Choreographer-turned-director
Remo
D’Souza
can
sure
set
the
stage
on
fire
but
isn’t
quite
the
storyteller,
notes
Sukanya
Verma.
Abhishek
Bachchan
is
shaping
into
quite
a
father
figure.
From
playing
one
to
his
real-life
‘Paa‘
Amitabh
Bachchan
wherein
the
latter’s
progeria
condition
ages
him
dramatically
to
the
point
of
infirmity,
an
estranged
dad
of
a
precocious
kid
he
reunites
with
under
curious
circumstances
in
Ludo,
a
divorced
daddy
surviving
medical
issues
of
the
life-threatening
kind
while
navigating
a
bumpy
relationship
with
his
daughter
in
I
Want
to
Talk
to
a
single
dad
of
a
smart-alecky
princess
harbouring
dancer
dreams
in
Be
Happy,
Abhishek
has
embarked
on
quite
a
few
journeys
where
his
parenting
skills
are
put
to
test.
Unlike
the
textbook
Papas
trickling
with
emotional
wisdom
and
snuggly
warmth,
Abhishek’s
silently
supportive
approach,
playful
sarcasm
and
sparingly
expressed
authority
conveys
a
father
figuring
it
out
as
he
goes
along.
All
these
traits
colour
his
portrayal
of
Shiv
Rastogi,
a
Ooty
banker
raising
his
school-going
daughter,
Dhara
(Inayat
Verma)
at
their
hillside
home
along
with
his
father-in-law
(an
exuberant
Nassar)
since
the
passing
of
his
wife
(a
blink-and-miss
Harleen
Sethi)
eight
years
earlier.
It’s
the
usual
scene
of
banter
and
bonhomie
between
Shiv
objecting
and
relenting
to
Dhara’s
demands,
a
boisterous
grandpa
flirting
away
to
no
avail
while
dressing
up
in
cartoon-printed
pyjama
suits
and
an
over
smart,
cute
child,
aged
somewhere
between
8
to
10,
dreaming
of
taking
spotlight
on
stage
like
one
of
those
uber
talented
kids
of
reality
dance
shows
on
TV.
At
a
competition
in
school,
dancing
idol
Maggi
(Nora
Fatehi,
superb
moves,
ordinary
acting)
not
only
shows
faith
in
Dhara’s
star-in-the-making
prowess
but
also
offers
to
train
her
in
Mumbai
for
participation
in
India’s
Superstar
Dancer.
Expectedly,
Dhara
wants
it
more
than
anything
in
the
world
but
daddy
dearest
disapproves.
He’s
sceptical
about
the
whole
thing
and
would
have
her
rather
focus
on
studies,
which
isn’t
all
that
unreasonable
given
how
hefty
school
fees
are
these
days
and
the
nature
of
early
fame
and
its
impact
on
an
impressionable
mind.
He
tries
to
talk
her
out
by
warning
how
she’ll
end
up
dancing
in
functions
or
making
rotis
at
home
instead
of
becoming
a
career
woman
like
her
deceased
mum.
Despite
such
clumsily
conveyed
odds,
Shiv
agrees
to
accompany
Dhara
and
help
her
realise
her
dancing
queen
dreams
and
jump
back
into
the
dating
game
while
he’s
at
it.
Cut
to
the
chase,
Maggi
is
on
the
app.
Remo
coyly
treads
on
the
said
romance
preferring
to
hint
than
highlight.
Between
matchbox
sized
homes,
eerie
security
guards
and
young
children
chatting
up
like
adults
and
proposing
combo
reels,
Mumbai’s
culture
shock
is
lost
on
starry-eyed
Dhara
as
well
as
her
clueless
papa.
Choreographer-turned-director
Remo
D’Souza
can
sure
set
the
stage
on
fire
but
isn’t
quite
the
storyteller.
A
can
of
worms
about
lost
innocence
and
the
stressful
impact
of
pursuing
glamourous
stakes
early
on
in
life
is
waiting
to
be
opened,
which
Remo
side
steps
to
endorse
a
world
known
to
romanticise
the
exploitation
of
childhoods.
Since
nuance
is
the
last
thing
Dhara’s
spurting
stardom
has
on
its
mind,
everything
is
too
hunky-dory
to
bother
with
a
balanced
insight
into
the
pros
and
cons
of
nursing
such
ambitions.
Turns
out,
Remo
has
a
lot
more
Dard
Ka
Rishta
than
Secret
Superstar
on
his
mind
as
Be
Happy‘s
slice
of
spirit
spirals
into
survival.
Not
competition
but
another
C-word
poses
a
challenge
before
the
father-daughter
duo
against
a
usual
pattern
of
stereotypical
sentimentality
and
manipulative
melodrama.
Giving
into
reckless
impulses
that
favour
a
parent’s
willingness
to
endanger
their
child’s
health
for
fulfilling
a
wish
and
justifying
it
with
divine
intervention
is
telling
of
Be
Happy‘s
philosophy
and
Remo’s
filmmaking.
Both
leave
a
lot
to
be
desired.
Ultimately,
it
is
Abhishek’s
restraint
that
controls
Be
Happy‘s
urges
to
go
overboard
even
as
Inayat’s
charms
threaten
to
do
its
exact
opposite.
Pretty
apt
for
a
father-daughter
jodi,
isn’t
it?
Be
Happy
streams
on
Amazon
Prime
Video.
Be
Happy
Review
Rediff
Rating:
