Film Review: Be Happy

This poignant dance drama is the perfect choice as we celebrate Father’s Day this month, with Abhishek Bachchan taking on the role of a single dad.

Dhara Rastogi (Verma) is a little schoolgirl who loves dancing and has been honing her talent by watching social media reels of her celebrity idol Maggie (Fatehi) with a clear-eyed goal of dominating the stage of ‘India’s Superstar Dancer’ someday. When her doting dad Shiv Rastogi (Bachchan) gives into her emotional blackmail to watch her perform at a school competition, even he is forced to acknowledge her undeniable talent. But when Maggie offers to take little Dhara under her wing at her dance school to take her all the way to win the television talent show, Shiv is adamant that dance can only ever be Dhara’s hobby and insists she must focus her studies.

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Dhara’s maternal grandfather Mr Nadar (Nassar), who also happens to be Shiv’s boss at the bank he is employed at in the hilly town of Ooty, jumps in to convince his son-in-law to align with his daughter’s dreams. It eventually dawns upon Shiv that a move to Mumbai could be a turning point not only for his little girl but also for him because it would help the family break out of the cycle of grief at losing Dhara’s mother Rohini (Sethi) to an unfortunate road accident eight long years ago.

Will the father-daughter duo’s relocation bring Dhara closer to the spotlight that she so longs for, or is another disaster lurking around the corner for them?

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This simple little film with some mega dance beats at its heart ticks all the boxes for an emotional ride. Choreographer-director D’Souza succeeds in creating a very moving canvas to showcase a fatherly bond that is sure to bring tears to the eyes in its final frames.

But while there will be tears, the core message of the film for us all to ‘Be Happy’ is never lost during the course of this very moving film streaming on Amazon Prime Video now.