Happy Bhag Jayegi

Happy Bhag Jayegi (3/5) - "The film runs on Actor-Factor"
Running Time - 126 min
Happy Bhag Jayegi falls under the most popular and the most populated category of Hindi cinema - Rom-Com which is helmed by a director whose name has been attached with disasters like Dulha Mil Gaya, Showbiz & Zindaggi Rocks - Mudassar Aziz. Going by this, one would shy away from spending money on such a film until it boasts about its lead actors being Jimmy Shergill, Abhay Deol, Ali Fazal and Diana Penty (doubtful) and a theme which looks not fresh but interesting.
Happy (Penty) is as the name suggests a Happy-GO-UNlucky girl who messes up everything when trying to elope with her boyfriend from her own wedding in Amritsar but lands up in Lahore affecting the lives of a bunch of people somehow connected to her. The mere premise of this Indo-Pak Anand Rai-meets-Priyadarshan comic chronicle is interesting which draws you to the theatre. And did you get what you asked for?
HBJ is a decent attempt on how a Rom-Com should look like and promises to deliver to some extent what you desired but it falls flat on the writing part. The screenplay is not at all boring (for other reasons) but there are some points in the film where you feel there is a hodgepodge of emotions just to balance the original theme and there is nothing fresh to offer. The reason why this film still works is the "actor-factor". To start with, it feels like the casting of this film was not done based on the actors' ability but just on the basis of the similar looking characters they have played in the past. Jimmy Shergill (from Tanu Weds Manu), Abhay Deol (from ZNMD) and Ali Fazal (from every other film - the Musician guy) play same old characters but again, they did not take you for granted. Diana Penty is in one way superbly confident after what we saw in Cocktail but in the other way she overdo the character which is a mixture of Rani-Tanu-Geet (you know them, right?) at many points in the film. Pakistani actors Momal Sheikh and Javed Sheikh are natural as always. But, above all, there is a character of ASP Usman Afridi played by none other than the immensely talented Piyush Mishra who is undoubtedly the surprise package of the film. What Deepak Dobriyal was for Tanu Weds Manu Returns is Piyush Mishra for this film, enough said. Mishra, with his impeccable comic timing and inimitable dialogue delivery is the only factor you'd want to watch the film forward for.
The film is produced by Anand L Rai and there is a lot of him which can be felt while watching the film but this time Mudassar Aziz has succeeded in doing what he is expected of. Happy Bhag Jayegi is not a film which you'll remember for years but it surely is a paisa-vasool entertainer where you go, grab a seat and enjoy, that too without leaving your brains at home (unlike many)!
WATCHABLE!

M S Dhoni

M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (4/5) - "Sushant - Dhaaga Khol Diye Ekdum!"
Running Time - 190 minutes
The fact that a biopic is being made on the life of 'Captain Cool', 'Mahi' or whatever name we give to undoubtedly the most successful Indian Cricket Team Captain ever, created a sense of excitement. But then the trailer arrived and we got to know the title "MS Dhoni: The Untold Story" we didn't know at that point of time how aptly justified the title is. We have watched a lot of biopics in recent times, one of which was on another controversial Indian Captain, titled 'Azhar' and we were so furious that I, for one, lost all hopes in the biopics made in India. And then I watched MSD. The film helmed by ace director Neeraj Pandey (Story-Screenplay-Dialogue-Direction) is expressive, entertaining and above all a deeply inspiring rags-to-riches tale. Pandey, brilliantly tries to embroider and excels in depiction of the worth-telling years of Dhoni's struggle story from being a Ticket Collector at Kharagpur station to becoming the most successful Indian cricket captain. This film would have been just another biopic if it does not boast about its leading actor Sushant Singh Rajput proving his mettle time and again and this time he pushes all the boundaries and plays MS Dhoni like he's always been him; a performance so real and impeccable that you equally appreciate the actor and the character. Anupam Kher, Rajesh Sharma and Kumud Mishra gives out superb support to the film just like Dhoni's friends and family would have given him in all these years. Newbies Disha Patani and Kiara Advani are well-cast and plays their part well. While making a film on the life of such a person, time plays your biggest enemy and the film which is a 3-hours long affair is extremely entertaining no matter if you're a cricket (or Dhoni) fan or not. Apart from the length, the music and songs are dull, the dialogues could have been more sharp than some cliched ones. The cricket fans must have expected some Dressing Room Strategies by the captain or his unconventional ways to tackle the team, which is a bit disappointing. Nevertheless, there is a scene in the film when Dhoni sits on a lonely platform deciding what to do with his life and suddenly a train arrives on the platform and a door just in front of Dhoni flies open and he jumps in. Its such a remarkable and inspiring scene; when in doubt just listen to your heart and 'Take that Journey'! Go for it!