HAPPY NEW YEAR (2014)

BollySitter Recommended Age:         10+ (For language and violence)

BollySitter Family GO Factor:           3.0/5.0

The Review Monk TRM Score:          5.2/10.0

 

Directed by:    Farah Khan

Starring:         Deepika Padukone, Shahrukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Boman Irani, Vivaan Shah, Jackie Shroff

Written By:     Farah Khan, Althea Kaushal, Mayur Puri (dialogues)

Language:       Hindi

Music by:        Vishal-Shekhar

Produced by:   Gauri Khan

Lyrics by:        Irshaad Kamil

Running time: 179 mins

Genre(s):         Comedy, Drama, Action

BollySitter says

HAPPY NEW YEAR is a revenge cum heist cum dance competition drama that is larger than life, illogical at times, over the top and yet provides wholesome entertainment for the family just like any other signature Shahrukh Khan movie.

Director Farah Khan is an astute believer of show business and she follows the Manmohan Desai school of filmmaking where characters lead a life of grandeur with opulence, misery, coincidence, luck and fate – all at the same time – and yet her movies always have happy endings (a la “Om Shanti Om”).

Content

Happy New Year is story of a Boston university topper turned street fighter who brings together a team of 5 losers from varying professions to commit a big diamond heist in the garb of participating as a dance troupe at the World Dance Competition in Dubai. The primary motive behind his actions is to avenge the injustice meted out to his father by movie’s antagonist.

Violence 

The opening scene of the movie is a pre-fixed fight scene between two characters. Fist fighting, blows on face and blood oozing out of the mouth of the protagonist is shown. In another fight scene on top of a building, a scuffle, fistfights and bloodshed is shown. The violence scenes are not gory and have an exaggerated feel to them. In a suicide scene, a slit wrist and blood oozing out of wrist is shown. There is an elaborate group fight scene outside a bar that has a comical feel to it.

Intense & Frightening scenes

During a fight scene, a character hangs over the edge of a skyscraper roof and swings back. In a dance sequence, a small boy falls from the top of a human pyramid but is later saved. Both scenes may scare small children.

Sexuality

A bar dancer is shown wearing skimpy dresses in some scenes and songs but there are no scenes with overt sexuality or physical intimacy in the movie. In two brief sequences, a presumably gay association between two characters is suggested and they are shown dancing suggestively in a video recording. There is brief mock kissing scene where a character surrounded by women is shown with lipstick marks smothered on his face.

Language 

Some derogatory cuss words referring to one’s mother are liberally used in a few sequences. The opening line of the movie which is repeated throughout the movie has two cuss words in it (“Kutti”, “Saali”). One of the characters uses demeaning words against another character throughout the movie.

Drinking, drugs, & smoking

There are quite a few drinking scenes in the movie. One character is shown as a chronic drunkard. During one of the drunken stupors amongst lead characters, an emotional outburst is shown but no violence or aggression is depicted.

Attitude/Behavior

The movie is about 6 losers and each one of them has individual quirks and eccentricities that give an edge to their characters.  Their personality traits, social background, upbringing and other characteristics define their actions and attitude throughout the movie.

Discussion points

The movie primarily has only entertainment quotient and no depth to the story. Parents, however, can still teach children the value of team work as shown in the movie. They can tell children to believe in themselves and not let past disappointments define their future. They can also bring the kids attention to a statement made by a character in the film that respect is the ultimate destination of any man and that one should always protect his/her integrity.There is also emphasis on patriotism in the movie that can be talked about.

Bechdel Test 0/3

The female lead is the only primary female character in the movie. One character’s mother is shown as a domineering woman but she has no interaction with the lead female.

For the quality of the film, check out the reviews @ http://thereviewmonk.com/movie/happy-new-year/