'Happy Sardar' movie review highlights: A shaken and stirred mix of inter-state love stories

Love stories are beaten to death. It is very evident that Happy Sardar makes a conscious attempt to do away with cliche, probably for this reason. However, it still comes across as a film heavily inspired by many hit love stories that we have already watched on the big screen, across languages.
The frames of this inter-state love story are as pretty as tourism brochure versions of its backdrop locales.Be it the sprawling Punjabi household, the mustard fields, the costumes, the choreography or the costume design, they are all pleasing to eyes, but remind one of certain Bollywood Punjabi stories. There are certain funny bits at times, in the first half of the film that extends to two hours thirty three minutes.
However, the lead pair hardly have any chemistry, at least till intermission. The comedy falls flat for most part and you hardly feel with the predicaments of any characters. Like in many films now, on and off it depends on hit yesteryear Malayalam dialogues too, often without any effect. Will the next half have anything better to offer? Watch this space.