Too many & too much spoil the New Year

Rating: 4/10 (24 October 2014)

Big Star cast and big production value do not necessarily give you a GOOD movie; I guess Bollywood directors should realize this
"Happy New Year" is another such opportunity, but somehow falls short in the overall narration
Written by Farah Khan, Mayur Puri and Althea Kaushal "Happy New Year" is your Bollywood take on "Ocean's Eleven" with the desi Bollywood tadka of Naach Gaana, Patriotism and over the top comic sequences. The story is of five losers headed by Charlie (Shahrukh Khan) who plan a heist to steal diamonds worth 300 crores , how they implement the plan and whether they are successful in the heist is what the movie is all about.
The story concept wise is brilliant but it is the screenplay which is full of loop holes and unnecessary sequences which do not add up to the overall movie experience. The first half drags, as it is solely spent to introduce the characters. The main issue in the narration is the emphasis on the Dance Competition and less screen time is spent in the planning of the heist. Though each character is defined excluding Charlie's well, but later the main characteristics are sidelined like Jag (Sonu Sood) is supposed to be deaf by one ear but this is conveniently over looked in many sequences, such is the case with other characters as well. The chemistry between Charlie and Mohini (Deepika Padukone) is missing completely. The climax looks too convenient and a bit stretched. Another issue is the 179 mins of screen time which is way too long and it could have been 30 mins short.
The dialogues are more of a spoof of previous Shahrukh Khan Movies, and there is nothing original.The dialect of both Mohini and Nandu are inconsistent. Excluding a few sequences the comic sequences falls flat and is hardly humorous.
Shahrukh Khan performs earnestly even in silly sequences, but definitely it is not his best. Abhishek Bachchan as Nandu Bhide unfortunately is a badly written character which is more of a clown without much to do. Sonu Sood as Jag is good in showing his abs but unfortunately the same could not be said for his performance. Boman Irani repeats his quintessential Parsi act as Tammy, I feel he is being repetitive and should re-invent himself. Deepika Padukone as Mohini unfortunately has nothing much to do but she is good and lights up the screen. Vivaan Shah as the hacker Rohan shows promise but his character is too one dimensional for any histrionics. Jackie Shroff as the antagonist Charan Grover looks too haggard to be a suave businessman and his act does not impress too much. Rest of the cast is also average.
Cinematography by Manush Nandan is full of glitter and gives a glamorous look. Farah Khan and Geeta Kapoor's choreography is pleasing especially "Manwa Laage" and "Main Lovely".
Farah Khan had an excellent cast and a huge production house backing her and off course a superstar like Shahrukh Khan, but she completely wasted this opportunity with a mediocre script and a narration which is full of loopholes. I think Farah should have concentrated more on originality rather than on spoof of other Bollywood movies.
The movie is neither very bad neither very good, and has nothing new to offer, in a nutshell a very average attempt.