Lucky

Synopsis: Lakshmi Narayana (Srikanth) is a misogynist. One day, his world turns upside down when he suddenly develops an uncanny ability to read women’s minds.

Movie Review: Simply put, the movie is a tacky Tollywood adaptation of the 2000 romantic comedy What Women Want. Well, the original flick had the good looking charm of Mel Gibson, the flair of Helen Hunt, quirky humor and an original idea going for it. In contrast, this Telugu version has Srikanth, Meghana, some humourless jokes and a message – Men only have to try to listen to women to realize that each one of them is as great as our mothers. God! Why are our filmmakers like this! Even our comedies need to have encoded messages for the well-being of mankind!

Getting back to the movie, the central premise is the same. It is the story of an attractive man who detests the womankind and thinks they are just too manipulative and vain. Lakshmi Narayana is a newly wed who works in a travel agency under a man-hating boss (Roja). He goes on a honeymoon, with his parents and grand parents in tow. On day one, they visit a Durga temple, where our man is forced to do 108 angapradakshinas (a ritual in which devotees roll around the temple).

So our man faints at the end of the ordeal but wakes up with this amazing ability to listen to woman’s thoughts. Much to his anguish, he discovers that what women say and think are in fact as different as chalk and cheese. He discovers that he is much desired by his female colleagues and a few neighbours as well and is very distressed with that. He realizes his wife Janaki also has some issues with him.

Unable to deal with his new-found gift, he goes to a psychiatrist who tells him to put his ability to understand the woman around him. Then he gets more in tune with what women want and becomes a better husband, son, brother and citizen!

Well, Srikanth tries hard to get into the character but it’s really a poorly conceived character that no amount of good acting can salvage. The support cast suffers from the same problem. The screen-play just doesn’t have that zing you see. And the narrative meanders too much and ends being neither funny nor touchy.

Tip-Off: It’s a comedy that gets a little too preachy, so you might just get disappointed if you go there looking to have a good time.