Lucknow Central

Kishen Mohan Girhotra (Farhan Akhtar) is a residential area man with huge dreams of turning into an expert singer. In the wake of being blamed for the kill, Kishen Mohan Girhotra is tossed inside the Lucknow Central Jail, where he is anticipating capital punishment. While serving his sentence at the jail, Gayatri Kashyap, an NGO specialist, visits the correctional facility with holding a band rivalry keeping in mind the end goal to shape a Band of Prisoners. Kishen sees the opposition as a chance to escape from the jail. In his journey to get away, he becomes a close acquaintance with four different detainees and sets out his escape design, persuading them to join the band.

If you are considering this film as your weekend watch, you will surely want to know what the reviews have to say about it. Here’s what the review says about the movie:

Hindustan Times

Though Director Ranjit Tiwari tries to pay tribute to Orson Welles and Agneepath in his own way, nothing actually gives Lucknow Central the sense of urgency it needs to look like a jailbreak film. Thanks to Ravi Kishan and Dobriyal, Lucknow Central bring in some humour. The supporting cast saves the film from going totally wayward. Lucknow Central fails to utilise its resources, especially Diana Penty, and loses out on a chance to become a really engaging film. Like Prison Break, it never reaps the benefits of a promising start.

Firstpost

After a lumbering first hour, it’s with the introduction of fellow inmates, played by solid actors such as Deepak Dobriyal, Gippy Grewal, Rajesh Sharma and Inaamulhaq, that the story hits it strides. Because until then you are trying to find a reason to sympathise with a flip-floppy character like Kishen. He’s a nice guy, but even though he is wrongly accused, he barely puts up a fight, accepting his fate rather benignly.

Bollywood Life

The ensemble cast comprising the likes of Deepak Dobriyal, Ronit Roy, Rajesh Sharma, Ravi Kissen are a delight to watch. They provide the much needed depth to a story that was pretty one-dimensional. Farhan Akhtar tries his best to breathe life into Kishan. You can see the honesty with which he tries to convey first the innocence of Kishan, and then the angst as he accepts the futility of it all. The manner in which the story delves into the internal politics amongst the inmates of a jail is also commendable. Though, at times, it did remind me of the Bigg Boss house. A special mention to the Agneepath scene, that has been beautifully meshed into the narrative of the film. Besides these things, some songs of the film do help take the story forward. Apart from the groovy Kaavan Kaavan, which is more of a reprised version, and stays with you, Meer-E-Karwaan and Rangdaari also manage to strike a chord.

Indian Express

"Lucknow Central" is by far the most engaging thinking-man's thriller of the year. It penetrates the politics of prison life without relinquishing the right to engage us in a solid storytelling spree where a clever cat-and-mouse game is played out between a sadistic jailor (Ronit Roy, in top form) and a non-guilty prisoner (Farhan Akhtar) who is hell-bent on getting his liberty at any cost.