There is a scene in the film when court proceedings need to be stalled to help an important witness reach the witness box on time. The lawyer then tells his coterie “ab time waste karo jab tak woh na aaye” one is left wondering aur kitna?
The whole movie ... which limps and drags through its tiresome 147 mins runtime seems like a hopeless wait ... for some semblance of a plot? For some Deol dhamaal? For one great scene? At least a single decent joke? But nahi! It’s unbelievable how bad Yamla Pagla Deewana is! Phir se!
Sunny And Bobby Deol play brothers. Bada bhai Pooran Singh (Sunny) who holds ancient Ayurvedic knowledge of jadibutees sacred and the chota veer Kaala (Kaala) who creates a ruckus every night after his habitual drinking session. Daddy Dharmendra is their pesky ‘kiraaydaar’ who is surrounded by apsaras who apparently have descended from heaven and only for his eyes.
A crooked pharmaceutical business company chief (Mohan Kapoor) travels all the way from Gujarat to Punjab to buy the recipe of the secret jadibuti concoction called Vajrakavach but dhai kilo ka haath refuses to part with it.
So what follows is more absurdity. It’s heartbreaking to see how the Deols try hard to recreate their original magic but just end up as hollow husks of their former glory.
Dharmendra, who with his booming voice and charming shy smile captivated a generation, just about manages to finish his lines huffing and panting. Sunny pulls two tractors with bare hands, twists steel glasses, packs a punch so hard that a mini earthquake follows but gives us little to cheer for. As for Bobby, he must show his new gym body and resurrect his flagging career. Kriti Kharbanda exists for the sole purpose of helping him position himself as a lover boy Phir se.
Also there is no getting away from the stereotypes. The big-hearted Punjabis who chug a whole bottle of whiskey and end every fight with warm jhappis. The Deols basically playing the physical embodiment of that spirit! And the shudh shaakahaari non-drinking Gujjus who keep saying “kem cho” and hate Punjabis. The inanities just don’t stop.
Even a Shatrughan Sinha is roped in for a cameo and forced to say “khamosh”. A nostalgic montage of our favourite stars and their on-screen histrionics would have been a much more enjoyable watch. Because Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se is just a desperate attempt at trying to keep a dying franchise alive.
Half a Quint out of 5! Stay away cause this is not how we want to remember our favourite Deols!
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