In a scene in Happy Ending, superman Armaan Malik (Govinda) presents a set of DVDs of Hollywood films to Yudi (Saif Ali Khan) and tells him to script a movie, comprising of interesting aspects from the Hollywood flicks. Incidentally, Happy Ending is also a bhelpuri of various films like Love Aaj Kal, Tashan, Cocktail, I Hate Luv Storys, Pyaar Ke Side Effects, Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji and many other Hindi films. The directors try to make it funny but the end result is sadly lackluster!

The story of the movie: Yudi (Saif Ali Khan) is based in Los Angeles and has written a bestseller – Operation Payback – 5 ½ years ago. He is living his life comfortably through the earnings made from the sales of his novel, and by breaking up with girls the minute they propose to him. But soon, the funds dry up and Yudi is seen desperately looking for a new venture. Single-screen superstar Armaan Malik (Govinda) comes to LA and asks him to script a romedy that would help him ‘take over’ the multiplex junta. Yudi finds himself drawn to Aanchal Reddy (Ileana DCruz), author of a romantic book, for much-needed inspiration. On the other hand, he’s trying to break up with Vishakha (Kalki Koechlin) but funnily fails to do so each time. How all the factors make Yudi a better person is what the film is all about.



Despite the clichés and beaten-to-death storyline, Happy Ending is thankfully not boring and is pretty engaging. The first half is great and has some breezy and funny moments. Music is lovely and performances decent. However, things begin to spoil in the latter part of the second half when the film goes on a predictable route. In fact, it seemed that the writers and makers ran out of ideas and decided to end the film in a conventional way. This is not just done because wherever the makers have added some original and fresh idea, it has worked big time - be it Kareena Kapoor’s cameo or Ileana’s book reading scenes or Preity-Saif bond (it’s amazing!) or Yudi’s conversations with Yogi (nothing extraordinary but it was amusing) or Kalki’s weirdo character or Ileana-Saif deciding to suddenly make out or Ileana-Saif riding down the Pacific Coast Highway. Sadly, in the finale, something hatke was much needed and that’s when the makers didn’t live up to the expectation!

After the disastrous Humshakals and Bullett Raja, it was great to see Saif Ali Khan back to the romcom space and as expected, he does a fantastic job. One can make out that he looks at ease and is enjoying this space. He has a second role in the film as well, as Yogi, which was quite impressive. And watch out for his expressions and antiques in the song Paaji Tussi Such A Pussycat. Terrific! Ileana DCruz as always looks stunning and delivers a fine performance, sans complaints. Govinda is hilarious and brings cheer everytime he appears on screen. Sadly, he’s hardly there in the film – at best, it was a supporting role. Kalki Koechlin is charming and plays the odd character with élan. Ranvir Shorey (Montu) has a great screen presence and essays the interesting character very nicely. Preity Zinta (Divya) has a very fine character and proves that she’s still one of the best actresses around. Kareena Kapoor raises laughs in her cameo scene. Shivani Tanksale (Gauri) is great in her role. Rahul Nath (Gary) is good in his small role.



Sachin-Jigar’s music is too good. Paaji Tussi Such A Pussycat is the best followed by G Phaad Ke and Haseena Tu Kameena Main. Background score blends very well with the film’s breezy feel. The film has 3 cinematographers - Chase Bowman, Yaron Levy and Mahesh Limaye – and they all have done a good job and given the film a fresh and uniform look. Hussain Dalal’s dialogues are witty. Directors Krishna DK and Raj Nidimoru have made some great and exceptional films in the past like 99, Shor In The City and Go Goa Gone and it’s shocking that they came up with such an average film. Their direction is brilliant without doubt but the routine story didn’t give them a chance to come up with a film as good as their previous works. As mentioned above, some of the fresh idea worked very well but overall, the impact was missing and the clichéd climax ruined it all. Thankfully, they are getting back into their zone with their next film, Farzi!

Some of the best scenes:
1. The intro scene
2. All scenes of Vishakha
3. All scenes of Montu and Gauri
4. Yudi’s conversations with Divya
5. Yudi overhears Aanchal’s conversation
6. Yudi-Aanchal on the highway, in the hotel room and at book reading session
7. Yudi gets hospitalized
8. The song Paaji Tussi Such A Pussycat

On the whole, Happy Ending starts off very well and has some interesting moments, performances and music. But it’s a bhelpuri of various films that we have seen in the past and moreover, has a very predictable and typical climax. An average fare, sadly!

My rating - ** ½ out of 5!

WILL HAPPY ENDING HAVE A HAPPY RUN AT THE BOX OFFICE?

After two successive flops, Saif Ali Khan is back with Happy Ending, a film that is carrying positive vibes and can end his bad run at the box office. It is directed by the talented Krishna DK and Raj Nidimoru, who have made a niche for themselves with films like 99, Shor In The City and Go Goa Gone. The film also stars Ileana DCruz, Govinda, Kalki Koechlin, Ranvir Shorey and Preity Zinta and Kareena Kapoor in special appearances. The highlight of the film seems to be Saif-Govinda’s chemistry and from the promos, it looks hilarious. Raj-DK’s quirky sense of music is seen in Happy Ending songs as well, especially in Paaji Tussi Such A Pussycat, a song that has already got it’s due in a way. The other songs of the film are quite interesting as well. The film looks fresh and shot in some great locations in USA. It’s a solo release and has no competition in a way since last week’s Kill Dil has failed.

However, excitement for Happy Ending is limited. Also, the feel and theme for the film is such that it can work in multiplexes and urban areas more. And this can limit it’s collections to an extent. Opening can be average and if the reports are positive, it can excel significantly on Saturday and Sunday.

Saif is a great actor and definitely deserves a huge hit. And Happy Ending is a romcom of sorts, which has been his forte. Here’s hoping Happy Ending turns out to be a Happy bet for the actor!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE HAPPY ENDING AND WHY? DO LET ME KNOW!