Happy Ending

A dull romcom and an even duller parody of the genre, this film falls dead flat

This movie is ‘Murphy’s law’ applied to cinema—‘Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.’ Not only is Happy Ending the most deathly boring romantic comedy you will see, but it has the gall to present itself as a lampoon on the genre. It is a film about how a dead broke writer in Los Angeles turns into a hack for a Bollywood romcom and how his own life parallels the corny story he writes.

Yudi (Saif Ali Khan) wrote his last book a while ago and needs money, so his literary agent introduces him to Armaan (Govinda), an ageing Hindi movie star who is in LA for story ideas, a face-lift and a six pack. Yudi is quickly signed on to write a romantic film, but never having fallen in love himself, needs to know how it’s done. So he stalks a successful writer of mush called Aanchal Reddy (Ileana D’Cruz), listening to her book readings and pretending to be a fan of her drivel.

The attraction between the two is not instant, but Yudi decides to date her anyway for personal and professional experience in matters maudlin. The result of this relationship made in romcom heaven is a script which is finally shot in Mumbai—altered beyond recognition. But, dear God, there is nothing remotely happy about Happy Ending. Saif and Ileana put you to sleep the instant they meet, and each chapter of their love deal, titled and numbered on screen, is sheer torture—a suffering only to be relieved should they be given the Indian ‘Golden Raspberry’ awards.

But there is yet another turn of the screw. Every now and then, the Yudi character converses in unintelligible blather to an older and wiser alter ego (Saif again). It makes you wonder if the actor has lost all judgement in selecting roles for himself. This movie is the nadir of Saif’s image as a romantic hero.

About The Author

Ajit Duara