With every passing frame of Be Happy, the child within you awakens—laughing, weeping, and, at times, bursting into gleeful exclamations, all in a single breath. You catch your own reflection, a kaleidoscope of unfiltered emotions, struggling to contain the swell of feelings it evokes. And perhaps, it is the language of dance—the universal rhythm of the soul—that binds you to Be Happy from the very first moment, drawing you into its world with effortless grace.
But more so, it is Abhishek Bachchan—the industry’s most overlooked talent, always overshadowed under the grandiosity of his omniscient father, Amitabh Bachchan. So much so that Abhishek Bachchan almost got forgotten for his craft. Be Happy happens to be his triumph as a craftsman. Donning the hat of Shiv Rastogi, Abhishek illustrates a broken character with absolute minimalism, something that’s been missing from the screen for a long time. Nothing larger than life, you just flow within the waves of pure ‘human emotions.’ Shiv, a man bound by grief, has spent eight years trapped in the echoes of loss, unable to sever ties with the past he shared with his late wife in Ooty. He exists in solitude, save for his daughter Dhara (Inayat Verma), whose soul thrives in dance, and his father-in-law, Mr. Nadar (Nassar), who stands as a silent witness to their fractured world.
Shiv embodies the quintessential reserved Indian father—firm, pragmatic, and ever-focused on securing his children’s future through academic success. Emotional introspection is a realm he never ventures into, leaving the depth of his unspoken feelings to linger beneath a composed, distant exterior. Something that would represent ‘dark’ in its best metaphor.
But then, Dhara, her flamboyance wins you over as you see her. So filled with zeal. Drawing inspiration from her school dance teacher, Maggi (Nora Fatehi), she delights her imaginative grandfather with spirited performances and playful make-believe. As she pursues her dream of performing on the grand stage of India’s Superstar Dancer, she finds herself at odds with her father and the future he envisions for her.
But Dhara eventually spearheads as the ‘light’ in her father’s existence. Shiv makes a breakthrough in his cold walls that he created and toasts ‘love’ for Dhara. As they say, ‘Grief came to you because love came first.’ And as we transition, we see Shiv not getting engulfed by the grief but actually giving it a chair in his life. It channels a moment that stays with you, especially with Dhara and Shiv’s father-daughter transitionary relationship.
Nora Fatehi gave a worthy try to go as neat as possible with her acting craft, but her dance skills took the crown here.
We see a dance occurring between the dark and light at every instance as we watch the movie through Shiv and Dhara. What I liked is how Remo D’Souza centred everything around the dance. But yes, a bit of exaggeration has been persistent, here and there, which has to be there to keep in the belief element. As Dhara’s journey toward her dream grows more challenging, the film’s characters and emotions remain immersed in the melodrama established early on. True to Remo D’Souza’s signature style, dance—through performances and a grand Ganesha number—emerges as the answer to life’s struggles.
Be Happy is less about the destination and more about the dance—the dance between grief and healing, between a father’s silence and a daughter’s dreams. It doesn’t strive for perfection, nor does it need to. The film breathes through its emotions, carried beautifully by Abhishek Bachchan’s understated brilliance and the infectious energy of Inayat Verma. While its storytelling may lack depth in places, it makes up for it with heart, urging you to feel rather than just watch. And that, perhaps, is what makes Be Happy linger long after the screen fades to black.
IWMBuzz rates it 4.5 stars.
Be Happy is currently streaming on Prime Video.
