The child of good fortune
Bollywood and Lucky Morani would seem to have an inescapable connect. Born into the prominent Nadiadwala family, Lucky married into a family that was just as steeped in the business of making films.
“My grandfather made films, my father made films…but we were always kept away from all that,” Lucky says, adding that the Nadiadwala kids were never allowed to get starry eyed. “My father ensured that we all stayed very grounded. So we were used to attending the grandest mahurats, having film stars sit around in our living room — the grandeur was a way of life. We learned to take the ups just as we learnt to take the downs.”
It was a lesson that would stand Lucky in good stead as she navigated her way through design school (where she studied under Hemant Trivedi; an accomplished seamstress, Lucky says proudly, “I can cut and put together an entire garment on my own”), and later, the many cultural projects she dabbled in. The most high profile among these projects has been the recently launched Le Club Musique, an exclusive, by-invitation-only club where members are treated to performances by A-list musicians. LCM grew out of Lucky’s close friendship with Bina Aziz, ghazal maestro Talat Aziz’s wife.
“On my birthday or (my husband) Mohammed’s birthday, we’d always have Talat, Shaan and Adnaan (Sami) — our innermost circle of friends — coming over to our place where we’d have a nice musical evening and make merry until six in the morning,” says Lucky. “But all our other friends would complain that they didn’t get to participate. So Bina and I decided to start LCM for all of them. It’s not a concept that has been done before, and the response we’ve had so far has been overwhelming.”
Apart from LCM, what also keeps Lucky busy are her acting assignments — a strange irony for a person who once thought that she would “never get into the whole acting thing”. She’s been a part of the Dalip Tahil-Delna Mody production, The Sound of Music, in which she plays the Baroness Schraeder. “My friends always ask me ‘Don’t you get butterflies?’ but I transform when I’m on stage,” says Lucky with a laugh. In the future, she hopes to look at direction as well, not just in theatre, but with films as well.
In the midst of all her engagements, Lucky also manages to take time out to relax. At the time of this interview, Lucky was cosily ensconced in Kochi, and she says, “I make it a point to take my breaks. I need that time to work out my plans in my mind and just rest.”
So what do those plans amount to? “My priority right now is to strengthen LCM as a brand, turn it into a recognised global platform. We’re also looking at having tributaries of LCM for different genres of music. At an event we had in April, Shah Rukh (Khan) made it a point to come by and spent over two hours with us in his capacity as a friend. We discussed some business strategies…as for the rest, well, God is great! You never know what He has planned for you.”
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