If dancer-choreographer Remo D’Souza is the director of a film, it would obviously be about dance.
Also, the co-writer of Be Happy (with Kanishka Singh Deo and Chirag Garg), D’Souza concentrates on the razzmatazz of reality show dance sequences, but struggles with the ‘normal’ parts of the film; the humour falls flat and the emotional twist at the end is hokey.
The film opens in a pretty Ooty cottage, where Shiv (Abhishek Bachchan) lives with his irritatingly precocious daughter, Dhara (Inayat Verma) and his father-in-law Nadar (Nasser), who also happens to be his boss at the bank where they both work. After losing his wife (Harleen Sethi) in an accident, eight years ago, Shiv looks and behaves morose all the time, while the other two, who have moved on from the tragedy, often gang up against him. (How is it that people who live in lavish homes, never have domestic help? In any case, after years of cooking, why does Shiv still make unappetising food?)
Dhara is passionate about dance, and when Maggie (Nora Fatehi) visits from Mumbai to judge a school competition, she is so impressed with Dhara’s performance, that she invites her to train with her, and participate in a national dance reality show. Dhara is a fan of Maggie’s dance reels, and starry-eyed with excitement.
It seems like too insignificant a purpose to disrupt their placid life in Ooty and move to Mumbai, but Dhara insists and Shiv has to acquiesce. It seems, this dance show means instant stardom– though in reality hardly anybody would recognise the winner of such a show.
There are mild romantic vibes between Shiv and Maggie—Dhara adds a dating app to her father’s phone, and her profile is on it. But the concentration is towards making Shiv loosen up, and take joy in dancing. Then D’Souza lines up another tragedy for the father and grandfather, who had just understood how to bond as a happy family.
The film is okay for home viewing—nothing special, but not intolerable either. What is bothersome is the dancing—it’s okay to have Nora Fatehi perform sexy moves, but when a child does the same steps, it is just wrong. The jogta dance that Shiv and Dhara perform is terrific though—the kid is a wonderful dancer and seems to inspire Abhishek Bachchan to drop his inhibitions too.
Be Happy
Directed by Remo D’Souza
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Nora Fatehi, Inayat Verma
On Amazon Prime Video
