Lucknow Central Movie Review: Jailhouse Rock

A few weeks back, YRF had come up with a movie named Qaidi Band, which was about under-trials forming a band behind bars and as the trailer of Lucknow Central seemed suspiciously similar to that of the YRF product, I was somewhat cynical about the latest movie as the previous film had been an utter disappointment.

However, to my pleasant surprise, Lucknow Central proved to be a decent watch… find out why

Set in Uttar Pradesh, the film revolves around Kishan Girhotra (Farhan Akhtar), an aspiring singer, who gets wrongly accused of murder and is thrown behind bars, where he comes in touch with social worker Gayatri (Diana Penty). When the Chief Minister of the State (Ravi Kishan) decides to hold an inter-prison music band competition, Kishan sees a chance to escape under the guise of preparing for the performance and promptly signs up for the competition.

With the help of fellow inmates Victor (Deepak Dobriyal), Pali (Gippy Grewal), Pandit (Rajesh Sharma) and Dikkat (Inaamulhaq), Kishan starts planning for a prison break under the guise of preparing for the competition. But does Kishan manage to escape or do his plans get foiled by suspicious prison warden Srivastava (Ronit Roy)?

Farhan, who has mostly played suave and urbane characters, manages to play the UP-based Kishan effectively and without overdoing the North Indian accent, which many actors would have been tempted to do. On their parts, Deepak, Gippy, Rajesh and Inaamulhaq have also given solid performances and lent able support to the plot. Diana is decent enough and Ronit manages to project an aura of menace with minimal effort while Ravi Kishan is simply delightful as the Chief Minister.

As for the plot itself, though it somewhat mirrors what we saw in Qaidi Band, it is evident that Lucknow Central has been made intelligently with a proper balance between realism and entertainment. The rivalries between the factions in the prison have been effectively portrayed and the final escape scene has some tense moments. The dialogues are real enough and the doses of humour help cut the tension in the air.

However, the final moments of the film will definitely remind you of the climax scene of Farah Khan’s Happy New Year and had it not been for that, Lucknow Central would have been a much better film. Also, considering that the film revolves around a prison band, the makers could have come up with better songs and music.

Nevertheless, the film doesn’t get too preachy and director Ranjit Tiwari deserves a pat on his back for making his debut with a sensible and yet entertaining film…