User reviews

Lucknow Central is a drama movie directed by Ranjit Tiwari and stars Farhan Akthar, Diana Penty, Ronit Roy, Gippy Grewal, Deepak Dobriyal, Rajesh Sharma, Inaamulhaq and Ravi Kishen

This movie could've been an easily forgettable movie but due to some great actors and their skills the movie is atleast watchable.

The plot of the movie is fresh but after seeing the movie I can only say that the movie has only lived it's life because of the tons of talent being inducted as the movie is neither well executed nor memorable.

Acting is probably the most strongest point with Farhan Akthar portraying the role of a small town wanna be singer looking to start his own band got framed into murder which he didn't commit. Ronit Roy in his role of a tough jailor was good but considering his talent he could've better. Deepak Dobriyal in his fake bengali accent impresses. Sharma, Grewal and Kishan will effortlessly make you laugh. Diana Penty probably was either crushed under the weight of these heavyweights or was a victim of a poorly written role.

The most sad part of the movie is although being a movie on music none of the song apart from the remaked Kavaan Kavaan hadn't made any impact.

Screenplay of the movie is average and could've been made more crisp and fast paced. The length of the movie could also been trimmed by atleast 20 minutes. Climax of the movie seems to be written and completed in hurry as you will feel something is missing from the end of the movie.

The movie can be watched once and yes the movie has some engaging and cherishing movement.

Lucknow central is a very well directed film though the storyline is very thin, the movie very quickly escalates and takes you right into it but then that is that. Next 2 hrs the movie remains with the same pace until the climax sequence again which will have you at the edge of the seat.

Pros : Direction, Farhans acting ( one man show ), music ( Meer-e Kharwaan especially), Climax.

Cons : Thin story line, needed more nail biting scenes since its about a JailBreak, too many talented artists did not get the room to do much ( Daina penty was amazing in whatever little she had, Deepak dobriyal, Rajesh sharma ) except Ronit Roy who was fab but his portrayal reminds you of all the films that he acted in till now.

It's just a decent watch which will never throw anything special on you. It's like a poor and a short form of TV series Prison Break.

Storyline Rating: 2

Acting Rating: 3 Farhan Akhtar: 3 Diana Penty: 3 Ronit Roy: 3 Deepak Dobriyal: 3 Rajesh Sharma: 3 Inaamulhaq: 3 Gippy Grewal: 2

Direction Rating: 2

Music Rating: 2

Cinematography: 2

Editing: 2

Farhan Akhtar is a good actor but he's one dimensional. He can only play the cool upper class dude. Asking him to play a poor guy from UP was bad casting. When your protagonist is wrongly cast, there is no saving grace left. The story was promising but the screenplay was poor. Diana Penty, Ronit Roy were good but not good enough to save this disaster of a film.

Tone, Script & Story: It is shown as the movie ends that the story is inspired from true events. It would have been better if the same was conveyed along with the trailer as biographies have their own audience. The story is how an innocent man is convicted of murder of IAS officer, gets jail term, and plans jail escape by forming music band. The further story is if they escape or not and or what term he gets.

I don't know if life in jail is shown well. A person in grip of crime has life of false person. A NGO coming in showing faith providing path to jail members to redeem themselves and getting not one or two but five of them seems abrupt. Here's where story falls week.

Direction, Screenplay, Cinematography: Ranjit Tiwari shines in his maiden attempt as a director. Screenplay is relaxing, when convicts are made to play music instruments and are left on pay role, everywhere else screenplay goes well with the story (example life in jail). Cinematography was also good.

Music: Music is good. I personally liked the track Rangdaari.

Acting: Acting was good by most of the actors. All actors who do not act in non sense cinema have done well here in this movie as well.

Final Verdict: It is worth a watch [(2/5) (7/10)].

I am not a professional film critic and hence will not launch into often used adjectives utilised to showcase technical knowledge of film making etc. I am from the core movie watching audience,so will use the language common to that category.

A gripping feel good movie that you can watch with the family. Powerful performances by all. I wonder why it has not done that well in the commercial segment in mumbai at least...according to me..its one of the best movies in the recent past. And stands tall in the crowd of recent big banner flops. I loved the sets, and the songs..Rangdhari..and the competition song with a twist. The casting so spot on!

Trust me, go watch this movie...your time will be well invested. Its rare fresh story for a bollywood hit movie. I hope they come out with more such surprise movies. This should have been a runway hit and a crowd puller!

Director Ranjit Tiwari's debut feature film is about a bunch of jail inmates forming a music band as a cover to execute their escape plan. While it has all the regular elements of a prison film that push it to the bracket of mediocre cinema, one of the few things that sets it apart is that not much time is spent in the proceedings (which is ironical if you consider it in relation to a court).

Farhan Akhtar plays Kishan Girhotra who is accused, tried, and convicted within five minutes, which is sort of an assurance that the film's message is something else and not about political stranglehold or non-superficial corruption in the Uttar Pradesh capital. Son of a poor librarian, Girhotra had the aspiration to create a desi music band while he was free, but now that things have changed - not much to his fault - he decides to do so while behind bars. The difference, and thus the primary problem, with the film is that it is not clear if Girhotra wants freedom or considers forming a band in prison as his definition of freedom. Director Tiwari tries to provide answers at the end but falls prey to his own ambition to drive the musical drama towards a nail-biting prison escape (attempt) culmination.

Akhtar looks out of the place in the film, only throwing defective pronunciation at you to show that his character hails, in fact, from Lucknow. His (and his inmates) attires may have been thought over but do not help much in convincing their root. Having said that, he gives a decent performance as a wannabe musician. Girhotra once tries to show his work to a famous singer and ends up with a crushed CD in his hands - showcasing the hard truth about the music industry. (So, your chances of getting in is better if you were incarcerated?) Whatever may be the message of the film, having originated from a real-life story hardly adds up to the plausibility. The talented supporting cast put up a good show too, with extra points to Deepak Dobriyal, Inaamulhaq, and Rajesh Sharma who play characters that form the rest of the band. Diana Penty is the puppet that the makers use to show a sliver of romance in the film, but thankfully, never pursue it completely. A serious conversation between Penty's activist character and a police officer is supported by a funny background score - which is the best effort made at comedy, reminding us that the film should not be perceived as serious.

There is nothing novel in the film for an informed viewer to watch and appreciate. The usual prison tiffs between so-called "gangs", territory brawls, a menacing villain in the form of jail warden (a role made just for Ronit Roy), and the unexplored, impracticable escape plan. I am personally not a fan of films where a character introduces other characters - as Dobriyal's does for the other band members - because it exposes poor writing and narration. The good thing, however, is that the characters mimic other people in the film, which shows continuity and thought. For example, a police officer uses the words of the CM to reprimand one of his subordinates, and Pentry's character does the same when she utters an Orson Welles quote borrowed from a librarian.

I have already mentioned the implausibility of the plot, and one of the reasons why it affects the viewing experience so much is that the escape plan is never explored in detail. How are these people going to get out? A detail like the 15-second power generator window is not the only thing. The audience needs details and Lucknow Central chooses to keep them in the dark.

The plot further tries to humanize itself by exploring the characters instead. What prison does to the people waiting outside is one story arc, which again reinforces my point of non-novelty. Supported by a good and believable production setup, songs that gels with the theme, and performances that are watchable, the film pulls all known tricks available in the "prison movie" textbook, but fails to add freshness to the mixture.

At the end, it is clear what Girhotra wanted, but I'm not sure if I can say the same thing about the movie.

You can call it a bromance, comedy, musical or whatever but its a prison movie at the end of the day. Almost the whole movie takes place in one setting. There are very few prison movies made and for a good reason, they are very hard to pull off. It's no Shawshank Redemption but for an Indian movie, it was extremely well made and executed. One of my favorite Indian movies now.

Music is great and goes really well with the plot. Not sure if it's songs you'll listen to outside of the movie but in the movie they work brilliantly. I've found myself on YouTube a few times watching the songs again.

Prison movies usually don't have a lot of characters so you have to make them count. Ronit Roy is not doing the usual. Even though he's played a cop/hard-ass a few times, this one was very well played. Not the clichéd part some are describing it as. The scene where his wife calls him is great and very telling. Pay attention to the details. He definitely enhances the movie. The rest of the cast is great too. You'll recognize some faces even if you don't know the names, other than Farhan. Farhan and Deepak especially stand out. Deepak is always great in the few movies I've seen him in.

A must watch in my opinion if you appreciate Indian cinema. This one is a really under-appreciated movie and I think it'll build a fan base over time due to Netflix, etc.

Inspired from true life events, 'Lucknow Central' is at times a sad, and at times, an uplifting story about living your passion even in the worst stage of life. Directed with honesty by Ranjit Tiwari & winningly acted by its cast, this 2017 flop is actually a good effort that went unnoitced.

'Lucknow Central' Synopsis: Kishan (Farhan Akhtar) is wrongfully imprisoned for a murder he didn't commit & is sent to the Lucknow Central, a dreaded jail. While in prison, he forms a musical band with 4 other inmates, that changes his life forever.

'Lucknow Central', though flawed thanks to its erratic pace, is still an effort that isn't easy to snub. The characters appear real, as does their pain & eventual unity. There is a sense of genuine feeling here. That being said, the pacing plays a spoilsport. The film lacks consistency & the wobbly pace is to be blamed.

Ranjit Tiwari & Aseem Arora's Screenplay is decent, but its impact would've been a lot more had it more crisper & well-paced. Ranjit Tiwari's Direction is satisfactory. Cinematography is good. Editing isn't tight enough. Art & Costume Design are appropriate. The Music offers a few good tunes.

Performance-Wise: Farhan Akhtar does a sincere job. But its Deepak Dobriyal who scores. He's brilliant. Gippy Grewal, Inaamulhaq & Rajesh Sharma lend able support. Ronit Roy is repeating himself. Diana Penty is nice. Ravi Kissen is very entertaining as the slimy minister.

On the whole, 'Lucknow Central' is far from perfect, but its not without its pluses nonetheless.

He wants to be the part the band no music and rock shown in the movie it's about Lucknow jail and prison break but at the end it's fully bollywood movie and being a good man.

What worked: The movie, based on a true incident, makes its impact with its narrative especially with the overall impact at the end of the movie. The movie is light hearted, engaging and enjoyable watch if you keep the brain at rest and just go with the flow of the movie and the story the makers are trying to tell. The cast is great,Ronit Roy and Diana Penty standing out amongst the casts. What did not work: The movie could have been much better in every aspect, primarily in the screenplay. The movie lacks depth of characters, fails to deliver the intent of the movie most of the part of the movie, lacks the creativity that we expect from a thriller, lacks the strong ending though the movie concludes on a happy note. Overall the movie is a tale, a superficial storytelling of the characters and their story at a surface level, but also telling the story keeping the mass pleased. Final verdict: watch it when you are free but not when you are eager to watch a good cinema

Lucknow Central, directed by Ranjit Tiwari, is an engaging drama that interweaves the themes of music, hope, and resilience against the backdrop of a prison. Starring Farhan Akhtar in the lead role, the film portrays the story of a man's quest for freedom through music and his unwavering spirit to overcome adversities.

Plot Summary The movie follows the life of Kishan Mohan Girhotra (Farhan Akhtar), an aspiring singer from Moradabad, who dreams of making it big in the music industry. However, his life takes a drastic turn when he is falsely accused of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in Lucknow Central Jail. Inside the prison, Kishan discovers an opportunity to form a music band as part of a prison competition. With the help of a dedicated NGO worker, Gayatri Kashyap (Diana Penty), and his fellow inmates, Kishan sets out to form a band, hoping that music will pave the way for his freedom.

Performances Farhan Akhtar delivers a heartfelt and compelling performance as Kishan. His portrayal of a man wronged by fate, yet determined to reclaim his life through his passion for music, is both convincing and inspiring. Farhan's commitment to the character shines through, especially in the musical sequences where he demonstrates his singing prowess.

Diana Penty as Gayatri Kashyap provides strong support, bringing a sense of compassion and determination to her role. Her chemistry with Farhan adds depth to the narrative, making their interactions meaningful and impactful.

The ensemble cast, including Ronit Roy, Deepak Dobriyal, Rajesh Sharma, and Inaamulhaq, deliver stellar performances, adding layers to the story. Ronit Roy as the stern jailer, Deepak Dobriyal as the clever inmate Victor Chattopadhyay, and Rajesh Sharma as the naive Purushottam Pandit each bring their unique touch to their characters, enriching the film's narrative.

Direction and Cinematography Ranjit Tiwari's direction ensures that Lucknow Central remains engaging and emotionally resonant throughout. He successfully balances the film's musical elements with its dramatic core, creating a story that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. The depiction of the prison environment is authentic, capturing the harsh realities of life behind bars while also highlighting moments of camaraderie and hope.

The cinematography by Tushar Kanti Ray is effective in setting the tone of the film. The use of dim lighting and tight frames within the prison scenes enhances the sense of confinement, while the musical performances provide a vibrant contrast, symbolizing hope and freedom.

Music and Soundtrack The music of Lucknow Central, composed by Arjunna Harjaie, Rochak Kohli, and Tanishk Bagchi, plays a pivotal role in the film. The songs are well-integrated into the narrative, with tracks like "Kaavaan Kaavaan" and "Teen Kabootar" standing out for their energy and emotion. The soundtrack complements the storyline, enhancing the film's themes of hope and resilience.

Themes and Impact Lucknow Central explores themes of injustice, redemption, and the transformative power of music. It delves into the idea of finding hope in the most challenging circumstances and the strength of the human spirit to overcome adversity. The film also touches upon the flaws in the justice system and the harsh realities of prison life, making it a socially relevant narrative.

Conclusion Lucknow Central is a well-crafted drama that combines the intensity of a prison thriller with the uplifting spirit of a musical journey. Farhan Akhtar's captivating performance, coupled with Ranjit Tiwari's deft direction, makes for an engaging and emotionally resonant film. The strong supporting cast, compelling storyline, and evocative music further enhance the viewing experience. While it may follow a somewhat predictable path, the film's heart and message of hope make it a memorable watch.

One of the worst movie I have ever seen. Stay away

Yet another decent movie from Farhan Akhter. After the Rock On - 2 failure, Farhan back to his old self again. This movie is no doubt influenced by Shawshank and Prison Break, but it has its own storyline with some twist here and there. The movie's direction and some of the scenes could have been make much better and the climax lacked intensity. Overall, it is still decent movie to watch with your family and friends as the story is a breath of fresh air for Indian audience.

Watched this film because of Farhan Akhtar's credibility. Turned out to be boring. As much as I like Farhan Akhtar he was miscast in this film. The screenplay was a drag. Execution was average. Wasted time of 2hrs+

I've never review for any movie .. But this movie deserves ....

Unexpected twists every moment. And a plus 1 rating for the beautiful music renditions

Watch it for good acting , good storyline and good songs