Babloo Happy Hai

Review :

 Best friends Jatin (Sahil Anand), Harry (Sumit Suri) and Rohan (Amol Parashar) take a road trip to Manali as Jatin is engaged to the very dominating Tamanna (Preet Kamal) and wants to make the most of his single-hood before being tied down to marriage. On the way, he bumps into the vivacious Natasha (Erica Fernandes), whom he had a one-night stand with on his Bachelor party. While exploring snow-clad Manali, Jatin is drawn to Natasha, but there is more to her than meets the eye.

Filmmaker Nila Madhab Panda is known for making films with social themes. His highly acclaimed I am Kalam (2010) propagated education for underprivileged children, Jalpari (2012) was against female foeticide and it doesn’t take long for you to realize that Babloo Happy Hai in tends to raise awareness about HIV/Aids.

While all three manage to get the message across, the previous two films were far superior in terms of execution as they didn’t succumb to the diktats of commercial cinema.

Is Babloo an entertaining mass-market film for youngsters or made with a serious intention to fight AIDS and look after its survivors? The film faces an identity crisis. It implies a tension between the filmmaker’s vision and the genre’s demands, diluting its core purpose. The subplots and songs are entertaining but don’t add any value to the narrative and there lies its fault. You also wonder why it has been promoted as an adult comedy! Also, the title bears no relevance to the story.

Despite the shortcomings, the film manages to keep you engaged, thanks to the strong performances by the three lead actors and gorgeous cinematography. You will be tempted to take a vacation and go to Manali! Erica Fernandes and Amol Parashar look promising.

Babloo Happy Hai encourages you to be cautious without being preachy. It’s fairly entertaining but loses focus and wanders around aimlessly, just like its protagonists’ road trip.

Story :

 Love, friendship, sex and a social message…the film highlights the dilemmas that today’s youth faces in a light-hearted manner.

The Times of India