Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Boman Irani, Vivaan Shah, Jackie Shroff
Rating: **1/2
On the outset, Happy New Year may create an impression of a heist film packaged together with the local tadka, namely branding ‘Team India’ through a series of lookalike episodes of the reality shows, Comedy Circus and Jhalak Dikhlaja. Trust Farah Khan for her love in parodying Shahrukh Khan’s past, celebrating caricatures, combining over-the-top humour, ‘homely’ melodrama, revenge, dance and thereby accommodate most of the Navarasa into a three-hour outing underlined with grandeur. Though not in the league of a Rajkumar Santoshi or a Subhash Ghai, Happy New Year, intermittently at least reflects her own brand of a honest madness, a kind that Rohit Shetty when he is at his best possesses, while handling stereotypes.
Like the wonderfully choreographed ‘Manwa Lage’ where there’s literally ‘fire’ on-screen when Deepika and Shahrukh get together or the ‘Sattar Minute’ spoof prior to the dance selections, we needn’t blink or think twice about who’s directing the film. This is a lavish celebration. A few years ago, we would have probably seen this as a ‘humanity-stands-tall’ drama when Shahrukh wasn’t exactly over-conscious about stardom and he rightfully battles for justice. Here, we repeatedly realize that this is a star-product. He is educated, rich, an entertainer and also a man of golden heart. Not that we exactly complain that, but we look like nearing a phase, where his ideas to reinvent himself and finding his own space are getting lesser.
Deepika in the second half asks an innocent question, ‘Isme Meri Jagah Hai Kya?’ when the group has a ‘bro-hug’ moment, which we take it as an indirect dig on the maker herself. Abhishek Bachchan has a double role where his lookalike resides in the antagonist’s territory, as a mark of tribute to his father’s ‘Don’. Boman Irani finds his comic space in the dance rehearsals where he dresses up in a gown. Sonu Sood does a ‘Dhai Kilo Haath’ early into the film. There’s a wildcard entry for the team for their humanly act to rescue a boy from the opponent’s court during a performance. That’s when Happy New Year, in fact a colorized version of Don 2, fiddling or in a way confined to be Bollywoody, feels home.
The problems barge in only when it pitches itself to be intelligent, trying to do an Italian Job and a Jhoom Barabar Jhoom at once. All these efforts mask the mad energy that the film boasts of, in select places. The leisureliness of the narrative is used to do some in-brand advertising, not leaving any of the cast complained of a negligible screen time. The humor is of the Sajid Khan territory at places, who in fact does a special appearance. The Koreans are called Chinese because they look the same. And gays continue to be a matter of ‘comedy’. Too obvious, isn’t it? This is a Farah Khan indulgence after all, but not her vintage self. Some to savour, some fit to be leftover materials. Doesn’t sadly ‘dance’ on its way to glory!
Review by Srivathsan N. First published in Cinegoer.net
