The Olympic flame has been doused after a fortnight of exciting competitions with Japan’s PM Abe dressed up as Super Mario being handed the baton at the end of it. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to achieve as much as expected but thanks to the brilliant Sindhu & Sakshi the ignominy of returning empty handed was averted. Since there was hardly anything else to do this weekend, I decided to watch “Happy Bhag Jayegi” & hopefully the movie will be able to make me happier as opposed to India’s medals’ tally.

The film unfolds in Amritsar where arrangements are in full swing for the wedding of Happy (Diana Penty) with the local corporator Bhagga (Jimmy Shergill). However, this was pretty much against the wishes of Happy who harboured feelings for the jobless aspiring musician Guddu (Ali Fazal). They decide to elope but their plans go awry when she ends up travelling on the wrong truck which takes her to Pakistan. She eventually lands at Bilal Ahmed’s (Abhay Deol) residence who is the son of an ex-Governor & being trained to be the next big thing in Pakistan politics. In order to avoid his family name being tarnished, Bilal proposes to deport Happy to which she disagrees & he is forced to come up with a plan which will unite Happy with Guddu. But how will Bilal manage to do it without his father getting wind of it???

This is the second venture of Mudassar Aziz who had a forgettable directorial debut with “Dulha Mil Gaya” in 2010. As in his previous movie, he has scripted this one as well & though it is definitely much better it is hampered by the predictability and unnecessary sub-plot that fails to provide any added impetus. However, the screenplay makes the movie enjoyable with humorous dialogues and situational comedies being pitched in. There is surely a whiff of “Tanu Weds Manu”, which indicates that Anand Rai might had an influence in the making rather than being solely concerned with the production. None of the technical aspects deserves special mention as the visuals were average while the music was passable.

It’s been almost 4 years since Diana Penty made her return back to the silver screen after her debut in “Cocktail”. Since her character of Happy has distinct similarities with Geet in “Jab We Met” & Tanu in “Tanu Weds Manu”, comparisons are inevitable & I would have to admit she falls short. Abhay Deol has done his role aptly inspite of his character not being properly etched while Jimmy reprises a variant of his role from “Tanu Weds Manu” adequately. Piyush Mishra rocked as the Pakistani cop while Ali Zafal was average and Momal Sheikh seemed quite stiff.

Verdict: With “Rustom” going great guns, it will be tough for this to have a foothold at the box office. To add to their woes, the film fails to offer anything unique which the audience hasn’t seen. In short, the actors though let down by a lack luster script makes it watchable!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Regards…Ben

If there is one thing that Bollywood feel-good films succeed in achieving, then it is that they induce a calming effect on our otherwise stressful lives. While producer Anand Rai has been creating formulaic romance dramas with a blanket cover of feel-good-ness, the feature seems to have terribly dwindled this time around.



Happy (Penty) is an oversmart and fearless bride-to-be who participates in her boyfriend Guddu's (Fazal) elopement plan on the eve of her wedding day and, although logistically unworkable, ends up in Pakistan at a former governor's mansion located in Lahore, where also lives the babu's son, Bilal (Deol). Awfully played by Penty, Happy sports a single expression throughout the film and is unaffected by the fact that she is an another country without even her passport or that she is currently locked up for threatening an all-forgiving cop. While the comic theme may allow these sequences to be perceived as humorous, none of them ignite any kind of authenticity. From the beginning, the plot weaves together impractical elements all in an attempt to create humor, which is not even funny. Happy could have just called one of her friends, or even better, asked her new friend Bilal, an influential politician, to send her back to her country and we would not have to sit through these 2 hours of unfunny charade where Jimmy Shergill has to portray a character who suffers from bridelessness for the umpteenth time.



It is evident even before the second half that Mudassar Aziz has run out of ideas. He uses story arcs and character development sequences to make up for the plot's hollow structure, but fails terribly as the film successfully slides into the black abyss of ridiculousness and mindlessness. Even if you adore Abhay Deol for his past performances, this film will affect it because clearly it sought the help of a thespian like Kanwaljit Singh and forced him to portray a character whose only task is to fool around and fire bullets in the air. Towards the end, moreover, the film just gets annoying. Being unfunny is one thing, but being ridiculous and ire-generating - well, that's not what you expect from a film, even of low standards. Fazal and Piyush Mishra are fine, but Penty definitely needs to brush up on acting. Newcomer Momal Sheikh knows how to make a scornful face.



Other than some hazy references to India-Pakistan's decades-long rivalry and the brilliant poster designs, this romantic comedy has neither enough romance nor comedy to help it from dissolving in its own puke.



BOTTOM LINE: Mudassar Aziz's Happy Bhag Jayegi is a reminder of how bad his previous films are which will soon be forgotten just like his previous ones have been. Wait for TV premiere.



Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Movie is funny & diana acting awsome I like diana