The Great Diwali Blast

Rating: 8/10 (28 October 2014)

Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK)
Rating: 3.8/5 stars
"Happy New Year" is a typical Bollywood mass entertainer, the likes of which can only be made by Bollywood. It bears the term "Indiawaale" in its tagline and rightly so, because it's a film meant for Indians to enjoy and indulge in. Only someone who has grown up on a healthy dosage of Bollywood films, can appreciate and even be thoroughly entertained by "Happy New Year".
It's quintessential masala fare to its core, and proves that masala films can be entertaining without defying logic. In fact, the fact that the film has a decent plot and a narrative style that holds true for most parts of its 3-hour length, actually makes it way more entertaining that many other similar efforts that have bastardized the Bollywood-born masala genre in recent times – a la "Kick", "Rowdy Rathore", "Singham", "Bodyguard", "Ek Tha Tiger", and many more. So wholesome is "Happy New Year's" entertainment quotient that it actually evokes nostalgia of some of the best masala entertainers from a bygone era of Bollywood such as "Amar Akbar Anthony", "Hum Kisise Kum Nahi", "Yaadon ki Baaraat", and "Namak Halal" – the kind specialized by Directors like Nasir Hussain, Manmohan Desai, and Prakash Mehra, which says a lot of the improvement displayed by Farah Khan.
Though the film has its dull moments, logical loopholes, and narrative flaws – which was to be expected from a Farah Khan film – they are few and far between a script that's for the most part riddled with laugh-out-loud funny moments and a well-planned heist – the heist is surprisingly well-executed and is actually the highlight of the movie. Besides this, the script checks all the boxes that make for a good Bollywood masala movie: revenge, friendship, underdogs, romance, comedy, fights, dances, multiple costume changes, foreign locations, and a happy ending. The premise itself is a recipe for no-holds- barred fun. Charlie (Shah Rukh Khan) wants to avenge diamond baron Charan Grover (Jackie Shroff) who framed his father on a robbery charge some eight years ago. He plans to do this by robbing a safe that is placed many feet below the World Dance Championships stage in Dubai. In order to successfully pull off this heist, he enlists a Parsi safe cracker with an epilepsy condition (Boman Irani), a hearing-impaired bomb expert (Sonu Sood), a drunk with a vomiting problem (Abhishek Bachchan), and a geeky computer hacker (Vivaan Shah). All these men have two left feet. So in order to make their entry into the dance event plausible, he ropes in bar dancer (Deepika Padukone) to choreograph their moves.
The performances also blend seamlessly with the proceedings on screen with each other portraying their roles as required.Shahrukh as expected carries the film almost inconspicuously on his shoulders, but he's ably supported by Boman, Abhishek, and Deepika. Abhishek and Deepika literally walk away with some of the scenes, that too in the presence of the mighty Khan, which also speaks volumes of the camaraderie of the cast and in particular of the shrewdness of Khan as a producer, knowing full well that an ensemble cast only clicks when each actor is given prominence (wish some other superstars in the industry would also realize this). Sonu Sood and Vivaan Shah also play their parts effectively.
But the biggest surprise package is Farah Khan, and the level of maturity she displays at handling a film of this magnitude. "Happy New Year" is that masala film with strong repeat value Bollywood fans have been waiting for ages – denied by myriad imposters out to deceive audiences. Go for it this Diwali, take your friends and family along, then go for it again, and have a gala time at the movies.