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 Remember that one relative who, at every party and social gathering, thrusts the same dance moves even when the song has changed? ‘Happy Phirr Bhaag Jayegi’ is the movie version of that person. This ensemble broad com­edy is a dance of mindless slapstick foot chases, cross-dressings and run­ning jokes that one way or the other aim to mime comedy by poking fun at national stereotypes. The film is a sequel to the 2016’s ‘Happy Bhaag Jayegi’. The original film was about a run-away Indian bride Happy (Diana Penty) acciden­tally landing up in Pakistan. It was a breezy comedy of manners with small town aesthetics that also raked in a decent box office return. The follow up is set in China and writ­er-director Mudassar Aziz has been handed a bigger budget which he blows up in remolding the franchise into a template that makes it more like the ‘Hangover’ films.

Character-driven humor comes from characters being themselves, but Aziz’s script tries to milk humor by throwing these characters into situations that feel forced and out of context. What begins as a mistaken identity comedy treacherously nose­dives into a ridiculous cross-country road trip that also sees the char­acters trying to break through a high-security Chinese jail.

The plot runs on two Happys. The first Happy (Diana Penty) and her musician husband Guddu (Ali Fazal) are in Shanghai after Guddu is invited to perform at a musical concert. The second Happy (Sonakshi Sinha) is a horticulturist joining a Chinese university as a lecturer. They land in Shanghai from the same flight. Their identities get mixed up in the airport and soon the horti­culturist Happy finds herself in the den of Chinese gangsters. They mis­take her for the other Happy, who, meanwhile, is whisked to the university and asked about her thoughts on bonsai plants.

In the midst of all this, the Chinese gangsters are also quick to kidnap Bagga ( Jimmy Shergill), the groom who Happy left at the altar to marry Guddu, and Afridi (Piyush Mishra), the Pakistani cop who was Happy’s reluctant ally in the first film. The gangsters press Bagga and Afridi to connive Happy into carrying out their plan, which involves redeem­ing a China-Pakistan business deal that has gone wrong. But before Bagga and Afridi can meet Happy, she manages to run away from the den and meets another Indian named Khushwant ( Jassie Gill) at a karaoke bar.

Khushwant, we later learn, is an interpreter at the Indian Embassy, and has been recently dumped. One thing leads to another until the wrong Happy, Bagga, Afridi and Khushwant, all form a team to dodge the Chinese gangsters and to help the horticulturist Happy on a per­sonal quest that takes the four of them on a wild-goose chase from one Chinese city to another.

Of all the actors, Shergill and Mishra come across well with their tongue-in-cheek verbal duels. But the central character of Sonakshi Sinha leaves you unsatisfied. Her performance feels awkward and low in energy throughout, as if she did the movie only because she would get to do some sightseeing. Jassie Gill, who’s the lead opposite Sinha, is so uninspiring that he’s dwarfed by the supporting actors.

‘Happy Phirr Bhaag Jayegi’ feels excruciatingly exhaustive because it tries to march with juvenile and crass jokes. The villains of the movie are so weakly written and driven by so laughable a motive that they never pose a real threat to the pro­tagonists. Unfortunately, the film runs out of urgency, tension, humor and entertainment well before it hits the finish line O

 The Crust Pizza & Bread in Mid Baneswor (50 meters on the lane right next to Civil Bank) is one of the many restaurants that have recently popped up in the student-rich area and are doing well. The Crust serves the best of pizzas along with a wide variety of Continental, Nepali and Indian delicacies, as well as bakery items.

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 A problem with most works of literary fiction is that they tend to revolve around sad­ness more than joy. Authors seem to think that narratives that are tinged with despair rather than hope are what will get them critical acclaim and so they stick to that route. It’s a rare author who is able to perfectly juggle despair and hope and make the story relatable for everyone. Clare Fisher’s debut novel All the Good Things manages to strike that balance. The result is a tale as hope­ful as it is harrowing. Bethany Mitchell, 21, is in prison because she has done a ‘bad’ thing (we don’t find out what it is till the very end of the book). Her coun­selor, Erika, asks her to make a list of all the good things in her life. Beth thinks that is a retarded idea because she won’t be able to think of anything but upon Erika’s insistence she begins to comb through her memories. As you read the story, which is mostly narrated in sec­ond person and addressed to Beth’s child, you get the sense Beth causes sufferings wherever she goes and is thus fundamentally bad. But what is bad? And what circumstances cause a person to be so? The novel explores these questions. 

Beth’s birth mother’s repeated fail­ure to show up for scheduled meet­ings when she is in foster care makes for some heartbreaking memories early in the story. You see how she has been failed by the very people who were supposed to care for her. You understand that the absence of her mother and the love she never got have been responsible for her guilt and lack of self worth. You come to understand and love her, and even find similarities between her thoughts and your own.

As the narrative jumps from Beth’s past to her present, the language draws you into the story. Beth’s stark observations and insights make it easy for you to imagine yourself in her shoes. So much so that by the time you know what Beth has done to land in prison you know so much about her that you are willing to forgive her for her crime, no matter how heinous it may be.

A good book will have that effect on you. It will evoke consideration and empathy. This book tugs at your heartstrings because Fisher has crafted a flawed character that makes you realize that as humans we are capable of making mistakes but it is forgiveness, for yourself and those who have wronged you, that decides the course of your life.

Kagti is no doubt well versed in sports because she designs screen­play solely based on genre con­ventions. She takes a relatively unknown chapter in Indian sports history and leafs through it with exaggerated tension and antiseptic characterization. One after another, people grace the screen mouthing patriotic one-liners about freedom, nation and brotherhood. They talk and act like movie people, and not for once does Kagti try to draw real emotions from these folks, who, we’re told, are real.

Protagonist Tapan Das is modeled on the archetypal coach in sports movie. So by that ritual, Das is some­one who puts his hockey before his family. For a has-been, he has to prove to the federation, his play­ers and to himself that he still can bounce back. Then there are famil­iar sports movie troupes like “you don’t play for yourself but you play for the team” and “tussles between blue blooded players and working class players”. The film manages to incorporate every textbook move to fill its 170 minutes of run time.

In the past few years, Akshay Kumar has released many films that tap nationalistic sentiments. He has already taken up the baton of being the Manoj Kumar of his generation. But he pushes too hard as a dramatic actor in Gold, putting on a Bengali accent and engaging in his many jovial antics. But Kumar delivers Tapan Das with unruly effect. He’s delightful in the film’s lighter moments with actress Mouni Roy, who plays Tapan’s demanding yet loyal wife, while in scenes that demand intensity, Kumar under­performs, which many may mistake for subtlety.

The film also boasts talented actors like Kunal Kapoor, Vineet Kumar Singh, Amit Sadh and Sunny Kaushal. Their performances are commendable. One would think that if the script had given them more space to grow, they could have made a more lasting impression.

Coming to the hockey games, Kagti gives them a distinctly mod­ern touch. The way the players carry themselves doesn’t have the sense of yesteryears’ rawness. They feel polished and too pleasing to the eye. The climactic game has its moments and is played out with great tempo. But until then Gold digresses a lot; the finale deserved a better buildup.

With good backing from stars and studios, biopic sports films are hav­ing a great run in Bollywood. But films like ‘Gold’ suggest filmmakers need to get out of the shadow of safe genre filmmaking if they want this type of film to sustain for long.