Happy New Year is a huge movie in terms of promotion, star cast, and lavish production. However, was it a huge movie in terms of expectations? Critics and true movie lovers have been holding their breath over this one because there was some doubt that Happy New Year might disappoint.
This is especially considering Farah Khan's last film Tees Maar Khan, which was a disaster (critical and commercial). When Happy New Year is compared to other films of the same masala genre, then it is actually quite average.
After a few years of director Farah Khan and Shahrukh Khan (no familial or legal relation whatsoever) fighting over who knows what, are reunited with the financial backing of SRK's company under the watchful eye of his wife Gauri Khan, and with mass distribution by YRF.
It's not hard to see why HNY has been a success - in its first week according to *cough* the published numbers. It's a winning combination in itself, add the latest heroine to the top of the Bollywood food chain, Padukone, in what looks like a multi-starrer - of which the biggest name is star son Chhota Bachchan - flick with exaggeratedly bad dance scenes on top of the exuberant dance sequences and pointless action.
For reasons unknown to the audience (after all, half the movies are about backstory), Charlie (SRK) assembles his group of friends - Tammy (Irani) and Jag (Sood) - to repay a debt of honor that Charlie's father (Kher in a cameo performance) owed to tycoon Charan Groover (Shroff). But instead of a simple plan, he devises an elaborate heist that requires the help of Rohan (Shah), Jag's hacker nephew, and Nandu's drunken donkey (Bachchan) to enter a dance competition that will grant them access to the massive vault that holds millions of dollars' worth of diamonds in Groover's custody.
For that, of course, this group of losers needs to learn how to dance, which is how they meet Mohini (Padukone — you know we needed a Madhuri Dixit appearance there), who unwittingly joins them on her own quest for respect… and the chance to open her own “ Dance” School. And of course, she falls in love at first sight with Charlie because he speaks Angrezi (English).
Ever the queen of self-deprecation and self-mockery, Farah (anyone seen Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi even pokes fun at her brother Sajid (director of gems like Heyy Babyy, the 2013 remake of Himmatwala, and this year’s blockbuster Humshakals) as well as making references to serious ballet teachers, (yesteryear’s viral internet sensation Benny Lava), actor-director-choreographer Prabhudeva, and I’m sorry – I think Pakal, the character Kiku Sharda plays in Comedy Nights with Kapil is one of the funniest, so I laughed watching him do the Chane Ke Khet Mein step. It goes with all the Flashdance and/or J.Lo parodies, as well as the zombie walk in Michael Jackson's Thriller and they even managed to include Kung Fu Fighting.
The actors in the film played their roles well and shared a great on-screen dynamic with each other. You see them working well as a team and sharing a fantastic chemistry. No wonder the SLAM tour was a success!
Special mentions go to Boman Irani, who is astonishing as ever in every character he essays; Abhishek Bachchan, who is best utilized in a comic role; and Deepika Padukone, who looks ravishing in the song “Lovely”.
Shahrukh Khan, however, overacts and tries to grab too much limelight. While he may be the captain of the team and the main character of the film, he plays the role as if all eyes should be on him when he is on screen.
His role seems too forced and too superstar. It was as if he had asked for a checklist to be fulfilled that in this film he had to have a fight scene, he had to make love to an actress, he had to dance, he had to have an emotional scene and he had to show a sculpted body.
The production of the film was one of its greatest strengths. Filming the film in such an iconic location as Atlantis the Palm (Dubai) and showcasing it in such an exquisite way is not only a visual treat for the audience, but probably also for the owners of the Palm. They will definitely want to use some of the film's footage on their website!
A particularly evocative moment was when the colours of the Indian flag were displayed in the Dubai Fountains. To achieve this truly demonstrated the diligence and drive that Farah Khan and the Red Chillies production team possessed in ensuring that no stone was left unturned in the making of Happy New Year .
The costumes of the film could have been better. Apart from Deepika Padukone's outfits throughout the film, Manish Malhotra has failed to create unique and memorable outfits, especially when it comes to Team India's performance outfits.
Farah Khan has done a decent job in directing this film. It is a tough task to direct a set of famous actors who would have their own needs (and egos). It is also tough to direct a film with such a dazzling production like Happy New Year made and in such a grand location as Atlantis. There are very few directors like Farah who can direct such a grand film, in terms of actors and production, as Happy New Year.
The music was disappointing in the film. "Manwa Lage" and "Lovely" are good songs but they don't live up to the hype or popularity that the Happy New Year music should have.
Farah Khan's original song "Sheila Ki Jawani" is a hundred times better than "Lovely" despite the popularity of Kanika Kapoor's song. While Deepika doesn't disappoint with the visuals, there's something missing to make it a memorable item number.
The dialogues of the film are at times clichéd and overused. We have heard the Om Shanti Om dialogues many times before, so why repeat “picture abhi baaki hai mere dost?” The story of the film is also clichéd and predictable, you don’t even have to think twice about what happens at the end of the film.
Happy New Year is a film that is sure to not fail to do big at the box office and draw the masses to the theaters. Be it through its advance bookings, its unique promotional tour, or through its star-studded cast. Since the film is not really good on content, it is likely to score medium to positive word of mouth, which will keep the numbers moving beyond the first big weekend.
