky Atluri
Language: Telugu

Venky Atluri’s deceptive Lucky Baskhar is a film that is designed to be taken lightly. At each point, we feel as though we’ve figured it all out, equating it to the many financial fraud-centered films or series we’ve seen in the recent past. Whenever we think that Baskhar (Dulquer) is one step away from getting caught, we catch ourselves rooting for him, even though we know the seriousness of his crimes.

We feel deceived, and not just because Dulquer has a way of making Baskhar extremely likable. The film unfolds in a thoroughly middle-class setting, where every character feels at home. In an early scene, Baskhar’s sister-in-law refuses to give his son a larger slice of cake because of how broke they are. A little later, the child thanks him for throwing this birthday party because now his classmates will finally stop calling him a freeloader. These are emotions anyone from the middle class has experienced in some form and by starting this film with sequences that depict where Baskhar’s family stands, Atluri makes him one of us.

As a result, we don't wince when we see Baskhar, who works as a cashier at a private bank, accept a “fee” to fill forms for his elderly and illiterate customers. The film is set in 1990s Bombay, a time when Indians began to see the opportunities that came with a free market. We’re also told about a stock market tycoon called “Harsha Mehra” - the money being discussed is serious, amounts the middle class couldn’t dream of.

When Baskhar finds out that he’s been overlooked for a senior position, the loss feels personal. The writing, even in this seemingly simple scene, is fresh. Instead of wanting Baskhar to confront his senior, who gave the promotion to a man from his caste, we wait for the senior to explain his side. What he says makes sense and we see Baskhar break down after learning that he perhaps did not deserve this promotion.

When we witness Baskhar turn towards the dark side, we feel as though we would have done the same. But Atluri is not interested in making this another film that explores the protagonist’s negative character arc. He wants to do more with Baskhar, making him capable of actions you would not expect from someone like him. He uses flash forwards as a narrative tool, making it seem as though the law has finally caught up with Baskhar. But just when we think it’s all over for him, a mini flashback reveals how smart he really is and what he’s done to preempt this situation.

We’ve seen this trick in many films before, but never like this. And just when you feel like it’s run its course, Atluri does it again, tricking us like one of Baskhar’s victims. This gives us the impression that Baskhar is always one step ahead, just like Atluri is one step ahead of the audience. The scams keep growing in scope, just as the amount of money to be made keeps increasing.

But Atluri’s film is simple enough to remain accessible, even when it’s dealing with large sums of money, the stock market and financial instruments. Even the most expository scenes never seem as though the film is talking down to the viewer. Atluri feeds us the basics, just enough for the film to remain engaging.

What grounds the film in some sort of morality is Baskhar’s wife Sumathi (Meenakshi Chaudhary). She’s fully aware of what her husband is up to and her conflict is in line with ours, unsure if Baskhar is someone that deserves her support. But this is not a simple, moralistic, black-and-white universe. Baskhar’s relatives are just as morally grey as he is. This includes a brother who keeps borrowing money from him and a speech-impaired father, whose past is hinted at being similar to Baskhar’s. Even Baskhar’s 6-year-old son thinks along the same lines as him.

There’s also a shift in Sumathi, who appears to have made peace with her husband’s decisions, just as we have. What starts out as a simple cautionary tale about middle-class morals turns into a philosophical debate about the survival of the fittest. In Baskhar, we find the post-truth hero we never knew we needed.

Venky Atluri makes a solid film with the help of DQ regulars, Nimish Ravi and art director Banglan, who create a version of 90’s Bombay in which every rule is made to be broken. GV Prakash captures the mood of such a film without it sounding like anything we’ve heard before.

Dulquer is brilliant as Baskhar. Devious and deceptive, he’s a bit of a sociopath but with the smile of an angel. Look at his expression during a scene in which a corrupt middleman accepts the first offer he makes. Another actor would have expressed triumph at having made a lot of money. But DQ plays it differently. He seems annoyed at having asked for so little. It’s like greed is in every molecule of his being. The result is one of the cleverest films made about finance, one that doesn’t try to teach you lessons, either about money or about life.