Loving but Critical: The Empathetic Gaze of Luck by Chance

Abstract

Zoya Akhtar’s debut film, Luck By Chance (2009), has a self-reflexive plot revolving around the Hindi film industry. This chapter interrogates Akhtar’s often subversive take on some key themes in Bollywood film: the Bombay film industry, the popular Hindi film form, romance and success. This is highlighted through its focus on the complexity of the experience of its female characters working within a masculine film industry. In addition, the film is a radical reversal of the representation of romance in Hindi cinema through the changing relationship between its two leads, Sona and Vikram. However, as the chapter will show, the film also works within certain Bollywood conventions like big stars and song-and-dance sequences and therefore retains a connection to this form, suggesting continuities between its style and that of Akhtar’s later films. The film thus provides a glimpse into Akhtar’s later career trajectory as it shows her connection to the industry through which she traces her history.