If its indulgences were trimmed, this might have been a more enjoyable film.
For a film in which dance is so integral to its plot, I didn’t think the musical set-pieces here stood out particularly. The focus isn’t so much on the moves, as it is on the scale of the dance numbers. And that’s a shame.

It turns out to be a cross between an `Oceans 11/12’ and ‘Flashdance’ and a whole bunch of movies that topline Mera Bharat Mahan sentiments….a long showreel of what Shah Rukh Khan the superstar can do…

It’s all about Indiawaale, and while Sonu Sood stays consistent and Deepika inevitably dazzles, it is Shah Rukh himself who appears the most out of place — in a movie made to rest on his shoulders. Perhaps they piled too much onto him; perhaps the decades of raising those arms into that iconic pose have taken their toll… Either way, Happy New Year never gets to soar.

I have a very high tolerance level for anything Shah Rukh is in, and yet Happy New Year was a slog. Which compels me to repeat a line from my review of Chennai Express: Come back, Rahul. All is forgiven.

As far as a final verdict is concerned, there is nothing wrong with Happy New Year if all that you are looking for is a good timepass and entertainment.

Because the film manages to tick most formula boxes, one can expect it to rock the festive weekend, a time when the audience automatically seems to get less discerning. We don’t know how much this Diwali release will leave you smiling, but those dazzling lights and eye-popping colours will leave you blinking for sure.

The film relies more on the two-minute noodle brand of patriotism than it does on common sense in order to further the plot. Featuring some adorable cameos from Anurag Kashyap and Vishal Dadlani and (yes, you’re reading this right) Sajid Khan. This could have been a much better film if only it had dared to move out of its comfort zone. Happy New Year is a film that’s bound to make you feel good, but trust me, the feeling won’t last.

There is no dearth of gloss in Happy New Year, but everything else in the film, including the content and its treatment, are allowed to go for a toss.

It’s not a film about an ingenious heist (far from ‘Oceans Eleven’) or dance, it’s a film about everything genuinely Bollywood – where logic gets a ‘fit’, gloss covers up the glitches, cameos creep in without a warning; and the rest of the plot finds comfort in the hero’s hot-bod (anything from 6 to 8 packs – take your pick!) and outstretched arms.

If you must watch this film, then tell yourself that “I am feeling alright, because it’s a nonsense ki night.”

Make this Diwali even more special with Happy New Year. One of the best entertainers of 2014.

Visually Happy New Year looks great but why wouldn’t a film with a big banner, a talented filmmaker like Farah Khan, a good cast and great locations? That’s never the challenge. The challenge is to entertain and Happy New Year falls short in entertaining, it’s long length of over three hours being the weakest point.

There is no doubt that Farah Khan knows the craft well but she is yet to give an entertainer like Om Shanti Om.

Happy New Year is a muddled mess which has its own warm moments but as a package fails to work. Three hours of Shah Rukh flaunting his abs and swagger gets too much to take minus a strong storyline. Farah Khan has redeemed Tees Maar Khan but Happy New Year is her most mediocre work. It’s a magnum opus which is pretty much hollow from within and remains an all frills, no thrills show.

The film, at best, seems like Shah Rukh paying a tribute to himself. He paraphrases dialogues of his earlier films. With his ten-pack abs, bronzed face and blond streaks, he goes for an image makeover. He is no longer the quintessential romantic hero but a patriot, a devoted son, a fighter and a leader. For Charlie’s entry, a few of litres of water are wasted. In another entry, nearing the climax, a silhouette of Khan with his arms extended, is set against the backdrop of the Indian flag with chants of “We Want Charlie”. Shah Rukh, you see, is as big as the nation. Ultimately, his film is big on scale and small on ideas.

HAPPY NEW YEAR is definitely a smash hit film, which has blockbuster written all over it. The film will set new records in the days to come. Go for it!

On the whole, if you are looking for laughs, Happy New Year has a handful to offer.

Despite the ifs and buts ‘Happy New Year’ remains immensely watchable because Farah Khan had the audience break into whistles and claps at regular intervals. While I was looking for granular details and dissing the excesses, I couldn’t help but get a little emotional when they drum up the patriotic fervor at the end. I loved how she makes Shah Rukh pun on the lines from his previous films, and how Deepika gives the pep talk in typical ‘Chak De’ style.

A film like Happy New Year makes things easy for its audience. It’s just as easy to dismiss it as it’s easy to like it. The downright absence of logic and the immature humour could offend anyone. But watching grown men act like bumbling idiots has been a great idea of fun for time immemorial. End of the day, it all boils down to how you watch your film. If you like to have fun and you don’t mind entertainment over cerebral arguments, Farah Khan’s Happy New Year is worth your time.

So what is new here? Nothing really!

The same references to past movies; The same ‘mera baap chor hai’ revenge story; The same inconsequential dance songs.

Farah Khan is back with a bang! If her earlier films haven’t appealed to you, stay away. If they have, go have a rollicking time this festive season.

Those who love Bollywood for its quirks and idiosyncrasy, will like this film. If you tend to take life and films more seriously than that, watch something else.

For all its sins of excesses HNY is a full-on paisa-vasool experience. It is a rollicking rumbustious ode to the spirit of whopping howling shrieking and bantering camaraderie. Filled with tongue-in-cheek episodes of hip-swaying audacity the all-pervasive madness is infectious.

Despite so-much going on in one film, the narrative is sluggish and often sleep-inducing.

Masala entertainment movie making lesson number 1: if you cast Shah Rukh Khan in your movie, it will eventually make money, no matter how stupid, tiresome and humorless it is. Case number 157: Happy New Year, aka the new Farah Khan Vanity Project for the lowest of the lowest common denominator audience.

Happy New Year is an entertainer. In spite of the slow initial reels, the star-studded and rich film engages and entertains the audience. It will, therefore, fetch handsome profits for all concerned.

Happy New Year is just a disappointment when it comes to the kind of work that SRK and Farah have done earlier – the last two times Farah Khan and Shah Rukh Khan collaborated they made brilliantly entertaining films – something you would expect to continue. The biggest loss of this film hence is Farah Khan’s failure as a director. Her failure to draw any other emotion – love, agony, patriotism – out of you apart despite attempting to do so in multiple scenes in the film. HNY is just a lesser film, though a fairly decent festive watch – for people of all age groups.

The story is simple, perched on a lavish canvas – glitzy, glamorous, gorgeous bodies (read: male torso) and with self-deprecating humour which stands out and entertains in parts (a recap of moments from SRK’s own films!).

Happy New Year is undoubtedly Shah Rukh Khan’s best film in recent times, and must watch for all SRK fans.

Eventually, while walking down the aisle, after what could’ve been an exhausting experience, you realise that while you hadn’t really been rolling on the floor laughing, you weren’t quite rolling your eyes either. This is a happy film—much fun, for the most part.

One sure hopes that Farah had spent a little more time on the movie itself than on the promotions, because even though it is sure that the movie will ride the wave of a Diwali Weekend and Shah Rukh’s popularity and do good business, this is her flimsiest movie yet. The spectacular entertainment that is expected out of her is all but a fizz. It may be entertaining in parts, but at best it is a one time watch. Watch the movie if you are a Shah Rukh Khan fan – but the movie has nothing more than his fabulous body to offer.

If you are a die-hard fan of Shah Rukh Khan, don’t miss Happy New Year. He will make you swoon with his charm and the superstar attitude. For the rest of us, watch Happy New Year for its twisted dialogues, Boman and Abishekh’s perfect comic timing and of course, the mesmerizing Mohini. Let the festive season kick in with a bang, with Charlie and his gang.

Certain to reach the 200 crore mark in India the overseas collections will be mind-blowing considering the fact that SRK is the most favorite choice in Bollywood’s overseas market ‘Happy New Year’ is certain for a grand heist worldwide. A guaranteed Blockbuster.

Happy New Year will make ridiculous amount of money at the ticket window. In a time where logic and reason are slayed for saleable entertainment, HNY comes across as a winner in the genre it happily conforms to.

Happy New Year is like a Bollywood Night in Dubai on loop, with a few stale heist tropes thrown in. Some of Farah Khan’s tricks to propel her story are painfully old-fashioned, one being the villain discreetly mixing a pill in to the drink of the good guy so he becomes unconscious. So much staleness, packed in to a running time of 3 hours, is revolting even to the brain-dead stupor that we, fans of Hindi movies, sometimes habitually get into, just for the sake of time-pass entertainment.

I suspect the audience may not care for such details. Most will be there to take in the star-studded cast, the visual splendor and laugh on the silly jokes. And Farah Khan delivers on all three counts. Ignore the fundamentals, and watch it for the fun.

I am pleasantly surprised and happy that Happy New Year attempted story. Yes, most of it is expectedly lame and laughable. But, isn’t it cool that Farah Khan thinks her audience to be worthy of it. As if nodding to the fact that the audiences tastes are changing, even if the nod is a weary one and the change is ever so slow. Thank you, lady, and I mean it sincerely.

Surely, smarter films can be constructed with such resources, thereby opening up a new universe of possibilities for viewers and distributors alike. I can already hear box-office registers ringing, but ask yourself this: Would halls be full if Shahrukh Khan chose to forego his friends’ films?

Stuffed with references to past potboilers and the director’s own previous hits, this enjoyable nonsense will please its intended audience. Interestingly if perhaps worryingly, the film also reflects the current Indian aspirational dream: forget East or West, life in the UAE is the best.

Farah once again walks the line between spoof and tribute in this rather long, self-aware entertainer with enough moments to make you smile…

The film is stupendous’, ‘whopper blockbuster’ and ‘Full on dhamaka’. Shah Rukh Khan who plays Charlie, a street fighter in the film can be seen throwing punches and performing aerial flips in the movie.

Watch this if you love Khan and Dubai, and are good with suspending belief for over three hours.

Despite its three hours long drama, the movie rarely bores you with these two romancing while Abhishek, Boman, Sonu and Vivaan giving an impeccable contribution in fun. The action sequences have been worked upon and once set it is deemed to give you goosebumps.
Performances of all creates a massive impact . As said before Shah Rukh Khan’s screen presence is a major relief for us.

Farah Khan’s ‘Happy New Year’ is the Typical Over the Top Masala and Action…

Combination of Farah Khan’s direction along with Shahrukh Khan’s charisma and Deepika Padukone’s glamour leaves little scope for the audience to give Happy New Year a miss. However, performance by other stars also seemed promising.

The final word: Happy New Year is worth a watch this festive season. You will, like me, laugh throughout the movie – whether at, or with them! Dear readers, you decide.