By Neha Ravindran
Director: Mudazir Aziz
Movie: Happy Bhaag Jayegi
Cast: Diana Penty, Ali Fazal, Abhay Deol, Jimmy Shergill
Genre: Rom-Com
Let me begin with a confession. The first look of the trailer of Happy Bhaag Jayegi really put me off. I was convinced this was another story of a runaway bride infused with forced humour and unnecessary drama. But instead Happy Bhaag Jayegi turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise.
Happy (Diana Penty) plans to elope with her lover Guddu (Ali Fazal) a day before the wedding. As celebrations are under way at her house, she runs away from her home. Only now no one knows where Happy is – neither her father (Kanwaljit Singh), nor her finace Daman Singh Bhagga (Jimmy Shergill) and suprisingly not even her lover Guddu. At this point in Pakistan, Happy wakes up in the house of Bilal Ahmed (Abhay Deol). Will Happy’s love story ever have a happy ending or will she be deported back to her family?
Happy Bhaag Jayegi does not have a brilliant script. But what it lacks for in storyline, it makes up brilliantly in its characters. The cast of Happy Bhaag Jayegi is the highlight of this movie. Diana Penty is convincing in the role of a care free, ‘bindaas’ Punjabi kudi, Abhay Deol looks handsome and in ‘tehzeeb’ as a young political prospect and Jimmy Shergill fits well into the role of a crass politician faking sophistication.
But to be honest, for me the hero of the movie was Piyush Mishra as ACP Usman Afridi. This man will keep you in splits since his entry scene. His humour is fresh, the punch lines are new and a h8ge fan of the urdu language, I gaped at his dialogue delivery. Ali Fazal is cute in the role of a love lorn ‘aashiq’. Pakistani actress Momal Sheik makes an interesting debut with this movie.
Music by Sohail Sen is soulful. With Sufi and Punjabi influence, however the music of Happy Bhaag Jayegi will only appeal to you if you like this specific genre. This is a good movie to unwind this weekend.
My verdict: ***
