A Remo D’Souza dance film follows a simple template. You need a high-spirited character wanting to be a dancer. Their dream, however, is pulled down by a roadblock, like poverty, in Varun Dhawan’s ABCD 2 (2015). There is a strong urge to be part of some television reality show or a dance competition. The conflict is overcome by grit and passion. Then something severely goes wrong midway and the characters turn to God. A song on Lord Ganpati follows. Laden with multiple setbacks then, there is one final, high-stakes dance performance in the climax which makes things right. The director’s latest film, Be Happy works within this setup. There’s a lot of dancing packaged with a lot of emotions. Yet, what it lacks is a soul.
The film features Abhishek Bachchan as a single father, Shiv Rastogi, who doesn’t pay heed to his daughter Dhara’s (Inayat Verma) dream of becoming a dancer. Abhishek plays a conflicted father for the second time consecutively after his stellar act in Shoojit Sircar’s I Want to Talk last November. He brings the same sincerity to this film, emoting more with his face than with his words. However, it becomes more one-toned largely due to the directness in the script. Like in the beginning when Shiv tells Dhara, “Main chahta hun ki tumhara sapna kabhi pura na ho (I hope that your dream never comes true),” after she wakes up from her glorious fantasy. Abhishek gets the sentiment right but the words appear to fail him.
Starring: Abhishek Bachchan, Nassar, Inayat Verma, Nora Fatehi and Johnny Lever
Directed by: Remo D'Souza
Streamer: Prime Video
There is also a sense of disbelief spread in the way Remo films his dance sequences. Dhara is introduced to be a talented dancer and we see her take the stage during a performance in her school which is overlooked by a dance teacher cum influencer, Maggie (Nora Fatehi). As Dhara does her steps, Remo seems to focus more on how others react to her performance. We see Shiv’s joyous face looking at his daughter, people in the crowd cheering for her and Maggie passing good remarks. Yet, Dhara’s actual performance lacks momentum. It doesn’t have the sense of spark or energy that would invite such a rapturous applause. We have seen better moves in reality shows where Remo appears as a judge. The same tactic continues later. When Nora performs, other characters seem heavily impressed over some basic steps. Even the idea of getting Abhishek to lead a dance film is an interesting one, but Remo doesn’t treat it with the same level of excitement. There’s little of the actor’s inner character and off-screen persona that comes off through the dance. Remo’s earlier films, even though filled with inconsistencies in the plot, still managed to create awe with the scale of the dance choreography. While here, there’s nothing to make it work.
The narrative beats are painfully repetitive too. Shiv struggles to move on after the death of his wife in an accident (shown patchily through desaturated flashbacks). His father-in-law, played with a charming ease by Nassar, pushes him to find a way to support Dhara’s dance journey. There’s a glimpse of an awkward romance between Shiv and Maggie. Much of how it unfolds is also too difficult to believe. Like how the kids in the film walk and talk like adults. Dhara speaks about finding second love in life to another cool, flirty kid, who says, “Pyaar cheez hi aisi hai (Such is love)”. Later, Dhara installs a dating app on Shiv’s phone, who appears to be very chill about it. She even tells him how the app works. Dhara is barely in her pre-teens but already acts like a twenty-year-old.
This exaggerated maturity even seeps into the film’s tone. Be Happy could have just been a dance reality show instead. Take Dhara as a contestant with a strict, unwilling father. Before her auditions, she recounts her dream of becoming a dancer in a cinematic interview dashed with some B-rolls to evoke sympathy. Her performance leaves everyone baffled. “Ye final me jaayegi (She will go to the finals),” a judge is heard saying. Then a Father’s Day special episode airs with a duet dance with her dad. It becomes a hit. The judges wipe their tears before standing up in applause. Those watching it on TV, however, are left unenthused. There is an air of indifference. The tears flow, the cheers roar—but does any of it truly resonate beyond the screen?
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