Happy New Year Movie Review

Farah Khan made her debut 10 years ago with Main Hoon Na, which remains her most entertaining film to date. She followed it up with Om Shanti Om and Tees Maar Khan, the former was one of the biggest blockbusters of 2007, the latter, tanked after a good start. This year, she returns with her favourite on-screen hero Shahrukh Khan in a film that blends action, comedy, romance, revenge and patriotism in what promises to be an out-an-out entertainer. Does Farah’s much-awaited film Happy New Year live upto expectations? Read on..

Story: The story of Happy New Year reminds you of quite a few big films in recent times. Dhoom 3, Kick and Bang Bang all had a similar storyline. The film is about Charlie aka Chandramohan Manohar (Shahrukh Khan), who forms a team of weirdos to pull off the biggest robbery in the world. To do so, they have to take part in the World Dance Championship which takes place in Dubai. His partners in crime are ace-puker Nandu Bhide (Abhishek Bachchan), Parsi-stud Tammy (Boman Irani), bar-dancer Mohini (Deepika Padukone), geeky-hacker Rohan (Vivaan Shah) and powerful-but-half-deaf Jag (Sonu Sood). The best part? All of them, except Mohini, are bad dancers. Charlie’s mission is to rob 300-crore worth of diamonds to avenge the death of his father (Anupam Kher). Do they succeed? Watch Happy New Year to find out!

Happy New Year Review
Happy New Year Review

Review: Happy New Year starts off well, the first half is breezy and super entertaining. Farah takes her time introducing all the characters in the film. As expected, Shahrukh Khan gets the best intro, but the intro-scenes of Vivaan Shah and Boman Irani are hilarious. Deepika makes an entry more than 50 minutes into the film with the ‘Lovely’ song. The scenes in between where the 4 male characters learn dancing will have you in splits.

As the film progresses, the pace dips, especially the first 30 minutes of the second half. At first, the patriotic angle will seem like it was forced into the narrative, but towards the end of the film you do feel proud to be an Indian. A few scenes in the film do make you cringe – SRK’s action scene with the Korean, saving the child during the dance competition and all the melodrama in the climax – could have been toned down a wee bit.

You can’t except to find sense or logic in a film like Happy New Year, but it does have a solid revenge storyline, which is narrated in a way that will entertain the audience for its entire length of 3 hours. Happy New Year has very few romantic scenes, and those are very subtly done.

Watch out for these scenes in the film:

  • Introduction scene of all the characters.
  • HNY has several special appearances – Prabhu Deva (SRK was keen on casting Hrithik for this scene), Vishal Dadlani, Anurag Kashyap and Dino Morea.
  • The best special appearance belongs to Kiku Sharda aka Palak in Comedy Nights with Kapil. That scene where he teaches dance is hilarious!
  • Deepika’s spoof on Shahrukh’s famous ‘sattar minute’ dialogue from Chak De India.
  • Almost every scene involving Nandu (Abhishek) and Tammy (Boman) are super entertaining.
  • The closing credits – don’t miss it! Quite a few surprises in store.

Happy New Year is not without its share of downsides. With a runtime of exactly 3 hours, the film does feel long. Ideally, the second half should have been much shorter. The dialogues tend to get vulgar at times – ‘Main zindagi bhar nahi letunga’ (I’ll never get laid in my life), ‘You’re simply breast-taking’, ‘Madar… chod na yaar’, ‘Babaji ka thullu’ (which was changed from Babaji Ka Ghanta by the censor board) just to name a few.  The music was hugely disappointing, as an audience you expect better from a Farah – SRK film. Only one song stands out – Manwa Laage. Choreography is average. Cinematography and production design outstanding!

Performances are top-notch. Khan is king isn’t he? SRK is one of those actors who makes a huge impact with his dialogue delivery, eyes and expressions. He does the same in Happy New Year. He also has his newly acquired 8-pack physique, which he flashes quite often in the film. A toned body also means a lean look, which doesn’t suit him in those action scenes, mainly because his face takes a beating. Deepika Padukone looks beautiful and acts well. She modulates her voice brilliantly, something that she also did terrifically well in Chennai Express. Boman Irani entertains like he always does. Sonu Sood is very good. But the star of the show is none other than Abhishek Bachchan. As Nandu Bhide he shines, in fact he outshines SRK in a couple of scenes, something that not many actors manage to do. Under-rated actor. Jackie Shroff has very little to do.

Overall, Happy New Year is a fun watch. It requires you to leave your brains back at home and enjoy what Farah throws at your in those 180 minutes in theatre. It has a bit of everything that you expect from a typical Bollywood entertainer and probably a little more. The music should have better a lot better and the runtime a little shorter, but Nandu Bhide more than makes up for it!

At the box office, Happy New Year has already taken a bumper opening all over. The film should work with every section of the audience and go on to one of the biggest blockbusters of 2014.

Rating: ★★★★☆ Go for it!

What we liked in Happy New Year

  • Performances by the entire star-cast
  • Farah Khan’s direction
  • Abhishek Bachchan, special mention!
  • Production Design
  • Closing credits and all those scenes that we mentioned above

What we disliked

  • All songs, except Manwa Laage
  • A few over-the-top scenes, which could have been  shorter / completely deleted to reduce the runtime.
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197 Comments

  • to watch or not to

    in between a crucial juntcure in heist charlie tells a nervous nandu,charlie-jhonny bhai ka help le! nandu-johny lever bhi humare sath hai?? charlie-arey johny walker!

    hny is exactly that kind of mad entertainer that always moves ob the border of being a torture and paisa vasool entertainment.unfortunately for srk haters hny manages to b the latter,paisa vasool entertainment.
    hny written and directed by farah is a story about revenge,heist,underdog victory and patriotism-4 things that often used in blockbuster films.farah manages to merge these 4 genres into one film resulting 3hrs of nonsensical entertainment.

    performance by entire ensemble cast is apt for an over the top film like this.srk who was disappointing in his last blockbuster ce gives a decent performance as charlie while dp as mohini is perfect for the role.but its the supporting playes who hit the ball out of the part.sonu in a comic role is hilarious and boman surprisingly looks gd in the action scenes.vivaan and jackie also perform well but the film belongs to abhishek bhachhan.this underrated actor who was excellent in his comic avtar in films like bol bachchan and dostana is simply outstanding as nandu bhide.

    music by vishal sekhar is nice but manwa lage is simply outstanding.cinematography,production design are top notch.screenplay is fast paced and despite loopholes is nearly perfect for a mad entertainer.farah khan,the director yet again provides y she is called a female manmohan desai.she is definitely better than masala hit makers like rohit,prabhudeva etc.

    overall if u r looking for an outing with ur frndz and family hny is the place to visit.

    rating-8.5/10
    verdict-v gd
    go for it if u like desi films

  • Ohh even I am mentioned in the review!!!!

    I was expecting 4 stars from indicine…VERY Well Done…Keep It Up!!

  • Nobody makes films as bad and obnoxious as FARAH KHAN and add Srk’s hamming into it and i bet it will make you want to search for these two and punch them on the face.
    Height of making a Regressive movie.
    Srk u better retire and save yourself from the shame and shame you bring to the fandom..

  • Entertaining movie means it may break records.
    good luck from fan of khiladi.
    srk fans please don’t post any bad comment for akshay.

  • So was Bang Bang,a typical Bollywood entertainer…But you tend to find out logic in non Khan films only…U bashed Kat for her acting so harshly!!

    But for Khans film,you suggest us to leave our Brains at home…What is this Nonsense??

    For Kick–Leave ur brains at home

    For D3-Leave ur brains at home

    For HNY-Leave ur brains at home

    BIASED Review!

  • @baba according to u I hv given a positive review so that srk fans support youngistaan but if that was the case I wouldn’t hv bashed bang bang and sr.the fact is I hv to call a spade a spade.and hny is a superb entertainer.I think it is the best film starring a superstar since znmd

  • Happy New Year. Blockbuster. I’ll bet it will be SRK, Abhishek Deepika and Farah Khan’s biggest hit. Full paisa vasool

  • wow wow wow!!! so it means indicine team is not dissapointed and srk’s portrayal is praised the most in every review . . .

  • both me and indicine hv called abhishek as the best thing of the film.srk is also charming but abhishek is unbelievable

  • wow indicine in Bang Bang times u go to watch the movie with your brain, but in HNY time you leave your brain.. can you elaborate why.

  • Expect the usual. Its a Farah Khan film. It has its usual fun..usual jokes….usual masala.
    Final word on #HappyNewYear. Predictable, funny in parts and really long. A typical masala entertainer.

  • Happy New Year is MIND-FUCKING-BLASTING! Songs, entertainment, heist, action, drama, emotions, ever damn thing is just so PERFECT! Oh man

  • ”Deepika has definitely evolved a lot as an actress
    n she proves that yet again with her comic role in this film.”-

  • Agree with u indicine….. Its a complete family entertainer …. from a normal viewers point of view it deserves 8/10.. But if u belong to classy type audience who like to watch movies like haider u may give it 5/10…. But srk makes movies to entertain us… And if u r looking to get enjoyed dis diwali, HNY is a must watch….

  • Just came out of Happy New Year! Shah Rukh Khan’s most entertaining film, Farah Khan’s best film till date! Happy New Year

  • With CE & HNY SRK proves that if you make a Movie to Win hearts of people you not only make Records at Boxoffice but Creates History instead…

  • done with HNY in Novo cinemas..ohh this man is getting younger nd younger.loved SRK in dis flick,best movie of 2014

  • @indicine

    if this is 4* film then what was wrong with Himmatwala,Joker & Humshakals..?

    And Tees Maar Khan deserved 5/5* .

  • Just watched #Hny for the 2nd time with whole family,believe me it has such a melodious magic that i want to book ticket for the third time.

  • #HappyNewYear what an entertainer movie. Indiawaale has already won hearts of ppl. I assure that you won’t regret in any of single scene…

  • in every review you will find one thing common, and it’s every critic praising srk’s performance.

    @arjun kapoor, not agree with u some what b/c according to u srk was decent in his role while in every review it’s srk who is praised the most, only exception might be indicine team!!!

  • Agree with u indicine….. Its a complete family entertainer …. from a normal viewers point of view it
    deserves 8/10.. But if u belong to classy type audience who like to watch movies like haider u may give it
    5/10…. But srk makes movies to entertain us… And if u r looking to get enjoyed dis diwali, HNY is a must
    watch….

  • I guess Indicine was too harsh with their review on Bang Bang in comparision to this film ! Anyways Indicine i know hw much u love ur king.

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