'Bad Luck Govind' - more about pessimism than luck (IANS Film Review - Rating *)

Film: 'Bad Luck Govind - Muqaddar Ka Bandar'; Director: Varun Khanna; Cast: Gaurav Kapur, Parmeet Sethi, Vrajesh Hirjee, Govind Namdeo, Zakir Hussain, Hrishitaa Bhatt and Archana Puran Singh (cameo); Rating: *

How many times have you cursed your luck when things don't fall into place? Have you ever blown your superstition balloon to such extremes that when it bursts, you have to seek shelter under another superstition - say self-derived lucky numbers?

You bet you have and you do, every day.

This time, while watching Varun Khanna's maiden Bollywood venture, you are likely to curse yourself for being in the hall.

At a time when small-budget movies in Bollywood are raising hopes of good content-based dramas, 'Bad Luck Govind' fails to impress. It has a dry script, exaggerated expressions and a meaningless plot.

Weaved around a down-on-luck young man Govind (Gaurav) from Delhi, who is both compulsive and obsessive in nature, the film is more about his endeavours to be a persistent pessimist than people labelling him a so-called loser.

It starts with Govind introducing himself as the underweight champion of the 'bad luck' belt - and it gets worse.

If cows stop producing milk when he passes by, he is the one who is to be blamed. Underworld bookies losing a cricket match or a coma patient skipping his heartbeat all depend on Govind's presence nearby.

A (not so) hilarious incident with news anchor Mamta (Archana) lands him in Mumbai and his life takes a turn when he collides with six underworld bookies and a nurse (Hrishitaa).

Govind is used by one party to bring ill luck to the other. The mayhem that follows cannot be redeemed even by the use of the Buddhist chant 'Nam Myoho Renge Kyo' that means waking up to believe in yourself to change oneself and the world around.

There is very little to say about the heroine, because she is hardly ever on screen for any length of time.

As for the hero, VJ-turned-actor Gaurav's attempts to perpetually plaster himself with vulnerable looks simply does not work. Even his frequent prefixing of an elongated Delhi-wala 'ji' before every utterance seems more of a dialogue reminder than a genuine Delhi accent.

To sit through this, the audience needs all the luck it has.