Be Happy

Remo D'Souza's Be Happy works considerably better than expected, largely thanks to Abhishek Bachchan's genuinely understated and impressive performance as Shiv, a single father navigating his daughter's dance ambitions. The story of a banker torn between practical concerns and his child's dreams feels authentic rather than manufactured.

Abhishek brings quiet authority and emotional depth to the role, avoiding the theatrical pitfalls that often plague Bollywood father figures. His restraint makes the character's journey genuinely moving.

Inayat Verma as daughter Dhara is talented and engaging, though her confidence occasionally tips into overconfidence, which undermines the emotional vulnerability needed for the third act's deeper moments. A touch more subtlety could have created stronger audience connection.

The film's biggest missed opportunity lies in its Ooty setting. Rather than showcasing the hill station's distinct beauty as a contrast to Mumbai's chaos, D'Souza treats it like any generic location. The cinematography fails to capture Ooty's unique charm, wasting a natural advantage.

Nora Fatehi's dance teacher role feels severely underwritten, and her performance lacks conviction, making her character feel like an afterthought rather than the crucial mentor figure the story requires.

Despite these issues, Be Happy succeeds through its core father-daughter relationship and Abhishek's committed performance.

Rating: 7.5/10 (Abhishek's nuanced work lifts a dance drama that could've been much more visually distinctive)

As a parent you'll find it hard to look at your child without admiring that silly behavior or constant charm. Our children are - after all - a driving purpose & remo D'Souzas"be happy" has no limit to those little reminders of why. Starring abhishek bachan , nora fatehi and inayat verma. This family oriented drama will have you smiling for hours and at the end it will make you cry.abhishek has done a well job..he is born to play characters of fathers...we can feel the pain of a father through his eyes..nora fatehi was surprisingly good..her dance is excellent as always but her acting was very nice.inayat portrays in her character is a child prodigy - something I'm sure we all see in our sons & daughters, regardless of where they stand. The plot-line here was surprisingly soft and presented host of lessons that highlighted the importance of a trusting dreams of your child; It's a title every father must see and every mother should feel encouraged by. Where there's love and happiness, there's life!

I love Bollywood because it evokes emotions in me despite being a foreigner. Almost all mainstream movies that were released after covid lack soul, exception being 12th Fail, Laapata Ladies etc... This movie made me cry, I cared about the characters which rarely happens with recent Hindi movies. The child actor was brilliant, Abhishek was great and the rest of the cast were good as well. Even Though Norah's accent was visible even to me who barely speak Hindi, learning from watching too many Bollywood movies. The story had its flaws, but after watching so many senseless Bollywood movies these past few years like Pathaan or Fighter or Loveyappa (lol don't judge, wanted to see how Amir Khan ka bheta would do in movies and don't let me begin with Nadaniyaan) it was closest to the Bollywood my millennial ass could relate to. Overall I wanted to pass time and watch something with my dinner and being an Abhishek fan I decided on this and I didn't regret it.

This happens when a person from dance field makes a movie, she/he would have cool ideas about the songs but no solid glue to compile those songs / song situation into one good story. Last ~15 minutes are truly beautiful and heartwarming, but rest of the movie feels dull. It lacks emotional appeal. For such movies to work, it requires a little bit of melodrama. But this movie runs pretty flat. Performances from main leads of three generations are very good, but story and director is not energetic, appealing and it lacks novelty. Inayat Verma's character is well developed, but despite having potential, Abhishek didn't get enought chance to show his talent in father's role. Most of his screen time is consumed in playing the cliches of lonely gloomy widower. Even a one scene would do the job, in which he cries alone for his daughter's pain and talks with his dead wife. This scene too is a cliche, but it still will be more emotional than a gloomy flat face. In somewhat similar space, "the sky is pink" was much more impactful and moving story.

Be Happy (2025) : Movie Review -

Be Happy is a film that pretends to be about "happiness," but is actually Remo sir's substitute for ABCD 4, which was never made after the flop run of Street Dancer 3D. The worst aspect of the film is that a 9-year-old girl acts better than Nora Fatehi and Nassar sir, and interestingly, that's also the best part of the film.

Be Happy follows a little girl, Dhara (Inaayat Verma), who wants to pursue a career in dancing, but her banker father, Shiv (Abhishek Bachchan), wants her to keep dance as a hobby and focus on her studies for a better career. Maggie (Nora Fatehi) runs a dancing academy and is impressed by Dhara's amazing dancing skills. After a few hiccups, she manages to take Dhara under her wing and eventually helps her get selected for a dancing reality show. Just when everything seems to be going well for Dhara and her father, fate plays a dark game and puts a halt to their hopes. Will they be able to fight it?

Similar to ABCD 2 and Street Dancer 3D, Remo's artificial setup of dance sequences ruins the organic feel in this film. It's better to watch any reality show's extended preview episode before the grand finale than to watch this movie. However, it does evoke emotion by the end, even though the climax is highly superficial. The father-daughter duo delivers a whole performance without rehearsals. Ab bolo? Be Happy isn't clever in such situations, and there are many like this. The character of Johnny Lever was entirely out of place, and the angle of Maggie and Shiv as a soon-to-be couple felt soulless. The kids behaved beyond their ages, while the adults acted like children. There's much more to take a dig at, but the film ultimately gets the "spotlight" at the end, making us go ahead with the full use of a pair of tissues.

Performance-wise, Inaayat Verma, despite being a child artist, emerged as the best actor among the entire cast. As I mentioned, she acts beyond her age despite a moderate IQ level in academics (49.8% or something), as if she were a completely mature and intelligent child. Abhishek Bachchan was good, and Nassar was watchable-conditions apply. Nora Fatehi looks sexy in her dance attire, and her moves are killer, but her acting skills will kill you. The time has come for her to focus on expressions and dialogue delivery because it becomes predictably irritating to listen to her foreign accent when she delivers Hindi dialogues. Hopefully, she'll improve in the future, or better yet, she should continue dancing because she is indeed a fantastic dancer. There is a large supporting cast that hasn't done anything worth mentioning here, so I'll skip it.

Thematic similarities were expected, but D'Souza's setup and storytelling have not really progressed over the years. The technical aspects hardly make any difference, and the music adds extra boredom. Either "Be Happy" didn't truly understand its own message, or it failed to explore it well on screen. The idea of happiness sounded better at the start, but by the time it reached its finale, it became tedious and quite illogical. Remo D'Souza's vision for dance movies needs improvement, but I don't think it will make any difference-it hasn't in Hollywood, so Bollywood is far behind. "Be Happy" still has those "be sad" moments that will make you cry, but the rest of the show, much like Dhara's age, is CHILDISH.

RATING - 4/10*