Is Oye Lucky!Lucky Oye! based on Delhi’s famous Super-Chor Bunty?

By Bollywood Hungama -

July 11, 2008 - 12:00 AM IST

Click above for more movie stills The promos of UTV Motion Pictures' Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! have just hit the screens and by the looks of it, this one promises to be yet another light-hearted entertainer. The film starring Abhay Deol (as Lucky), Neetu Chandra and Paresh Rawal in lead roles is directed by Dibakar Banerjee (of Khosla Ka Ghosla fame). Like Dibakar's previous film, this one too is set in Delhi, however, it talks about Lucky, a lovable thief who even the Delhi police are extremely fond of. His modus operandi is to outsmart the people, chowkidars and policemen with his sharp mind and wit. He is an aspiring individual who loves good things in life and is generally enamored by the lifestyles of rich and affluent Delhi families. In fact, the buzz is that Lucky's character is inspired by real life thief- Super Chor Devender aka Bunty who is currently awaiting his trial in Delhi Central Jail. Bunty was famous for robbing not just money and jewellery but even items like Kashmiri carpets, crystal cutlery, antique clocks, golf sets, bottles of Scotch, and luxury watches like Rolex and Rado. We quizzed director Dibakar Banerjee on whether this is true? "Not really. Abhay's character, Lucky, is based on a composite of many small time thieves/ robbers/ criminals whom we have heard or read about in the news reports. The Super Chor could be one of them but it's not wholly and solely based on any one character. The character was developed on the basis of things I had seen around me during my growing up years .I have been living with this idea for a long time now. At the end of the day, it's a work of fiction based on all the research that I have done." One of the highlights of the film is Paresh Rawal who will be seen playing a triple role. "Yes, Pareshji is playing a triple role in the film. In fact one of his characters is that of a Wedding Band waalah who covertly also runs an auto-theft racket. The idea for this character came from a news report which I had read a while ago. That was the starting point and then I fleshed out the character in detail. So you take anecdotes, refer to events and then arrange it in a narrative which would be entertaining to watch. In a nutshell my film's premise is such that it makes for an excellent satire," signs off the talented director.