Babbloo Happy Hai, Hindi Bollywood Film movie review, Johnson Thomas, Rating: * * 1/2

Hindi Film Review
Johnson Thomas

Film Review Babloo Happy Hai: Unconvincing Message Movie

Cast: Sahil Anand, Erica fernandes, Preet kamal, Sumit Suri, Amol Parashar, Reyhna Malhotra, Parvin Dabas
Director: Nila Madhab Panda
Rating: * * ½

The title implies a contentedness that is not so much in the movie as it is in the mind of the director. This new film by the ‘I am Kalam’ director tries to take the romantic triangle through a friends only road-trip while clamping the brakes down on a message friendly ending.

So you have a film about relationships that takes you through the typical ‘Dil chahta hai- Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara ( and many more after it) set-up where you have three guys entertaining themselves with some dangerous moves , then setting out on a road-trip to freezing Manali before they come-of-age to a realization that love, responsibility and relationships mean much more than whar they experienced previously.
The film begins in New Delhi, where 24 year old soon-to-be-married Jatin(Sahil Anand) is planning a road trip to Ladakh with his buddies -virgin Harvinder/Harry(Sumit Puri)  and gay Rohan(Amol Parashar). But his fiancée Tamanna (Preet Kamal) has other plans for him. She wants him in Manali instead- for a wedding and some NGO work. And She hits him with this just after he has had the best night of his life with Natasha(Erica Fernandes) , one of the hotties at the bachelor’s party thrown for him by his best buddies.  Needless to say Jatin is remorseful and feels guilty enough to accede. So off they go and after a series of hurdles, misunderstandings and shrill recrimination, all three young men find new meaning in their lives!
 
It does seem like even the new breed of filmmakers have little to say beyond the tried and the tested. Coming from Nila Madhab Panda,  this message film (HIV/AIDS sensitisation) is  very much on the disappointing side. Other than Subhransu Das’ stunningly lush  cinematography, there’s nothing new being told here. Sanjay Chouhan;s script is a little too similar to ‘Hansee toh Phasee’(this week’s other new release) in terms of the love triangle framing. Both films have the main male lead stuck between a shrill high maintenance fiancée and her sister, in this case a cousin who is a little more freer with her affections and not a true fit for the traditional heroine mould. That is breaking ground of some sorts but not by much.
The first hour in the film is playful and irreverent, typically replete with crass Delhi humor and not much else. Mid-way through it we are transported to a stunning visual paradise called Palang-somewhere close to Manali, a small town in the snow-capped hills which appears to have become a hot-bed for HIV/AIDs and is being rescued by a positive couple  Deepa and Harsh(Parvin Dabas). The performances are all very much likeable. Erica Fernandes looks beautiful and can act, so can Sahil Anand, Sumit Suri, Amol Parasher, Preet Kamal. The problem lies in the depiction really. We don’t see many people other than those central to the story-telling and as a result false-positive scenarios are an implied here. Also the ending is not altogether convincing especially because everything is so hurriedly wrapped up that conviction becomes a problem. Noble intentions must be given due credit but when those intentions become all too obvious the enjoyment is lost. And that’s true of this film also!


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

La La Land Festival, Goa : A unique multi-disciplinary festival that cares about the Arts and the Environment

JioMAMI2023 Closing ceremony and Announcement of Winners of various awards

Aankh Micholi #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas