Geet of Jab We Met and the curse of the ‘bubbly’ Bollywood heroine is on us again!
Diana Penty who plays the eponymous character is also named Happy just in case she forgets to channelize her inner happiness. It’s another matter that she frequently forgets, scowling in equal measure, but let’s cut her some slack! It is after all a huge improvement, from the frail little shadow she played in Cocktail to here, where she seems to have guzzled a dozen of Red Bulls that make her oh-so-energetic!
Happy is a runaway bride. Jimmy Shergill, who has made a career out of getting stood up by women in shaadi ka joda, takes off from where we left him in Tanu Weds Manu Returns… He is again huffing and panting to get the ladki back.
“Humaare cards batt gaye hain” he screams! The poor fellow who always ends up as the ‘bridesmaid.’
Now as the trailers have revealed, this runaway bride has 3 eligible candidates who are on her trail.
Daman Singh Bagga the local muscleman (Jimmy Shergill), Guddu (Ali Fazal) the good for nothing musician and the suave Pakistani businessman’s son Bilal Ahmed (Abhay Deol). Yes, we go into enemy territory, crack some crowd pleasing jokes at their expense and get to marvel at the beauty of Momal Sheikh (who plays Bilal’s fiancé) and the charm of Javed Sheikh (Bilal’s father).
The first half whizzed away quickly and in spite of being gleefully dumb and unapologetically silly, the energy and some of the dialogues keep our overall mood upbeat.
It’s the uneventful post-interval proceedings that take us nowhere.
Director Mudassar Aziz who also doubles up as the writer renders his characters as mere cardboard cutouts - more caricaturish than real. Why does a Happy who is always so happy not gather the courage to speak to her own dad? We never really understand the motivations of the characters. Bilal keeps cribbing about his dad but he never once tries to break free. Do we assume he is a chronic cribber?
The climax although devoid of the stock dramatic effects, is nevertheless quite endearing. Abhay Deol does well by toning down his performance. Ali is sincere and Jimmy is a pro at being slighted.
Happy Bhag Jaayegi is our quintessential ‘Ok type’ film. Nothing to rave about, but harmless enough for a one time watch.
I give it 2.5 QUINTS OUT OF 5.
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