Happy Ending
year: 2014
Director: Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Ileana D’Cruz, Kalki Koechlin, Ranveer Shorey, Govinda
2014 hasn’t been too kind to Saif Ali Khan, the actor and Saif Ali Khan, the producer. His home banner films- Humshakals and Lekar Hum Deewana Dil bombed badly at the box-office. So is his new home production going to provide him with the Happy Ending for the year?
What’s the plot?
A one book-wonder, a once celebrity and now cash-strapped US-based writer (Saif Ali Khan) believes in having fun without any commitments. Boozing, clubbing and philandering, he is literally wasting his life and writing talent. His current girlfriend (Kalki Koechlin) is trying hard to make him tie the knot and as always, he is balking at the thought of long-term commitment. His desperate financial situation then finds him facing the prospect of writing a screenplay for an ageing Bollywood superstar (Govinda). To rediscover his writing mojo he decides to follow a recent bestselling Indian writer, a young beauty (Ileana D’Cruz), who specializes in writing mushy romances without ever believing a word about ‘Happily ever after’ love-stories! Will this new interest in his life lead to something special? Will it untangle his tangled life and mind? Or will it complicate the matters further?
What’s hot?
· Good performances from lead players. Saif essays the main protagonist (and his alter-ego!) in his customary cool, affable manner. Ileana looks great. Kalki Koechlin and Ranveer Shorey fit their parts perfectly.
· Govinda steals the show in his comic cameo as a fading Bollywood superstar, which leaves you desiring for more.
· Some really funny sequences.
What’s not?
· The plot and the directorial treatment seem too Hollywoodized!
· Patchy storyline with many loose ends.
· The romance is half-baked and lukewarm.
Verdict
Overall, Happy Ending is a fairly watchable light-hearted rom-com, which is obviously and heavily Hollywood influenced. It is hard to see it as a mass entertainer as its tongue in cheek humor and intermittent philosophizing are typically urban audience oriented.
Rating
2.5 stars