Visually Stunning But...

Rating: 5/10 (3 November 2014)

Well one of the biggies from Bollywood has reached cinemas to ignite the spark already we have in the country with all the celebrations connected with the festival of lights and crackers in full swing. As expected, the film has lavish sets and foreign visuals, rich & colorful feel with vibrant costumes and above all the towering presence of the Badshah from Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan. But other than these and other than what the trailers showed, Happy New Year directed by Farah Khan has nothing much to offer content wise.
The story mixed with humor and revenge has a heist backdrop and that is quite common in Bollywood these days with every superstar becoming part of such plots now. Charlie /ChandraMohan Manohar Sharma (Shah Rukh), Nandu (Abhishek Bachchan), Mohini (Deepika), Jagmohan (Sonu Sood), Tammy (Boman Irani) and Rohan (Vivaan Shah) are the six people or rather losers who are the participants of World Dance Competition in Dubai with a hidden agenda. How these losers become the ultimate winners is what the movie is all about.
For a festive season, people looking for a mass film of this magnitude,HNY might be more than enough to satisfy their entertainment quotient but as a cinema other than technical finesse and rich visuals this is not a great film and perhaps if you leave your logical side of the brain at home before taking off to theaters, there are chances that you might be able to enjoy this stuff that has nothing much in terms of any unexpected twists and turns.
The biggest highlight and life of the film even with the negative aspects is of course SRK. He brings that much needed color to the film when the proceedings becomes tiring. So it is more of a Shah Rukh Khan show all packed in a predictable and clichÃ©d Bollywood film with all the mass elements. Abhishek was comical but went overboard at times. Deepika was sexy and charming, Boman Irani was funny well supported by Sonu Sood and Vivaan Shah. Jackie Shroff as the baddie was stylish.
On the technical aspects, cinematography, edits, choreography and background score were impressive. Also the costume designer deserves praise for coming out with such varied and colorful costumes to give some richness to the overall feel. I wouldn't say Vishal Shekhar has done a bad job in composing the songs but they were not impressive either.
Overall this three hour film is just an entertainer and a one time watchable one apt for a festive season with nothing much to rave about in terms of content. Whether you want to watch it and whether it will make you Happy or not it's up to you to watch and decide.
P.S - Please don't miss out the end title credits. There is something special out there.