Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos Review {2.5/5} & Review Rating
Star Cast: Vir Das, Mithila Palkar, Mona Singh
Director: Vir Das, Kavi Shastri
Happy Patel Khatarnak Jasoos Movie Review Synopsis:
HAPPY PATEL KHATARNAK JASOOS is the story of a rookie spy. Happy Smith Waisley (Vir Das), an expert cook, resides in Tunbridge Wells, England, with his adopted fathers, Roger (Andrew Sloman) and Sebastian (Simon Fielder). Both his dads are spies and Happy also wants to be one. He applies 7 times at MI-7 but fails at every attempt. Meanwhile, MI-7 chief Kenneth Mole (Benedict Garrett) learns of the disappearance of a British citizen, Beatrice Faufferbaum (Maya Rachel McManus), from Goa in India. For his vested reasons, he decides to assign Happy with the mission to find Beatrice and return her safely to England. Happy is excited about his mission. This is when Roger and Sebastian inform him that they adopted him in 1991 from Panjor, Goa, after his mother, Sakhubai Patel (Sumukhi Suresh), died in a crossfire. This is when Happy realizes that he’s Happy Patel. Happy is given training after which he leaves for Panjor. The sleepy town is ruled by a dangerous woman named Mama (Mona Singh). Happy soon gets into her bad books. Meanwhile, he’s assisted by three locals – a restaurateur, Geet (Sharib Hashmi), a tech expert, Roxy (Srushti Tawde), and a dancer, Rupa (Mithila Palkar). What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Happy Patel Khatarnak Jasoos Movie Story Review:
Vir Das and Amogh Ranadive’s story is wacky. Vir Das and Amogh Ranadive’s screenplay is peppered with mad, crazy scenes that keep the interest going. However, the writing also lands flat in a few scenes. Vir Das and Amogh Ranadive’s dialogues are a USP. The humour emerges from unexpected quarters in this film, thanks to the one-liners. There are several cuss words, but they are added to organically bring out the adult humour. Hence, it works well and would be lapped up by the target audience.
Vir Das and Kavi Shastri’s direction does justice to the novel script in hand. This film is in the zone of movies like THE PINK PANTHER, SPY, etc. Closer home, the parallel that one can think of is DELHI BELLY [2011], which also had a Vir Das and Aamir Khan connection. There has barely been a film in this zone in a long time and that’s where HAPPY PATEL KHATARNAK JASOOS succeeds. A few scenes are so outrageous and so funny that they would bring the house down. The various references to Bollywood, and even DELHI BELLY, are well-woven into the script and further add to the entertainment value. The other memorable aspect is the special appearances, be it Aamir Khan, Imran Khan, Sumukhi Suresh, etc.
On the flipside, the film is not consistently funny. A few jokes fail to land as intended. The climax dance face-off is very entertaining, but then suddenly, the goings-on stop being funny. Geet’s homosexual undertones make viewers chuckle, but only occasionally. The track of Happy’s video going viral fails to serve as a crucial plot point. Moreover, the entire angle of Mama serving a cutlet is a bit bewildering. Lastly, the film appeals only to a minuscule audience.
Happy Patel Khatarnak Jasoos Movie Review Performances:
Vir Das falters a bit as a writer and director. But as an actor, he’s adorable. He gets to mouth the choicest of abuses. However, he does it so innocently that it doesn’t make viewers unsettled. The film proves yet again that he’s a powerhouse of talent and deserves to be seen more. Mona Singh delivers another highly memorable performance. As the ruthless antagonist, she is spot-on. Mithila Palkar is cute and performance-wise, she’s first-rate. Sharib Hashmi is let down a bit by the writing but he makes up for it with his lovely performance. Srushti Tawde leaves a huge mark. Andrew Sloman, Simon Fielder, Benedict Garrett and Maya Rachel McManus lend able support. Bacchan Panchera (Suresh; old waiter) raises a few laughs. Aamir Khan (Jimmy Mario) is terrific in a special appearance. Imran Khan (Milind Morea) delivers his massiest performance to date. Sumukhi Suresh is impressive. Meiyang Chang and Sanjeev Kapoor play themselves and are fair.
Happy Patel Khatarnak Jasoos movie music and other technical aspects:
The music score is niche and intended to be a game-changer, like DELHI BELLY. But it is nowhere close to that album and doesn’t have a shelf life. ‘Alpha Male’, ‘Banda Tere Liye’ and ‘Chaanta Tera’ stand out, mainly due to the picturization. ‘Phukt Apan’, ‘Cous Cous’, ‘Goa Aaja’, ‘Hindustani Hoon’ and other songs are forgettable. Shalom Benjamin, Nirmit Shah and Parth Pandya’s background score is as per the theme of the film.
Himman Dhamija’s cinematography (additional cinematography by Siddharth Vasani, Tanveer Mir, Nagaraj Rathinam) is satisfactory. R P Yadav’s action is not too gory, which is a surprise, since adult films nowadays have a lot of bloodshed. Tapas Paren Singha’s production design (additional production design by Yashika Gor and Parth Varshney) is superior. Parakriti Rajpurohit’s costumes are well thought of. Daanish Shastri’s editing is slick.
Happy Patel Khatarnak Jasoos Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, HAPPY PATEL KHATARNAK JASOOS delivers a handful of crazy-funny moments powered by its sharp one-liners. However, the inconsistent humour, underwhelming music and niche sensibility dilute the impact. At the box office, with low pre-release traction, it’s unlikely to see happy results.