Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Jan 16: If sharp satire and logic-defying humour are your thing, Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos may just be your kind of madness. Directed by Kavi Shastri and Vir Das, who also plays the lead, the film is an unapologetically silly spy caper that thrives on chaos, caricature and comic excess rather than plot precision.
The story revolves around Happy Patel (Vir Das), a clumsy, well-meaning wannabe spy based in London, who is sent to Panjor in Goa on a high-risk mission to rescue an abducted scientist. Standing in his way is Mama (Mona Singh), a feared don with a rolling pin in one hand, crime on her mind, and an old vendetta against Happy. Determined to prove himself and make his spy “dads” proud, Happy dives headfirst into a mission that is doomed to go hilariously off track.
The film opens in 1991 Goa with an outrageously flamboyant sequence involving don Jimmy Mario (Aamir Khan) and two British spies, a chain of accidents, and a baby left behind — setting the tone for the absurdity that follows. That baby grows up to be Mama, whose present-day plan involves kidnapping a scientist to create a magical fairness formula that promises lighter skin in 21 days, while also settling personal scores from the past.
Cut to 2025, and Happy is introduced assembling a gun — minus the trigger — neatly establishing his incompetence and the comic universe the film inhabits. From there on, the spy genre is gleefully dismantled. Alpha-male espionage clichés are replaced with ballet shoes, elaborate cooking sessions, chai-slurping Morse code, tone-deaf musical torture, and Bollywood dance moves doubling up as combat techniques.
The humour leans heavily on wordplay, mispronunciations, exaggerated firangi accents and recurring visual gags, all written with mischievous flair by Das and Amogh Ranadive. A random white man popping up every time Happy mispronounces “tum” as “Tom”, a painfully slow elderly waiter, and Mama’s repeated attempts to kill Happy foiled by perfectly timed Bollywood hook steps — including Chhaiyya Chhaiyya — keep the laughs coming.
Vir Das is the undisputed backbone of the film, delivering a consistently hilarious performance as a brown man clueless about his own identity, learning espionage from Bollywood films and mangling Hindi with inspired confidence. Mona Singh is a revelation as Mama, blending menace, maternal energy and comic timing with ease. Sharib Hashmi adds charm as Geet, the local spy coordinator, while Mithila Palkar brings crackling energy to her role as item dancer Rupa. Aamir Khan’s cameo is a standout, and Imran Khan’s appearance as international supermodel Milind is a cheeky throwback that cinephiles will enjoy.
The zany soundtrack by Das, Parth Parekh, Shalom Benjamin and others perfectly complements the film’s tone, with tracks like Phukt Apan, Chaanta Tera and Cous Cous amplifying the madness.
Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos doesn’t pretend to be smart cinema, nor does it aim to make sense. Its strength lies in its eccentric characters, relentless gags and wholehearted embrace of nonsense. There may be no real plot to speak of, but the film’s anarchic humour ensures it remains an entertaining laugh riot from start to finish.