‘Happy Bhag Jayegi’ is a Silly, Entertaining Comedy but Full of Heart

"Happy Bhag Jayegi" may have its flaws, some more obvious and annoying than others, but it’s hard to deny the film’s comedy and, more importantly, its heart.

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More than four years after her acclaimed debut in Homi Adajania’s “Cocktail,” Diana Penty has finally returned to the Bollywood spotlight in her new film “Happy Bhag Jayegi.” She should consider her return a quiet albeit successful one. The movie, directed by Mudassar Aziz, follows a young woman — Happy — as she escapes her arranged marriage with Daman Singh Bagga (played by Jimmy Shergill) to marry her true love Guddu (Ali Fazal). Unfortunately, the young couple’s elopement plan goes terribly wrong and Happy ends up in Lahore, Pakistan, in the home of Bilal Ahmed (Abhay Deol), the son of the former governor.

From here on, plenty of shenanigans ensue, as expected. Happy can’t be deported back to India because her father will make her marry Bagga rather than let her be with Guddu. Bilal is forced to figure out a new plan on how to get her back to Amritsar. On top of that, Bilal’s own fiance finds out about Happy and is extremely suspicious about the woman’s relationship to her man. Of course, through the process of trying to get Happy back to India with the man she loves, Bilal starts to fall for her.

There are some moments where the film backfires. For one, the character of Guddu is really quite a thankless role. We don’t understand why Happy has fallen in love with someone who not only doesn’t know what they want in life but focuses all of their energy solely on his girlfriend. He wants to be a musician but he doesn’t really show off any real music skills in the film. He doesn’t seem to be pursuing this dream all that much. When Bilal helps bring Happy’s lover to Pakistan so the two can get married and return to India, Guddu does very little to help the situation but he does realize that Bilal has fallen in love with his soon-to-be bride.

The film also veers into ridiculousness with the plot one too many times. The hijinks just pile on top of one another, including a scene where Happy’s father comes to Pakistan and is instantly considered an Indian spy and a threat to Bilal and his father by the entire police force. Without giving too much away, this plot point goes completely insane in the climax of the film.

But while many of these hijinks go from predictable to totally off the rails at times, the thing that makes “Happy Bhag Jayegi” work so well is the cast performances and the way the film mixes sweetness with humor. The movie never takes itself too seriously, even though it could have done so by playing up the tension of the India-Pakistan relationship. No, this is a comedy film through and through, and an endearing one at that. But what can you expect from a film produced by “Tanu Weds Manu” helmer Anand L. Rai?

Diana Penty doesn’t exactly fit the energetic, loud-mouthed, brash woman that Happy is portrayed to be. In fact, the character doesn’t quite do justice to its reputation. Throughout the film (and even in the trailers) we hear that Happy is capable of doing anything and everything by herself, and yet, the men in her life still end up controlling so much of what she does. However, Penty does put 100% into the role, even with its writing flaws. She carries Happy as a funny, smart, yet flighty and sometimes irrational woman who chooses to live life by what she truly wants. It is, at times, a stereotypical trait that many Bollywood women share but Penty gallantly attempts to rise above the slightly one-dimensionality of the role, and even succeeds in many moments.

Penty’s friendly chemistry with Abhay Deol is a delight to watch. Deol has made fascinating choices in his Bollywood movie career, from dark films like “Dev.D” and “Shanghai,” bright fun films like “Aisha,” to critically acclaimed dramadies like “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” and “Oye Lucky Lucky Oye.” Even though some have failed, he’s always given understated yet mature and seasoned performances.

“Happy Bhag Jayegi” is a more straightforward comedy than he’s probably used to. Once again, he brings his own unique spin to Bilal. He’s funny, he’s charming, he’s brooding at times, and no matter what, he’s just trying to do the right thing. He’s a noble character, caught in a strange situation, and somehow makes the best of it.

Sure, Bilal’s love for Happy comes a little bit out of the blue, but Deol gives the plot progression his all and has a great rapport with his fiance Zoya, played by the brilliant Momal Sheikh, who deserves as much recognition as anyone else in this film.

Sheikh plays jealous well but her character Zoya then gets the chance to be a friend to Happy and her quest to get home to her love. This is where Sheikh really shines. Zoya becomes as integral to the plans as Bilal and when she recognizes that Bilal has fallen for Happy, she tries to nobly step aside as she doesn’t want Bilal to resent her later in life if they marry. She’s a smart female character who deserved more screentime. In fact, she and Jimmy Shergill’s Bagga may be two of the most entertaining characters in the whole film. Shergill also deserves major props for essentially playing a similar character to his “Tanu Weds Manu” role of Raja, but somehow elevates this comedic material to be something truly unique to that film.

“Happy Bhag Jayegi” may have its flaws, some more obvious and annoying than others, but it’s hard to deny the film’s comedy and, more importantly, its heart.