Happy Bhaag Jayegi

Happy Bhaag Jayegi..well, quite an interesting title to sum up a movie of a runaway bride. But this Abhay Deol and Dinana Penty starrer film is not a mere run away from the marriage, it’s the one eloping all the way to the other part of the Indian subcontinent, Pakistan by the virtue of mistaken fortune.

The plot commences with Happy eloping from her marriage with Daman Singh Bagga in order to marry her age old love Guddu, whom her parents never approved of. While she decides to elope with her partner when she jumps into a truck from the windowsill of her home, it mistakenly ends up at the wrong truck which takes her to Lahore across the border. Landing up in the house of a Pakistani diplomat, his son Bilal Ahmed (Abhay Deol) helps her reach India back in pursuit of sparing himself the ire of his father seeing an Indian girl without a passport and visa from India onto the lands of Pakistan.

The humour quotient begins with the entry of Inspector Afridi (Piyush Mishra) who manages to get people inevitably rolling on the floor laughing with his gags and the expressions showcasing how this outstandingly magnificent actor befits the role of a Pakistani with a typical Urdu dialect. Jimmy Shergill, portraying the character of Bagga, has nonetheless led the audience to chuckle every now and then. Having said that, I still cannot keep the fact unnoticed and unmentioned that the film, categorizing itself as a comic drama has elements of melodrama, with rather less or better said as a dearth of comic scenes throughout. The director has managed to invoke a few punches with the scenes of Piyush Mishra and Jimmy Shergill, yet it lacked the typical humour of a comic movie.

While I witnessed the theatres barely 3 rows less than a houseful, the prime reasons that got the audience hooked onto the releasing date of this movie was for the facts that:

• The Tanu weds Manu popular director Mudassar Aziz was the director of this movie.
• We had the chocolate boy, yet an exceptionally brilliant actor Abhay Deol after what seemed like ages, whom every other person yearned to watch onscreen.
• Cocktail famous Diana Penty had been on a hiatus from movies ever since and this was her comeback as her second movie.
• Plus, the catchy title Happy Bhaag Jayegi had got the audience captivated to it since its trailer launch.

Other than the hilarity, another point to be noted was the fact that any movie about a runaway soul, the raucous caused and the hysterical conundrum following it come as an involuntary and ineluctable portion which triggers the major chunk of laughter from the audience. While ‘Happy Bhaag Jayegi’ had its own chase sequence, the climax scene couldn’t manage to evolve as hilarious as anyone could expect while it seems way too easy and lacked the jocular complexity.

It has the story, but lacked the execution from the perspective of comedy. Diana Penty has done a good job, but could’ve still been better for in a few parts, it looked forced than a natural portrayal of the character. It was a treat to watch Abhay Deol after Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and this hiatus he had had leveled up the expectations and the urge to want to see him onscreen, which he has, like always, been able to live up. His character is shown submissive under the pressure of his father’s desire to become the ‘next Jinnah’ who would change the history of Pakistan, but despite all odds, he yearns and has an inert unfulfilled aspiration to become a cricketer.

Piyush Mishra’s­­­­ talent needs no words for his performance speaks volumes while he deserved a sure shot 4 out of 5. Jimmy Shergill with Ali Fazal were indeed a good addendum to the film.

I would want to give it a 2.75 out of 5, but since my system doesn’t let me do so, I will go with a 3 out of 5.