Synopsis :
Exit from the hall at the end of the movie was the better part of watching
Welcome , director Anees Bazmee’s latest comedy film. The movie falls
way short of expectations.
Firstly, the film does gross injustice to an actor like Akshay Kumar , someone
who has time and again proved his prowess at comedy. In the crowd of characters
in the story, Akshay’s seedha saadha Rajiv gets lost somewhere. Not because
Akshay is incapable of holding his own, but because the writers do not care
to give more meat to him.
Secondly, the comedy in the film is so childish that I felt embarrassed watching
most it. Please bear this sample: Katrina tries to make an April fool out of
Akshay and pretends that she has lost her priceless necklace somewhere. Akshay
spots the necklace next to a teddy dog alongside a pool. As he is about to pick
the trinket, the stuffed dog lets out a bark, and scared Akshay falls into the
pool while Katrina laughs at him and wins the April fool contest. Now, this
was supposed to be funny. But it left me with my jaw dropped disappointedly.
There is not much to write about the film’s story. Rajiv (Akshay Kumar),
a handsome, robust and eligible man has remained bachelor so long, thanks to
his uncle Dr. Ghungroo ( Paresh Rawal ), who wants a bahu from a decent family
in which no one has ever been to a police station.
But Rajiv falls for Sanjana ( Katrina Kaif ) without knowing that she is the
younger sister of the biggest don in the city – Uday Shetty ( Nana Patekar
). And there is also Uday’s henchman Majnubhai ( Anil Kapoor ), a toughie
who likes to hold people still at gunpoint and then paint their portraits. “Live
Painting” is what he calls it.
While the two don bhais try to make the match between their sister Sanjana
and Rajiv, there is a strong opposition from Rajiv’s uncle. So the two
lovers decide to reform the dons. Following their plan, Ishika ( Mallika Sherawat
) enters the lives of Uday Shetty and Majnubhai. Expectedly, the two dons fall
in love with the bimbo, and their crime business takes a backseat.
But then comes in the biggest don of them – RDX ( Feroz Khan ) to set
things right.
Anees Bazmee pulls every possible string to make you laugh. But he fails to
give the right strokes. He concentrates only on providing one hilarious sequence
after another, but he completely ignores relating the sequences together. As
a result, ‘Welcome’ ends up like a poor collage of comedy scenes,
lifted shamelessly from Hollywood film ‘Mickey Blue Eyes’.
The saddest part in this purportedly humorous film is that Akshay Kumar has
been denied the punchy lines and funny sequences he is best known for. The actor
has been used like a prop in the huge cast ensemble. Still, he makes you grin
ear-to-ear whenever his Rajiv blushes.
Rather, Nana Patekar’s role has more meat. And the actor does make you
chuckle with his impulsive don who once aspired to be an actor. Anil Kapoor,
too, is funny at times, playing a somewhat caricaturish Majnubhai. Paresh Rawal
is just about okay.
Katrina Kaif looks terrific and hasn’t been burdened with scenes that
require her to act. The same goes for Mallika Sherawat, who plays a bimbo without
getting to flaunt what she is best known for. The two ladies, however, do add
glamour to the film. Feroz Khan does the same for men.
The less spoken of the film’s music the better it is. With the exception
of a Himesh Reshammiya track, the songs come and go like mandatory eyesores
in this directionless film.
Anees Bazmee has done nothing but put several assorted funny sequences back-to-back
in the name of directing this unoriginal movie. And he goes completely over
the top in his attempt to make you laugh at the end of the film – in the
dangling-house-on-a-cliff sequence, lifted straight from a Charlie Chaplin classic.
To see ‘the end’ of Bazmee’s film was a welcome relief for
me. And when the movie’s after-effects faded away, I felt my sense of
humour returning back to me.
- Cast : Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Kirron Kher, Shreyas
Talpade, Arjun Rampal
- Studio/Banner : BIG MUSIC
- Format : DVD
- Language : Hindi
