Production: Red Chillies Entertainment
Cast: Deepika Padukone,Abhishek Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan
Direction: Farah Khan
Screenplay: Farah Khan
Story: Farah Khan
Music: Vishal Shekhar
Cinematography: Manush Nandan
Distribution: Yash Raj Films
Farah Khan is back with her favorite star, Shahrukh Khan in Happy New Year (HNY), a film which has come out 2 months before the actual New Year's Day. SRK is known for his regular Diwali box-office bonanzas and this time he also has the reigning lady superstar Deepika Padukone for company, along with more established actors in the form of Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Jackie Shroff and Sonu Sood. There are some cameo appearances as well, with Prabhu Deva and Anurag Kashyap being prominent ones.
As Farah is a famed choreographer as well, she has chosen dance as a main element in the film. Basically it is a Hollywood-ish heist film and an over-colorful mainstream Bollywood dance-musical rolled into one. A motley gang goes all the way to Dubai to loot some diamonds, with the leader Charlie's personal revenge motive acting as the driving factor.
None of the gang members can dance well, and they are 'trained' by a bar dancer Mohini. But this being a commercial Bollywood movie, the team manages to maneuver their way to the so-called WDC (World Dance Championship), despite their mildly amusing antics and crass moves. They obviously achieve all their motives and win it all. In the end credits, we see the film's crew taking part in another WDC (this time 'W' being Worst) with Farah Khan judging their capabilities. The end credits is actually among the few better parts of the movie, and we also get to see SRK's cute little baby AbRam and Farah's young triplets.
HNY is a grand production in every aspect but the extravaganza of colors in the costumes and art direction is jarring on the eye. We see yellow, pink, red, green, orange and every other color there is. Glossy and glittering never felt so bad on screen, despite Manush Nandan's good work in capturing all the magnificence on his camera. When the director is from such a school of thought, a DoP can do only that much.
The actors have all gone overboard as required by the script and they have been given a free hand to indulge in theatrics. Abhishek Bachchan is to HNY what Uday Chopra is to Dhoom, while Boman Irani continues his famed '3 Idiots' dialogue delivery here too. Sonu Sood gets a few scenes to show off his stunning 'bod' while Jackie Shroff commands such a menacing screen presence even after all these years.
SRK is the lone subtle factor and the over-flashy nature of his costumes and styling, is compensated by his casual underplay in most of the scenes. After so much experience and years in the industry, this global superstar with an incredibly sculpted body and an endearing swagger, can definitely opt for better scripts and present a better picture of the Indian film industry as he wields such an influence and is seen as Indian cinema's poster-boy in most of the overseas markets.
Deepika Padukone is seen in gaudy and vulgar attires but the lithe nature of her body enables her to carry off even such clothes. After a classy Finding Fanny and the big media controversy surrounding her, HNY does nothing to add to Deepika's 'acting' resume.
For a musical, super-hummable songs are a must, but here Vishal - Shekhar have just delivered some passable peppy stuff which would become popular due to their sheer rotation in all media forms. Among the lot, 'Manwa Laage' is the best and stands out as a quality composition.
All said, HNY was always expected to be a predictable no-brainer and was just intended to entertain. But the entertainment factor is pretty low as there is nothing fresh on offer. Sadly, it seems like a conglomeration of all Bollywood cliches. We have scenes spoofing some popular movies of the lead actors, below-the-belt comedy, elaborate fight sequences which just don't grip, dance numbers which are monotonous, an 'as old as the hills' flashback story to establish the protagonist's motive, mushy sentiments, a non-happening romance track and more stale elements throughout. Even though the heist scenes offer some action, it isn't something which Hollywood hasn't ventured into. And towards the end, the film turns manipulative, as the lead players suddenly turn all patriotic!
With bare minimum expectations, you can just about sit through this 3 hour long affair.
Verdict: A hyped-up Diwali dud which is still bound to earn crores at the box-office
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