Good Luck Sakhi review: Keerthy Suresh is the bright spot of this half-satisfying sports comedy

Nagesh Kukunoor's Telugu debut has all the makings of a promising sports film but the narrative isn't fully engaging

Good Luck Sakhi

Good Luck Sakhi

Story:

Sakhi Pamar, nicknamed Bad Luck Sakhi by those around her, is a happy-go-lucky girl hailing from the Banjara tribe in the Rayalaseema region. In a village where superstitions rein high, the villagers consider Sakhi's presence as a bad omen in any given situation. She is extremely fond of her childhood sweetheart Goli Raju, now a small-time theatre actor. A Colonel arrives in the village, hunting for a promising shooter whom he wishes to prep for the bigger stage. Sakhi has a gift for aiming targets that makes her a natural in shooting. How far will Sakhi fly under the guidance of the Colonel?

Review:

The allure of a small-town tale is indeed unmatched. The ambience gives the storyteller the license to accommodate characters with innocence, naivety and mischief that's hard to place elsewhere. The villagers in Good Luck Sakhi are a curious lot and don't have ambitions of knowing the world beyond the region they live in. They even believe that the mere presence of a young girl Sakhi can invite bad luck into their lives and notoriously nickname her Bad Luck Sakhi. It may be a sports film on paper, but is essentially an underdog story of a woman overcoming her limitations and realising her untapped potential. 

There's a lot to like about Good Luck Sakhi in its initial hour. The film starts on a promising note with a peppy song that crisply establishes Sakhi's character. The world of mythological dramas and theatre troupes, introduced through Goli Raju, is equally intriguing. The film later takes us back to their childhood hinting at Sakhi's gift with targets. There's charm, wit, eccentricity and even simplicity in the setting and the humour flows effortlessly on occasions. 

Nagesh Kukunoor creates several sequences to showcase Sakhi's mental and physical strength and her equation with the coach makes for a fun watch. After soaking you in its universe, taking you through its characters, their ambitions, you foresee the story taking off big time but Good Luck Sakhi loses momentum. The sports portions are particularly underwhelming and are shorn of any dramatic value. The conflict of the girl falling for her coach is yawn-inducing and is lazy writing - the unlikely romantic triangle between Sakhi, Raju and the coach doesn't warrant your interest at all.

One needs imaginative writing to make sports films work beyond the rise-fall-rise trajectory and the film falls short of ideas and conflicts to keep the viewer engaged. The climax where Raju appears in his mythological drama costumes at the sports event in an old Ambassador car may have seemed quirky on paper but isn't as funny on the screen. The film has very little going for it in the second hour. 

The truth remains that Good Luck Sakhi is a wasted opportunity. Keerthy Suresh submits to her character like a sincere student and there's nothing to complain about her spirited, vulnerable performance, which makes us sit through the film and look beyond its follies. Aadhi Pinisetty, with his firm voice, is a good choice to play a drama artiste and it's a relief to see a man being the wind beneath a woman's wings in a film for a change. It's good news that Jagapathi Babu is consciously distancing himself from negative roles and he fits the bill perfectly in the shoes of a matured, focused coach.

Veteran actor Ramaprabha has very little to do in the film while characters like Raghu Babu, Bindu Chandramouli, Divya Sripada appear in inconsequential roles. Rahul Ramakrishna's character is half-baked and nearly abandoned later. Devi Sri Prasad's songs work better than his background score. Chirantas Das' cinematography is impressive in exterior locations over the indoor sequences. The film may have benefited from a shorter runtime. The dubbing issues add insult to injury.

It's all the more disappointing when a capable filmmaker like Nagesh Kukunoor drowns the opportunity to tell a solid story. 

Verdict:

Good Luck Sakhi is a sports comedy with a good premise and has captivating characters but the narrative loses focus in the second hour. The film is long by at least 45 minutes but if you need a reason to watch it, it must be for the performances of Keerthy Suresh, Jagapathi Babu and Aadhi Pinisetty. Nagesh Kukunoor's Telugu debut is a middling fare.

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Cast and Crew

Rahul Ramakrishna

Actor

Jagapati Babu

Actor

Aadhi Pinisetty

Actor

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