Lucky Baskhar

<p>One morning in 1992 Bombay, Baskhar Kumar is suddenly taken by officials to the branch of Magadha Bank for interrogation about his alleged embezzlement of its funds during his employment to conduct . The real story is revealed through various flashbacks featuring Baskhar breaking the fourth wall regularly to provide additional commentary. Three years earlier, Baskhar is a cashier in Magadha Bank, one of the few remaining private banks in India following . On the side, he helps uneducated people write cheques and banking forms for a minimal fee. He lives with his wife Sumathi, who left her rich family to be with him and aspires to start a home food business, their young son Karthik, and Prahalad, Baskhar’s father, a former chartered accountant who was paralyzed and became voluntarily mute after being scammed into a bad business deal. Their finances are strained and Baskhar owes many creditors money. One day, his biggest creditor takes his scooter and the promotion he had always hoped for is given to someone else. Humiliated and desperate, Baskhar steals two lakh rupee from the bank’s deposits and gives it to Anthony, a smuggler, to release illegally imported televisions at the port after his previous financiers backed out. Along with Baskhar’s friend Samba, a peon at the same bank, successfully release the TVs and earn double the money, allowing them to replace the stolen cash and make a profit. More shipments come in over the next few months, enabling Baskhar to pay off his debts and improve his family’s lives. Anthony plans one last shipment before leaving the trade and joining his son in America, this time of three foreign cars, upping the stakes with a payment of ten lakhs. Baskhar initially hesitates, but his son’s happiness from their new lifestyle changes his mind. A raid on the original buyer scuttles their initial plans, and they have to go to a dealer in Goa instead over the weekend. By masquerading as government cars and using fake politicians played by beggars and an exotic dancer, they evade government checkpoints and succeed. Baskhar manages to return the money again but learns that the managers in the bank have been arrested for their own fraudulent activity, bringing more scrutiny. However, their removal paves the way for Baskhar to get the promotion, increasing his salary. Samba continues in the smuggling business while Baskhar stops. As assistant general manager, Baskhar learns that businessman uses the money to manipulate the share market and paid off the bank to keep quiet. He makes a deal with Katari Bank’s broker and Mehra’s aide Suraj to clear the receipts in exchange for a cut and stock tips. Using the stock gains and an unscrupulous hawala agent, he is able to legitimise his income, first through a winning lottery ticket and afterwards by setting up Sumathi’s home foods business. This scheme enriches Baskhar, making his family rich but also turning him into an arrogant, cold man, distancing him from Sumathi, who eventually destroys the business in anger. Prahalad breaks his silence and reveals he knew of the scam/scheme, warning him of the perils of greed. Sumathi learns the business is a front when she overhears him, making her shut him completely; Baskhar changes and wins her back after he becomes more humble. He further rethinks his life after bailing out Samba, who was caught and arrested, losing all his earnings. Baskhar discovers that Harsha had forged bank letters from Katari Bank to receive higher amounts, causing their general manager of Katari Bank Hariharan to die of a heart attack in his office. This prompts Baskhar to halt cooperation with Suraj, despite pressure from his superiors who wish to keep him as a customer, and report the fraud to the . After the general manager threatens Baskhar over his refusal to sign, he resigns. It turns out that the CBI officers are actually in the employ of the GM and chairman of Magadha, who took a larger share from Harsha Mehra to perpetuate the fraud. Threatening his family’s peace, they coax him to sign off on the remaining transfers using his bank account before an audit the next day. On that day, however, they learn that Baskhar had previously closed his account, rendering the transfers invalid and his tip triggers an investigation by RBI agents that topples Mehra’s empire and leads to the arrests of the Magadha leadership. Meanwhile, Baskhar and his family left the country, having previously bought a hotel in Boston to obtain an American investment visa with the help of Anthony and Prahalad’s contacts, and continue to live luxuriously. After the success of in early 2023, it was reported that had narrated a script to which impressed him and the project would be funded by S. Naga Vamsi and Sai Soujanya’s Sithara Entertainment, Fortune Four Cinemas and Sikara Studios. The company made a public announcement on 15 May 2023, confirming the project, and also stating that filming would begin the following October and would be released in the Summer (June–August 2024). The film’s official title, , was announced on 28 July 2023. began with the first schedule on 4 October 2023 in . The music of the film was composed by . The audio rights were acquired by . was released worldwide on 31 October 2024, coinciding along with dubbed versions in Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi languages. It was initially scheduled to be released in the month of July 2024 but was postponed to release on 27 September 2024. Furthur, it was preponed to 7 September 2024 coinciding with but was again postponed. The film began streaming on from 28 November 2024 in and dubbed versions of Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi languages. acquired Telecasting rights. received critical acclaim. Paul Nicodemus of gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote ” emerges as a captivating period crime thriller, blending a nostalgic backdrop with a tale of human ambition and resilience.” Sashidhar Adivi of gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote ” is a perfect blend of emotions and clever financial themes. It is tough to craft this kind of drama.” Janani K of gave 3/5 stars and wrote ” works for the major part because of Venky Atluri’s attention to detail and superlative performances.” Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of wrote “Director strikes a fine balance between exploring financial scam and relationships in , headlined by a superb Dulquer Salmaan.” became Dulquer’s first film to reach the (US$12 million) mark.</p>