Cast: Vir Das, Mona Singh, Mithila Palkar, Sharib Hashmi, Srushti Tawade. Special Appearances: Imran Khan, Kunaal Roy Kapoor & Aam...
Cast: Vir Das, Mona Singh, Mithila Palkar,
Sharib Hashmi, Srushti Tawade. Special Appearances: Imran Khan, Kunaal Roy Kapoor & Aamir Khan
Directed by: Vir Das & Kavi Shastri
Vir Das
and Kavi Shastri’s debut (as filmmakers) is clearly a labour of love: just like
the various dishes Happy makes throughout the film — it has all the spices in
the right amount and the rare melodrama (which is, granted,
there to heighten the comedic effect) compliments the film greatly: “namak swas
anusar”.
Happy
Patel plays like the average spy-espionage-romantic-action film,
following the same beats, and the same structure, but it flips it on its head —
quite similar to what the likes of Johnny English did; it essentially makes fun
of the Indian culture as a whole, its various shortcomings and its various
incredibly stupid norms (through the eyes of an NRI, a tourist, and an Indian)
with a bittersweet sentiment at heart, which, if spoken out loud, would be, “esa
des hai mera” (Veer-Zaara). It is certainly inspired by Johnny English and
Austin Powers (to name a few), and it boasts so about itself, wearing it as a
badge of honor, and makes it a personal story about repatriation (even though
the character had never been to India).
It’s
quite evident that Vir Das refrained from using his usual slightly offensive
sense of humor while writing this, but regardless, the dialogues end up being
hilarious, Vir Das’ delivery further amplifying it. The dialogues are witty and
often rely on the stereotypes that India and more specifically Indians have
accumulated over the years, neither too vulgar nor too restrained (for if it
was the former, the film would’ve never seen the light of day in Indian
theaters, and if it had, people wouldn’t have let the film run for more than a
single show — there have been several such cases in the past to base this
judgement off of). Every actor in the cast makes the most of their dialogues,
and do it justice. Even Tom.
The
performances are great all around, fitting perfectly into the framework of the
story. The actors are totally convincing as their respective characters, and
they play their characters with excessive conviction. Vir Das is obviously the
highlight here, alongside Mona Singh, who’s equally as menacing as she is worth
empathy. The cameos are great, and integral to the story (except that one,
which just serves as a throwback) unlike a lot of cameos in films these days.
Imran Khan, for the few minutes he’s on screen, is great, totally nonchalant,
and in being so, pretty funny. Aamir Khan’s segment is especially a great one,
where’s he’s great as Jimmy Mario (his look might be a little too on the nose
with it’s 80’s aesthetic) and really funny.
The
direction from the two debutants turned out to be rather surprising. I didn’t
have high expectations from the film in terms of the quality of filmmaking, but
I was pleasantly surprised. The directors’ choices have as much conviction as
the actors’ do, and each choice of theirs feels deliberate and serves the
story.
Happy
Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos is the much needed comeback for comedies for Bollywood,
reminding one of the humor in Delhi Belly (granted, it’s not as the good as
Delhi Belly), and Go Goa Gone.
Happy Patel, a chronically unsuccessful MI7
operative, is finally assigned a mission in Goa, where he uncovers his Indian
roots and must rescue a high-profile scientist from crime lord Mama. Unaware of
his Indian heritage and armed with a comically British accent, Happy’s blunders
trigger a string of chaotic mishaps that could lead him to expose a
criminal network.
By Ravit Mishra
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