Revisiting the unbelievable charm of Oye Lucky Lucky Oye.

I didn't love Oye Lucky Lucky Oye as much on the second watch as the first, but it's still a terribly fun, all-around well-executed film. The satirical comedy didn't contain as many laughs as I remembered it having, but one thing was certain, at least: the film completely rides on the effortless charm of Abhay Deol as Lucky.

There's a certain easy-going confidence to him in this role, and it's just a joy to watch. Even though to be hustled in real life would just be terrible, it's joyous to watch on-screen. I guess it's the ingenuity of the swindler that makes it so fun, and Lucky is definitely among the smartest of Hindi film's recent slew of con artists.

If you, for whatever reason, have missed out on this film so far, give it a spin.

A different perspective: Jugnu is Batman.

I was rewatching the 70's darling Hema-Dharmendra masala romp by the name of Jugnu and just before my (brand new) DVD stopped co-operating with me, something occurred to me.

Dharmendra's character is a millionaire with the secret identity of Jugnu (translates glow worm), a moustached crime-fighter and con artist, outwitting baddies left and right. In the eyes of society, he's merely  a wealthy and polite philanthropist, running a school for orphaned children. The trauma of losing both of his parents lingers, as do memories of his patriotic father standing up against his English-loving grandfather..

Sound familiar to you? Of course, Mr Wayne never had a school for orphans and never thought that a disguise could be made up of just a moustache and a wig. And because Batman's father was never played by Pran, we know for sure he's dead and not coming back, resurfacing at a moment when you'd least expect it. In Jugnu, it's a bit of a different story in that regard.. (Lesson: Pran never dies.)

I also realised how much I like this film, how rewatchable it is, and how sad it is that now that I finally got a copy of it, the damned thing broke in an instant. I don't expect cheap DVD's to last a forever, but at least one or two watches should go without a hitch. Otherwise, why even bother?