In the year 2007, when most of us had not even exchanged pleasantries with first generation iPhones, came a film called Welcome. While we might not remember the finer details of the film, this brainless yet delightfully funny film can still make us happy every time we visit it in our memory database.
Times have changed. We now eagerly await the iPhone 6s series to come and take over our lives. And it’s also after a gap of nearly eight years that Director Anees Bazmee has decided to be back, with Welcome Back. The only problem — he is planning to charge this sequel minus Akshay Kumar! Yes, we miss him terribly. Every time we see John Abraham and his cardboard cutout and can’t differentiate between the two we wish we could have said “welcome back Akshay.” But never mind, there are others who have managed to reprise their roles and boy aren’t we glad!
Nana Patekar as Shetty, Anil Kapoor as Majnu and Paresh Rawal as Dr. Ghunghroo are all thankfully back in attendance with their comic timing intact. The story hasn’t undergone any major upgrade. Shetty and Majnu are now in Dubai, trying to be as “shareef” as possible. Burdened with match making duties of their dear sister Ranjana played by Shruti Hassan, their search takes them to Ajju Bhai sometimes played by John Abraham and sometimes by his cardboard cutout. We also have Naseeruddin Shah in a role that doesn’t deserve him; Dimple Kapadia who deserves better and Shiney Ahuja who sadly only deserves this (thanks to his real life misadventures)!
Welcome Back is funny, it is supremely funny – but only in bits. The dialogues of Raj Shandaliya are hilarious. Coupled with the brilliant comic timing of Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor, we are grinning all the way to the interval. But it’s also boring — supremely boring. When they puncture the non-existent plot with one song after another and kill the second half with absurd twists and cheap CGI, all we can do is grin and bear it.
Of course it’s the kind of film where the use of one’s brain and any accompanying grey matter is strictly prohibited. But nothing quite prepares us for the long-drawn climax which frankly is in the realm of the bizarre. However, when Welcome Back manages to get it right - which it does in bits and pieces — it’s the hardest I have laughed in a while.
How does Anil Kapoor manage to look as good as he does, I have no clue. But what I can tell you is that Welcome Back gets 2.5 QUINTS OUT OF 5. Go for it, but leave your grey matter back home. Brains not allowed for this one!
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