Happy Birthday (2022 Indian film)
Happy Birthday is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language surreal crime comedy film written and directed by Ritesh Rana, and produced by Mythri Movie Makers and Clap Entertainment. It stars Lavanya Tripathi in a dual role along with Naresh Agastya, Vennela Kishore, and Satya.
Happy Birthday | |
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Directed by | Ritesh Rana |
Written by | Ritesh Rana |
Produced by | Chiranjeevi (Cherry) Hemalatha Pedamallu |
Starring | Lavanya Tripathi Naresh Agastya Vennela Kishore Satya |
Cinematography | Suresh Sarangam |
Edited by | Karthika Srinivas |
Music by | Kaala Bhairava |
Production companies | Mythri Movie Makers Clap Entertainment |
Distributed by | Mythri Movie Makers |
Release date |
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Country | India |
Language | Telugu |
Principal photography of the film took place between November 2021 and May 2022 in Hyderabad. The film has music composed by Kaala Bhairava. Happy Birthday was theatrically released on 8 July 2022 and received mixed reviews from critics and audiences.
Premise
Set in a fantasy world,[1] Union minister Rithwik Sodhi passes a new gun law in the parliament that liberalizes the manufacturing and sale of fire arms, leading to an increased gun culture in the country.[2]
Cast
- Lavanya Tripathi in a dual role as Happy and Baby
- Naresh Agastya as Lucky
- Vennela Kishore as Union minister Rithwik Sodhi
- Satya as Max Pain
- Rahul Ramakrishna as Gunda
- Gundu Sudarshan as Uncle Fixit
- Getup Srinu as William
- Privij as Serena
- Harsha Chemudu
- Vidyullekha Raman as receptionist QT
- Ravi Teja as Benami
- Rohini as Ratna
- Baaji
- C. V. L. Narasimha Rao
- Rocket Raghava
Production
Following his debut directorial venture Mathu Vadalara (2019), Ritesh Rana was signed for another film under the production of Mythri Movie Makers.[3] Actress Lavanya Tripathi was cast the lead in her first crime comedy film.[4] Naresh Agastya, Satya, Vennela Kishore and Gundu Sudarshan play other roles.[3] In the film, a union minister (Kishore) proposes a new gun law that aims to liberalize purchase, sale, manufacture and use of fire arms in the country which leads to increase in the gun culture in the country.[2] Tripathi plays a modern girl nicknamed Happy 340.[5]
The film began its production in Hyderabad in November 2021.[4] In December, the film was titled as Happy Birthday.[6] The shoot was completed by May 2022. Kaala Bhairava composed the film's music. The film has cinematography by Suresh Sarangam and editing by Karthika Srinivas.[7]
Music
The music of the film is composed by Kaala Bhairava. Lyrics are written by Kittu Vissapragada. The first single was released on 4 July 2022.[8][9]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Party Song" | Kittu Vissapragada | Damini Bhatla | 3:55 |
Release
Happy Birthday was released theatrically on 8 July 2022,[1] advanced by a week from its initial release date of 15 July 2022.[10]
Reception
Neeshitha Nyayapati of The Times Of India rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Despite its flaws, Happy Birthday is refreshing and is exactly what TFI needs to shake things up. It might be far from perfect but Ritesh deserves an A+ for effort".[11] Arvind V of Pinkvilla rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "The satirical tone of the film has a touch of intelligence.The film's genre, on the other hand, looks either superfluous or half-baked". [12] A critic for The Hans India rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote "Happy Birthday is a different attempt in the comedy genre. But, it fails to provide a cohesive narrative from the start to the end. It ends up boring and scratching our heads".[13]
References
- "Lavanya Tripati's Happy Birthday release advanced". Cinema Express. 26 June 2022.
- "Happy Birthday teaser: Lavanya Tripathi shines in a crazy world where people live on the edge". Pinkvilla. 7 June 2022.
- "Rajamouli launches Lavanya Tripathi's next". 123telugu.com. 30 November 2021.
- "Lavanya Tripathi signs a crime comedy". Cinema Express. 29 November 2021.
- Nadadhur, Srivathsan. "Happy Birthday: Here's the character promo of Lavanya Tripathi as Happy 340". OTTPlay. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Lavanya Tripathi's film is titled Happy Birthday". Telugu Cinema. 15 December 2021.
- Nadadhur, Srivathsan. "Lavanya Tripathi's next, Happy Birthday, directed by Ritesh Rana, gets a release date!". OTTPlay. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- Lavanya Tripathi, Twitter
- Party Song by Kaala Bhairava & Damini Bhatla, YouTube Music
- "Lavanya Tripathi's Happy Birthday gets a release date –". The Times of India. 5 May 2022.
- "Happy Birthday Movie Review : Lavanya and Satya shine in this surreal comedy". The Times Of India. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
- "Happy Birthday Movie Review: Nuttiness can't save this over-cooked surreal crime comedy". Pinkvilla. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
- "Happy Birthday Movie review: Honest attempt but futile". The Hans India. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.