here's my full review from Aint It Cool.com:
BADHAAI HO BADHAAI (Let’s Celebrate)
Last week’s new release was the latest offering from director Satish Kaushik and marks a yet another collaboration with friend Anil Kapoor (who launched his production company with this film). Shilpa Shetty, Kirti Reddy, Farida Jalal, and Amrish Puri also star in this ok family/romantic comedy which atleast dares to try something new (for Bollywood) but falls flat at the very end.
The comedy starts out well enough. Anil Kapoor stars as a happy go lucky guy, named Raja, who arrives at a small town famous for an ongoing rivalry between two feuding families. Raja claims to be the long-lost grandson of both the families and tries his best to end the hostility between the parties. He eventually wins over both sets of grandparents (but not the complete families) and naturally, they try to get him married to brides of their own liking. Our hero makes up a fictitious wife, Bantobetty, to get out of the situation but his life becomes even more crazy when a woman claiming to be his wife (Shilpa Shetty) shows up in town. Some more crazy antics later, we eventually find out the truth behind the mistaken identities, the cause of the two family’s rivalry, and even Raja’s mysterious past and his REAL identity. No real surprises here, but it was clever enough for a family comedy and the HUGE plot twist (involving a whole lot of fake makeup for Anil) is unique enough for an Indian film (but it’s been done in “The Nutty Professor†and “Love on a Dietâ€, wink wink).
The film’s plot is charming enough to keep audiences entertained for its duration and the acting is decent enough for a comedy. Anil Kapoor is likeable in the first half, but his underdog character during his flashback is the real advantage of this film – the role was long enough to last a whole film and this whole segment would have a made a familiar but nice film on its own. The makers didn’t really have to fit the whole rivalry plot to set up the flashback!! Anyway, the actor is great during the second half when things get emotional, and we really do sympathize with him throughout the entire film. Shilpa Shetty looks hot as ever and shines in the comedic moments for the first half before completely disappearing till the climax. Likewise, Kirti Reddy steps up to the bat in the second half and has the cute bubbly girl role down pat!! I must say that her Hindi-language skills have really improved and the actress was really believable in her role. Nothing special mind you, but she wasn’t annoying and looked pretty nice! Out of the supporting cast, only Amrish Puri was memorable (isn’t he ever!), while the rest were just average. The songs were decent enough while the film was playing but are not really the type you’d buy the soundtrack of. The script and direction were pretty decent until the final scene of the film.
And that is where this film falls, and the main reason for not having the DVD in your collection. You see the film is ok for the time you’re watching it in theatres – it has a decent plot, a nice cast, a stable leading man, a hot heroine, and some great comedy scenes. But then out of nowhere, the film just ends – it’s like the director’s trying to make a point yet then forgets what he wants to say. I don’t care how arty or stylish you want to be, but you don’t just end abruptly like this film ends here. Kaushik tried his trick for this last film, “Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai (I Have Something to Say) and that film was a success (but NOT for its ending). In that film, the couple finally acknowledged their feelings for each other at the very end, only to have the girl go to school in the US (which she always wanted). They said that they’ll meet up again, but we were never shown their reunion. Now if you think that was an unsatisfying ending, wait till you see “Badhai Ho Badhaiâ€. Sure the main conflict is resolved, but yet the problem still remains – we don’t really know the fate of our lead!! Ok that may be good for a drama or a thriller, but a romantic comedy!!! GIVE ME A BREAK!!
So in the end, this is an OK comedy for fans of director Satish Kaushik or Anil Kapoor. It’s entertaining enough for the time being but be prepared for an extremely unsatisfying climax. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!!
Anil Kapoor and Shilpa Shetty:
http://www.indiafm.com/stills/02/bhb/still5.jpg
Kirti Reddy:
http://www.indiafm.com/stills/02/bhb/still6.jpg
More Shilpa goodness:
http://www.indiafm.com/stills/02/bhb/still11.jpg
And who the f**k is this guy??:
http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/jun/14badh2.jpg