Be Happy
Introduction
The year was 2004. I along with several others were glued to our TV sets with bated breaths while witnessing the finale of the first season of Indian Idol. The same was also true in 2009 when there was a collective census of joy while witnessing the first season of Dance India Dance. But since then, it has all been downhill just because the ‘reality’ from the reality show is compromised. The manipulation in these shows did start when the makers tried to introduce a radiant of emotions through the backstories of the contestants. So when you spotted famous judges crying their eyes out listening to the sob stories of the contestants, while deviating from their primary goal of judging them for what they have to offer – you just knew that THIS IS IT (the death of the reality shows). In many ways, the new Hindi film Be Happy seems like an elongated take on the reality show as well. This is contrary to what the makers want us to believe on how this remains an intimate father-daughter story. As a result, you do see quite a few emotions in store with the lead pair (the father and daughter), but none of them really land because of the manipulative nature of the storytelling that doesn’t touch upon the problematic issues (with regards to the reality shows) along the way. Be it s*xualizing kids with the moves (here the reality show is around dance) or even pushing the kids to the limit so much so that they fall sick, the whole politics around the drama remains skewed. As a result, the core of the drama remains compromised even as the filmmaking suffers from the Hard-Landing Syndrome!
Story & Screenplay
One of the reasons why Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) may have worked purely even as a father-daughter story (apart from some committed filmmaking) was the fact that there were no reality shows as reference points to have them as plot-points in the storyline. Because back there, even Anjali was into singing and dancing, and the best that she could do is reach a summer camp which still remains a better option than the reality shows. Dhara (a terrific Inayat Verma) is not so lucky. She remains a variant of Anjali to Shiv’s (Abhishek Bachchan) Rahul (Shahrukh Khan). Dhara seems more matured than her age while positioning herself as a buddy to her father (nothing wrong with that) while wanting to participate in a Dance reality show, something that Shiv reluctantly agrees. The manipulation remains crystal-clear – Dhara promises to get better marks even while convincing her dad to relocate to Mumbai, even as Shiv gets swayed with the fact that he has to double up as her mother too (Dhara is a single child). Nothing wrong with this sentiment but if the filmmaker remains non-committal then you get to see through these manipulations without feeling any emotions.
Dhara’s Anjali traits don’t end there – she gets into a proper Kuch Kuch Hota Hai mode while introducing her father to online dating, just so that he is able to bring home her MOM 2.0. And as per her, the ideal candidate for MOM 2.0 remains her dance teacher Maggie (Nora Fatehi), the sole reason who sows seeds of aspirations in Dhara because Dream…Dream Dream (being the opening words of the act). Again, all cool but the filmmaking doesn’t convince us otherwise. In fact, the loose ends of the writing are also exposed in a quick montage when the duo shift base to Mumbai – both Shiv and Dhara find it hard to adjust in a scene with the former being offered a bank job (with an apartment in Mumbai) of a lower designation, while Dhara is intimidated by the dance moves flaunted by Maggie’s students, including a toddler Romeo called Prem. I mean can we stop forging romantic angles for kids please? (Yes, this is where I draw the line). But the duo (Dhara and Shiv) get quickly accustomed to the Mumbai life in a matter of scenes after Dhara debuts in the reality show. I wish the writing was brave enough to highlight the malpractices of these shows, even as judges often double up as cheer-leaders to boost the contestants with their sugary words, while most then find it difficult to adapt to after the show ends! Especially kids…..but do we really care?
To be fair, some moments do come across as heartfelt while highlighting the core emotions between the father-daughter duo, efficiently. For instance, the entire setup of events bringing Shiv to put on his dancing shoes for Dhara did bring out the requisite emotions decently, although the choreography did not particularly wow me. But atleast, the effort was visible. Yet, the writing did not wish to dwell on these emotions for an extended period – in fact, the drama quickly moved on to something more serious that did change the complexion of the drama. But again, there were pertinent questions inside me – why was Dhara allowed to exert heavily in the first place? Are there no medical norms for a contestant to have checkups before enrolling on reality shows? How was everything normalized by Shiv in taking the blame of overlooking her health issues, and not directly taking the makers of the show head-on who often resort to gimmicks in the name of TRP? The writing just wasn’t brave enough while being content with aiming for the lowest hanging fruit.
I could see a lot of emotions in store for the final act, or even leading up to them which may have been written on paper designed to perfectly land. But it is backed by such incompetent filmmaking that allowed the emotions to just brim on the surface. For instance, there was a trademark Ganpati song that you would associate in a dance film but the placement of the song came at a time that felt weirdly off – you can Shiv pleading to God with his dance steps even as Dhara remained in a hospital! Suspension of disbelief just left the chat right there! Elsewhere, in a scene you see Dhara’s grandpa cautioning Shiv on how her friends cannot visit her given that she needs to stay sterile. The very next scene involves Shiv taking Dhara to an amusement park at night with all her friends surrounding her. I am all for emotions but it shouldn’t be at the expense of logic particularly when you have presented it with a setup.
Another weird plot-point involves Shiv taking Dhara to the finale of the reality show, whilst she is sick and whilst trapping her grandpa in the washroom. Again, the scene was designed to brim with emotions but the filmmaking failed in convincing the viewers about the same, almost vilifying the ‘Dad’ in the process. There have been many instances on celluloid that would allow you to suspend your disbeliefs, because those instances were backed by solid filmmaking which wasn’t the case here. And this is a pity in Be Happy because I could sense the emotions erupting in the finale between the father and daughter, probably dancing together for the last time! The last bit needed to be the sentiment on which the finale ought to have been staged around. In other words, the screenplay is a mixed bag that atleast does include the emotions in store, but the filmmaking reverses its effect straight up!
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are conversational (and a little corny at a few places) but ideally, I would have liked a lot more emotions lacing the lines, simply to give more weightage to the proceedings. The music is actually pretty solid here and does try and incorporate the ‘silent’ emotions through the songs. The BGM remains decent while being middling with the emotions in store. The cinematography is good but if I were to compare the frames with that prevalent in some of the earlier dance films, then this would be a few notches lower with its presentation. The dance choreography is generally good too although a notch lower than other dance films that we have witnessed in the country. The editing is choppy too with respect to the coherency in the drama. This, while weirdly not accounting for the lags in the drama, or specifically scenes that are unnecessarily elongated at a few junctures. Director Remo D’Souza misses the mark yet again. In fact, I wouldn’t criticize the writing so much here as much I would criticize the filmmaking here that was juvenile. The writing although manipulative, had some checks and balances in store as far as the emotional core of the drama was concerned. But the filmmaking was simply atrocious (barring a few moments) that did not account for a coherency in the drama at all. If the film failed in terms of the translation of emotions, then it is the filmmaker who would sadly have to take the blame. There are a few heartfelt moments alright, but simply few and far between atleast two of them that sealed the fate of the drama for me.
Performances
The performances are pretty solid here, something that make the drama watchable through and through. I was a little unsure on what Johnny Lever was doing in the film, simply because the character sketch provided to the legend did not add anything to the screenplay, while making his character gimmicky. Harleen Sethi has a charming presence onscreen in a good job done overall. Nora Fatehi as Maggie has improved her acting chops (she always had a good screen presence). The one thing that she could account for is her dialogue delivery that still remains a little faulty. But this is an improvement from her previous works. Nassar as Dhara’s grandpa is sincere and earnest with his act, having a sense of dignity even while delivering the silliest lines (Mrs Lootera instead of Mrs Loretta, arghh why?). Abhishek Bachchan as Shiv is understated with his demeanor that was synonymous with his character in I Want To Talk. And even when there is chaos around him, his calming effect on the drama is evident while trying to emote through his calm expressions even when the writing and filmmaking go rogue. And to see Abhishek Bachchan dancing was pure joy too, simply because you could see him enjoying himself. The young Inayat Verma has got to be the most talented ‘child artist’ (I hate that word but to give you some context) doing the rounds. Here as Dhara, she wonderfully understands the sensibilities of her character that allows her to play with emotions through her expressions and body language. And, the kid can dance like a dream. If she gets some good mentorship and can keep her head, she has a bright future in front of her, with an easy transition into the mainstream after the age of 18. The timing cannot be perfect as the industry is in dire needs for new voices and talented performers. Inayat is brilliant here while doing a commendable job, through and through.
Conclusion
Despite some solid performances, Be Happy is a partly heartfelt juvenile drama suffering from the hard-landing syndrome. This is because the emotions don’t quite land due to inconsistent filmmaking that remains way below par! Available on Amazon Prime.