Starring: Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Boman Irani, Vivaan Shah
Director: Farah Khan
Genre: Action-comedy, dance
Running time: 184 minutes
Now showing at: Cinema Magic at Metroplex Mall, Naalya and Century Cinemax, Acacia Mall, Kisementi
There was a time when Bollywood movies were all the rage in Uganda. We were up by 6am to watch, especially the dance moves. Then our love died down. But recently, Indian series have become popular so it stands to reason that some of us have started paying attention to happenings in Bollywood. And even if you were not paying attention, this latest movie has been all over social media so much that there is no way you could avoid it.
When I watched the trailer for Happy New Year, it didn’t come with the English subtitles which are in the movie so I couldn’t really tell what the movie is about. It featured comical scenes with the actors making faces like the comedian Dolibondo likes to do. Then there were scenes which depicted a dance competition and another that involved a shootout. So from what I surmised it was an action cum comedy cum dance movie. Turns out, I was right. The movie follows six con artists, with Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in the lead roles, who join an international dance competition. Being con artists, the competition is a cover for their plans to steal a diamond. The six are a rambunctious lot who charm their way through the competition with dances that are more comically entertaining than good in technique.
The director, Farah Khan is renowned for her choreography which is exhibited in the movie since it involves several dances, even more than they are in the typical Bollywood movie. Her work also includes international movies like Monsoon Wedding so it is not surprising that even people who don’t watch Bollywood movies are looking forward to it. It also comes just in time for India’s festival of lights (Diwali), which has a dance scene dedicated to it.