Govinda giving us a ‘Happy Ending’

Saif Ali Khan may have lost his touch but Govinda, as always, is hilarious and owns every scene he is featured in.

Saif Ali Khan’s re-entry was a success back in the early 2000s. The hero who had fallen flat in the 90s was seen in a completely new light in movies like Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, Dil Chahta Hai, Hum Tum, Salam Namaste, Kal Ho Na Ho, Race and Love Aaj Kal etcetera. And in movies like Omkara and the likes, he overshadowed anyone else who may have been in the film with him. 



Unfortunately, nowadays I feel Saif Ali Khan’s performance is a bleak reminder of the hero he was in the 90s – none of the movies he is doing have any nostalgic value or cinematic value nor have they brought in good business; examples being Humshakals and Bullet Raja.

On the contrary, Govinda, who was seen in a negative role in Kill Dil recently, has re-launched himself with a bang, with critics applauding his work. This time, in the movie Happy Ending, Govinda is all set to play for the front-row audience. After all, he’s the king of comedy. Let’s see if they both, Govinda and Saif, got their share of brownies this time!



Happy Ending is based on the life of a writer called Yudi (Saif Ali Khan), who published his last book five and a half years ago which turned out to be a major hit. Unfortunately, after that, he couldn’t publish any book and making ends meet became a task. His stardom, as a writer, starts to fade away and then enters a new romantic author in the limelight of the literary world called Aanchal (Ileana D’Cruz). Aanchal gets everything that Yudi once had as an upcoming writer.



Soon after, Armaan (Govinda) comes into Yudi’s life. Armaan is the superstar of Bollywood and wants Yudi to write a fresh script (copy of multiple Hollywood blockbusters) for him. Having no other choice, Yudi accepts his offer and starts to alter his lifestyle and terms. The rest of the movie is the journey of how Yudi, as a writer and a person, learns how to end some things and start new things.



Performances wise, Saif stands tall and delivers a dependable performance. One can easily recall the comfort he had in the movies Cocktail and Love Aaj Kal.

Govinda, as always, is hilarious and owns every scene he is featured in.



Nachcho Saaray G Phaar Kay is a song of the film that provided the perfect entertainment to the audience and credit for that goes solely to Govinda. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that if given a good script and the opportunity of outdoing himself, Govinda can still be in the race of the most entertaining actors in the industry. Kalki Koechlin is a revelation, she looks adorable, highly irritating and fits her role perfectly. Ileana is okay too; in fact, she is improving as an actress and is able to handle serious roles quite well.



Ranvir Shorey, who plays Saif’s best friend, delivered some good performance. Some of his scenes are truly amazing, especially, (spoiler alert) the scene where his wife tells him that she’s pregnant. There are some surprise packages in the movie like appearances by Kareena Kapoor and Preity Zinta. Preity has an extended role and she looks good but the fact that she is ageing is pretty obvious.



The dialogues are fresh, some of which require reading between the lines, but they go along with the mood of the movie. Content wise, Happy Ending will make you feel ‘happy’ at the ‘end’ of the movie. It’s an entertaining romantic comedy with a few hummable songs.



I would rate it a 3.5 out of five on the basis of decent performances, a good script, nice music and lightness of the theme.

And no, it’s not based on the American TV show, Californication, which most people think it is.