Our films nowadays are becoming more and more realistic and straight out of life. While this is a great thing, viewers definitely won’t mind watching an over-the-top, mindless laugh riot once in a while. In fact such films were quite regular at one point but it’s been a while since such kind of a film hit theatres. The last one was probably David Dhawan’s Main Tera Hero that released as long as 1 ½ years back(Happy New Year was not a complete mindless film). But here comes another wild film – Welcome Back. It might not be as awesome as the first part but it manages to provide loads of entertainment!
The story of the movie: Uday Shetty(Nana Patekar) has left bhaigiri, much to the dismay of Majnu(Anil Kapoor). One day Uday realizes he has one more sister – Ranjhana(Shruti Haasan). On the other hand, Dr Ghungroo(Paresh Rawal) learns that he has a son – Ajay aka Ajju Bhai(John Abraham). As luck would have it, both Ranjhana and Ajay fall for each other. However, their journey till marriage will be anything but easy. Uday and Majnu bhai have their reservations. On the other hand, Wanted bhai(Naseeruddin Shah) and his son Honey(Shiney Ahuja) on one hand and Chandni(Ankita Srivastava) and her mother Rani Padmavati of Najafgarh(Dimple Kapadia) enter the fray and create madness and loads of problems for the couple and others.
Once one exits the theatre, one realizes that Welcome Back covers so many episodes and boasts of so many characters. But it’s all seamlessly done. Although the editing is very crisp and one can sense that a few scenes have been snipped, the end result isn’t hampered. In fact, it helps the narrative move swiftly. Each major character is nicely introduced and incorporated in the principle plot. Various characters face roadblocks at some point or the other but it’s all done nicely. One doesn’t start missing the other characters if the focus is just on a couple of them for a brief period of time. This is because viewers don’t get time as there’s so much happening in the film!
The first half is sans complaints more or less. Dr Ghungroo’s entry is shocking – see it to believe it! Ajju bhai rocks as he fights the goons in the filmiest way possible in his entry scene. The Ajju-Ranjhana romance develops quickly but makes for a good watch. In fact, almost everyone falls in love too quickly in the film! The intermission point is hilarious! Post-intermission, the film gets madder as Wanted bhai is introduced and Honey brings a new turn to the plot. However, from here, the film falls as two major characters play nasty games with each other. It’s not that funny and one fears if the makers will lose plot from hereon. Thankfully, the film gets back on track with the graveyard sequence! Come to think of it, it makes no sense but who cares? It’s funny and is bound to make one laugh! The climax is grand consisting of all characters and how maddening it is, is anybody’s guess!
John Abraham has quite a challenge since he’s getting into the shoes of the more popular Akshay Kumar. However, John ensures Akshay is not missed! He brings his own flavor and gives a very impressive performance. He rocks in the action scenes and is adorable in the romantic scenes. Also, it is great to see the actor after a hiatus on the big screen! Hope he give equally good performances in his forthcoming films too! Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor as expected bring the house down with their amazing performances! They provide the maximum laughs and what’s surprising is that they also have an emotional moment that is beautifully shot. Shruti Haasan looks super-hot and delivers a fine performance. It’ll be great to see her in a performance oriented role as she surely has the potential. Naseeruddin Shah takes the film to another level. Shiney Ahuja is back after ages and he proves that he’s still one of the best actors around! Ankita Srivastava sizzles the screen and makes a promising debut. Dimple Kapadia is fine and has her moments. Supriya Karnik(Mrs Ghungroo) is okay but inexplicably disappears in the second half. Surveen Chawla and Lauren Gottlieb look quite glamorous in their respective item numbers.
Music compliments the goings-on well but is not memorable enough. Tutti Bole Wedding Di is the best of the lot. Time Lagaye Kaiko is quite a catchy song. Nas Nas Mein seems forced. Aadesh Shrivastava’s background score is exhilarating. Shilaesh Mahadik’s production design is excellent, especially the replica of the Emirates Palace – it looks so authentic! Kabir Lal’s cinematography is breathtaking. The desert scenes especially are amazingly shot. Abbas Ali Moghul’s action is damn good and suits the grandness of the film. Stevan Bernard’s editing is slick but too quick at few places. VFX is okay and very bad in the camel scene. Rajiv Kaul and Anees Bazmee’s story is too good and serves as nice plot to the sequel of Welcome. Rajeev Kaul, Praful Parekh, Rajan Agarwal and Anees Bazmee’s screenplay ensures the film doesn’t get confusing or that the viewers get the ‘too-many-plots-in-one-film’ feeling. Raaj Shaandilyaa’s dialogues are one of the highpoints of the film – hilarious and crazy! Anees Bazmee does total justice to the plot and script in hand. Not many directors could have managed to do that but Anees pulls it off. He does falter at some places. Since it’s a sequel, comparisons will be inevitable and Welcome Back in that regard is not as great as Welcome. Also, few scenes could have been better. But nevertheless, a great work by Anees Bazmee! Watch out how, probably for the first time, a grand Hindi film song has a romantic song shot in an area like Worli village!
Some of the best scenes:
Uday and Majnu’s entry
Dr Ghungroo’s entry
Ajju bhai’s entry
Ajju bhai meets Majnu
Ajju and Ranjana fall in love
Dr Ghungroo blasts Majnu and Uday
The intermission point
Wanted bhai and Honey’s entry
Majnu breaks down
The graveyard scene(hilarious!)
The finale
On the whole, Welcome Back is a laugh-a-minute riot replete with some mindless, hilarious and maddening moments! There are loads of characters and sub plots, but the writers and director Anees Bazmee brings it all together very nicely and ensures that the viewers have a great time despite a few minuses. A big thanks to the makers of Welcome Back for giving a mindless BIG multi-starrer after ages and here’s hoping, such films continue to be made!
My rating - 3.5/5!