|
|
| |
 |
Welcome**
*ing: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor,
and Paresh Rawal
Directed
by Anees Bazmi
|
| |
Sure,
you might split your sides laughing. But only upon realizing the plight
of people in certain parts of the world who actually spent precious
fuel to drive down to the cinema and pay for tickets to watch a sorry
mess like this. And imagine the helplessness of being unable to somewhat
stand up against the onslaught of absurdity courtesy the fast forward
option I had my finger on during a good chunk of the film. These are
actually the loudest laughs the film Welcome will draw out of the
viewer for which director Anees Bazmi can, but take, little credit.
Welcome welcomes you to the world of a half dozen dim witted characters,
a rambling storyline and several assorted sequences with little humour
or originality that culminate into a most ridiculous and contrived
climax.
|
 |
| |
| Dr
Ghungroo (Paresh Rawal) is in pursuit of a suitable girl for his nephew
Rajiv (Akshay Kumar). In Dr Ghungroo's dictionary, 'suitable' spells
old fashioned ideas of piety not just for the girl but her entire
family. Enter Sanjana (Katrina Kaif) a pretty and perky girl who charms
both Rajiv and his uncle. Only she happens to be the darling sister
of the underworld don Uday Shetty (Nana Patekar). Madness ensues when
Ghungroo finds the truth about Sanjana's family and Rajiv hatches
a plan to ensnare the don into giving up his life of crime. Throw
in Anil Kapoor in the role of the Don's right hand man plus Mallika
Sherawat as well as Feroz Khan in insignificant roles equalling yet
more lunacy to the existing rumpus. |
| |
There's
plenty in the film that can be labelled amongst the worst experiences
of a movie lover's life. The climax involving a house dangling over
a cliff is strictly for kids under five otherwise the fast forward
button is the only sure guarantee against surviving the climax with
your sanity intact. Another sequence involving an 'April fools contest'
might even offend children at having their intelligence insulted in
this manner.
The accidental shooting of Feroz Khan's son at the hands of Katrina
in the second half and the cover up that follows can be at best described
as a tragedy of error and that too of epic proportions. However it
is Feroz Khan, who takes the cake in the worst ever department, with
a performance that makes our local 'gandasa' wielding acts seem Oscar
worthy in comparison. Enough said?
|
 |
| |
The
only good scenes in the film are the ones where Nana Patekar's character
tries his hand at acting with hilarious and disastrous results.
Dr Ghungroo's convoluted manner of gauging potential suitors' reputation
is hilarious but is over and done with, in the first 15 minutes
of the film. In any case whatever little laughs there are along
the way, lose their value to the cumulative absurdity of the overall
proceedings.
The film's one strength is the acting, though after degenerating
into the mess it eventually does, one actually feels sorry for the
actors who do the best with the lines they are given. Nana Patekar
plays against type and is a joy to watch in the aforementioned scenes.
The actor has a fine comic timing and one wishes to see more of
him in comedies in future. Anil Kapoor with his character's fetish
for painting 'live portraits' of people held under his gun is great.
Pity he is not given better material to work with. Paresh Rawal
may be repetitive in the comic roles he usually essays, but as always
manages to make one smile and laugh in some scenes though he doesn't
get much to do in the second half. Akshay Kumar fails to hold his
own against the seasoned actors and confirms suspicions that his
string of recent hits is a case of being at the right place at the
right time.
Admittedly, the film sells itself as mindless, 'masala' and leave-your-brains-at-home
brand of humour. Yet even with logic and reasoning temporarily suspended
and expectations marked at the lowest, Welcome fails to deliver
on the laughs and entertainment value. At the box office it opened
well and continues to have a good run. The only way I can explain
this is to assume that all the people thronging the cinemas are
trying to catch up on some sleep and snooze away for a good hour
or so. In this sense Welcome is recommended strictly for insomniacs.
Or maybe kids under five.
--Mariam Khurram
*YUCK
**WHATEVER
***GOOD
****SUPER
*****AWESOME
|
| |
|
