Happy Birthday review: A few fascinating ideas apart, the film struggles to come together

2/5

Story:

A union minister Ritwik Sodhi introduces a Gun Act, making guns accessible to every citizen nook and corner across the country, resulting in an unprecedented 'gun culture'. Happy has grand plans to celebrate her birthday with her near and dear. However, when her plans go awry, she finds her way into a pub and is ultimately kidnapped by a server. Behind her back, a huge conspiracy is in the works to delve a huge blow to Sodhi. Where is the tale headed?

Review:

Surreal comedies aren't commonplace in Telugu cinema and it requires a skilled storyteller to pull off a wacky setup like Happy Birthday with oddball characters. On paper, Happy Birthday is a riot with eccentric characters placed in bizarre scenarios revolving around a 'gun act' and an assassination bid. Writer, director Ritesh Rana uses this premise as an excuse to parody everything under the sun in pop culture and done-to-death tropes in cinema. 

The film starts on a funny note when an insensitive (and effeminate) politician says how introducing gun culture in the country would make the citizens feel more secure. The action shifts to a gun bazaar where bullets and guns are sold for discounts, there's an 'Ayudh' card like 'Aadhaar' and Gun Pay replaces GPay in the market. A partygoer isn't allowed to a pub because he doesn't carry a gun. 

These are fascinating, wacky ideas but Ritesh Rana overstuffs the film with too many characters and references that it's hard to keep track of the core plot. A bunch of new characters and twists are introduced every few minutes and the entire 'gun culture' idea suddenly takes a backseat. The narrative is nothing but a series of gags and the film's main problem is the lack of focus. 

One doesn't head to the theatres expecting anything sane out of a film like Happy Birthday. However, there's a thin line between being self-aware and parodying the same industry that the storyteller is a part of. Happy Birthday, right from Money Heist-like criminals to rhyming one-liners to sister-sentiment to double-role and exaggerated television soaps, tries to be 'cool' by populating itself with several industry references and cliches but becomes a directionless spoof by the end of it.

Gags, references and parodies can serve as a topping to the plot but there needs to be more meat to a film beyond them. And for these experiments to work, a 150-minute narrative is hardly the way forward. One can really understand why Lavanya Tripathi gives her everything to Happy Birthday - it's rare for actresses to get a story that's fun and still female-oriented. While one can't fault her conviction, the film never knows when and where to control its indulgences.

Vennela Kishore, Gundu Sudarshan, Naresh Agastya, Rahul Ramakrishna, Satya and others are funny in parts and try to give some direction to the material. Kaala Bhairava's background score lends an interesting dimension to the film's wacky universe and the flashy cinematography, loud colour tones are in sync with the director's ambitions. You might appreciate Happy Birthday more when you watch the film like a bunch of standalone scenes put together without expecting a cohesive narration.

Verdict:

Happy Birthday is a partly laudable experiment that's extremely funny in parts but lacks direction and focus. Lavanya Tripathi makes an honest attempt to rediscover herself. The film is over-stuffed with industry references, parodies, and gags and the storytelling becomes repetitive. A few fascinating ideas apart, there's not much to savour here.